EPISODE 8 : How To Do Backside Combinations With Parker Coffin

Parker Coffin is one of the most under rated pro surfers on the planet. Like his older brother Conner, Parker’s surfing is fluid, powerful, and based on strong rail control. Refined in the point breaks of his hometown of Santa Barbara, California, and applied at destinations around the world, Parker is able to hold and link together turns like only the very best in world, making even the most radical turns look deceptively easy.

What also sets him apart is his ability to perform technical airs with an added layer of flair and spice to in all of his turns creating a seldom seen x factor. Parker also charges like an absolute mad man and is one of the funniest humans alive making his tutorials entertaining and educational.

In this tutorial he focuses on the fundamentals of doing backside combinations in sub par, every day waves. His in depth analysis covers the importance of body positioning, weight distribution, bottom turn, follow through and opening up.

Step By Step Coaching Tips

Step One:

The Set Up

Paddling speed will carry through the ride so get in with power and speed.
Right after standing up try to get as much speed as possible
Often times do one pump and lift the board up the wave to engage rail and gain speed.

Step Two:

The Bottom Turn

Get weight on the front foot
Open up the chest towards the lip
Hips are a bit behind then follow through

Step Three:

The Top Turn

From the bottom turn and follow through rotate hips and shoulders the other way into the turn.
All movement in surfing comes from the hips. Swing your hips down the face of the wave and let your body rotate and follow through with them.

Step Four:

The Combination

As you finish the first turn and drop back down the face push your weight down and drop your weight onto your heels to engage the rail and compress into the next bottom turn and increase speed.
Again, chest opens up and hips square up towards the lip.
Right when you feel the bottom turn and all weight on the heels begin shifting weight to toes and back down the wave.
The majority of the turn will come from the hips.
When your timing is good it doesn’t have to be a big movement it is just about doing the turn at the right place at the right time.

Step Five:

The Finishing turn

If the turn is more vertical remember to pull (suck) that front leg up and do it quicker.
As you drop the weight onto your heels and open your chest and follow through with hips remember to eye up the section and spot on the wave you are going to turn off of.
Roll onto your heels and open up your shoulders into bottom turn.
Less of a push and more of a sucking up of your knees to be able to absorb the lip coming at you.
Project up and over it and do that same hip movement down the face of the wave.
Always look right where you are going to land, that is the most important thing.
Keep head down, eyeing your landing
If your head is up and you are not paying attention it makes it a lot easier to catch a rail.