Wave lovers of all varieties,
A CSC member has called it to my attention that there are not enough videos of proficient surfers surfing bigger boards in mediocre to bad waves. He requested that I make an edit of myself to share with him (and the rest of the world) as a mimetic tool to help you all see what is possible a.) in junky surf and b.) on a larger board. What to notice: well first, everything, ha! But in particular notice first the eyes and head and where they are looking at any given moment. Just like driving or riding a bike, your eyes direct you where to go. If you are not looking down the road or down the wave then your probability for crashing is high. Notice second the hands, especially their placement for the stand up — flat on the deck near the hips, allowing for an extremely upright upper body with tons of space to slide the lower half beneath. Then notice hands as I am surfing the wave. They do different things at different times, but are often intentionally quiet unless going into a turn or maneuver. Next legs and feet. Where am I standing on the board for the most part? How do my back foot and front foot relate to one another? Especially notice the weight placed on the back foot to avoid pearling the nose during a closeout and for stalling the board when near the shore. Lastly, try to understand all of these limbs and organs as acting in concert with one another. Surfing is about full body coordination, and the upper half and lower half of your body must be in sync with one another for graceful and effective wave navigation.
It is important to keep in mind that if you have time and there is something rideable to surf out there, get on it. There is nothing like surfing to help you get better at surfing. And there is nothing like surfing mediocre to junky waves to help hone your skills for when it is good. Bad waves are harder to surf because they're harder to see, often lack power (so you have to find the place on the board to source the energy best), and tend to close out. But they're not impossible to surf, and in fact you can often find a few gems to get a nice trim going, place a cutback, or floater, or practice walking up and down the board. To be a master of surfing or even just a proficient surfer you need to be able to do this kind of thing in all sorts of conditions. So look for those 1-2 ft and "red"/"poor" surf reports and get out there!!!
—Dion