so I just finished my sixth season.
there were many threads here about how to cross the white water and the common wisdom since the beginning of time was to accelerate, to step back, to lift the nose and to cross the white water.
I must say it never really worked for me, except it smacked me couple times in my weakest part (the head that is), but it was unintentionally of course
Two years ago I got my Mana 9.0 and gradually things changed, just by trail and error.
What I do now is pushing through white water. The move is really tough to dissect, but it looks something like that. I bend in the knees before and as it hits the nose I extend, pushing the nose forward and under through my heels. (i.e. it feels like I push it with my heels, weird feeling, nothing to compare with) It works really well for me both in the wall of white water and also pushing through the crushing lip. I guess it won't work on a bigger floatier boards with wide noses, but for me on my board it is way easier method. I never do this step back part anymore. And in really powerfull white water the nose still can pop up, if you dont push it enough. With usual consequences. So still have to be prepared.
Another slogan on this forum was "meet power with power" or something like this, meaning that you should accelerate in front of the upcoming white water. Again I generally avoid doing this. If I see the wall of white water approaching, I'd rather wait. With every meter it travels it dissipates a lot of energy and I have better chances to cross it, why to hurry???
The only times when I rush towards it, is if I see different pattern behind it. E.g. I hope that by clearing it faster I can all together clear the breaking zone faster (e.g. it is a lull)
Another advice was that after it hits you you better have your paddle in the water. This one I am finding very useful, but again the point for me is to stick the paddle in the water not to propel me forward or pull through the white water, but to simply have a third leg in the water. Yes, most of the time I want to start a stroke after I stick it in the water, but not always. With time I had recognized that often it is much better to allow it to do whatever it wants, sometimes the backstroke is required to maintain the balance.
Sometimes with the paddle in the water, when I loose the balance I just rotate the handle clockwise and counterclockwise and clockwise again. Its just like screwing in the blade and it allows me to regain the balance
Sometimes (e.g. the chest high lips barrels and hits me) there is not a chance I can stick it behind the lip. Still attempting to do so results in hitting the wave just behind the lip flat with a blade, and it helps a lot too.
Sitting low is another good thing, also it allows you to position your paddle further away from the board. You do two things - lower your center of gravity, plus extending your base. But it is not always possible (like with lip starting to barrel if you lower yourself it will hit you in the face, not in the chest or hips).
wow... I just reread what I wrote and realized that I had deviated from my Subject... but while I am still at this let me give couple more thoughts.
Sometimes I loose the balance and one of my rails go under. It used to be the end, but recently I have found that instead of fighting (and loosing) I have to allow the foot to extend as much as the board wants and to bend another knee, releasing the pressure on another rail completely. I was able to recover several times using this approach.
Also, I never kneel (not that there is something wrong with this, haha
)
I admit, I bend over (and again nothing is wrong with this either)
Jokes aside, kneeling is an act of self defeat, like throwing the white flag. And may be in the beginning lowering yourself closer to the water feels safer, but for me in reality I have way more balance and control standing straight up. Again think of wall of white water hitting you in the chest, what chances do you have?
Bending over is another story, you fight for the balance till very end and if it throws you forward you bend over, but you still standing and after regaining the balance you already in upright position.
And finally, I must say that in our spot crossing white water is just 50% of the game. It is like backcountry skiing, if you don't enjoy climbing up, you better stick to the lifts or pay thousands for heli. So I must say that crossing the tough white water gives me a lot of satisfaction. its different than riding a tough way, but I enjoy it never the less
my 0.02 cents...
