How to Ride Drop-Knee on a Bodyboard

By eHow Sports & Fitness Editor

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Pull your body up on your bodyboard to ride with one foot on the nose and your knee down behind you to stabilize and steer.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

Swimsuits
Bodyboards
Fins
Wet Suits

Step1

Ride your board to a good open section of wave.

Step2

Pull yourself way up onto your board.

Step3

Slide your knees up onto the board beneath you, but swing the leg on the same side as the wave up and forward, and set your foot down on the nose. Do all this in nearly one smooth motion and without setting the weight of your knees down on the board.

Step4

Set your weight down and release your hands from the board. You now have one foot and one knee down on the board. This is the drop-knee position.

Step5

Steer by leaning to engage or disengage your wave-side rail from the wave.

Step6

Put your hands back on the board and slide your feet back to continue riding in normal position.

Tips & Warnings

It's easier to get your foot forward with smaller fins. It's even easier with no fins at all, but for the sake of everything else, it's best to just learn with them on.
Practice getting into the drop-knee position on the beach before you try it on the wave. The faster you can do it, the easier it will be.
Bodyboarding is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death. We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment before attempting this activity.

Comments

RedKing said

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on 12/20/2007 To gain more speed - try catching and releasing your rail in the wave rather then riding straight across the face. Its also a quick way to develop your control skills.

ehowfriendGG said

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on 6/28/2007 Throwing Spray - Should you decide to throw tail, or schwack the lip of the wave...the best advice that can be given is to not look at what you're doing...just turn your body toward the beach...look at the water in the flats ahead of you. Looking up at the spray you're trying to throw will result in your board flying out from underneath you about 98% of the time. You'll look like a newbie and everyone will point and laugh. Don't try to turn so hard...just start out by turning your body toward the beach and get used to the weight transfer. I would definitely not pull on your leash for control as that style is very, very ugly.

Anonymous said

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on 3/28/2006 If you try to drop-knee when you take the wave to the back side - your fin might hit the wall of the wave. If this happens - take the wave as straight as possible, stand up, and then perform a bottom turn to locate yourself on the wave.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Use your knee and heel to change the amount of balance you have on the wave.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Paddle as normal until going down the face of the wave. Push with both hands and drag both knees onto board and drag front foot up (if going left right foot etc); all in one motion is easiest. To turn, lean into the wave and use hips for sharper turns.

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