How YOU can improve Your bottom turn so You can Smack the lip harder

Bottom turn at Bendalong Pro

The first and most important maneuver/turn you should learn to master after knowing how to take off on waves is your bottom turn…

You see every mind blowing Wow factor turn off or above the lip is normally set up through a bottom turn..

Yes every turn you do off the top of the wave is a direct response and reflection of the bottom turn.

So if your not happy with the way your hitting the lip or trying to snap a radical carve of the wave.

This is evident of a poorly executed bottom turn .


YOU need to and must must must ( I cant emphasize this enough) work on and improve your bottom turn to get the most radical top turn you could possibly ever do…


The best Kneeboarders and surfers in the world have really worked hard on getting their bottom turns right so they can produce their magic on the top half of the waves.

These surfers and kneeboarders include the likes of Tim Kadwell, Simon Farrar, David Parks, Matt Galiga, Gigs Celliers, Dean Bould, Gav Coleman, Steen Barns, Pete Fairweather, Craig Ashdown, Neil Luke, Simpson Brothers and my favorite bottom turn surfer Kelly Slater, the list goes on so I’ll just to name those few.

What have they all got in common? They all rip and are some of the best water men in the world. They also have AWESOME BOTTOM TURNS..

I challeng YOU to sit down and watch footage of these surfers slow the footage down and watch the bottom turn they do before the major turn off the top of the waves. Try to implement that in to your own Kneeboarding


How do I do a good bottom turn Stan?

As you come from a previous turn or take off your board will gather speed down the face of the wave. You should observe the changing face waiting for time to execute the turn. Lean slightly forward to keep lower center of gravity and speed.

To start the turn lean towards the wave face which will make the inside rail of the board bite into the wave to start the arc of the turn.

You should observe the changing shape of the wave so you can determine how to time the turn and how fast you need to go.

When you want to drive in to the arc look in the direction you want to go and twist your trunk from the hips in the direction you want to go, so your body starting with your head ,trunk and arms start the turn then your board will come around with you and this way your guaranteed that your rail will dig in to the wave .

The angle of the tilt of the board steadily increases the result is for the board to be carving an ark across the wave face. The board reaches maximum tilt into the wave face which causes it to turn more rapidly. As it becomes more vertical the board begins to flatten on the face of the wave taking its path across and up the wave.
This is the completion of the bottom turn.


Trying to turn the board at the same time as your body will result in a flat turn decrease in speed and less control with out rail biting in to the wave.

So practice your bottom turn not till you get it right but as Craig Ashdown once said to me .Till you cant get it wrong.

Hopefully I will see a lot of you readers At the Phillip Island Kneeboard Classic in November.

And if I don’t, remember there is nothing like that kneeling of the ceiling feeling

Cheers Stan