dr robert wrote:
And, a respectful question for those that employ the "superman' technique…why?
I have a hard time envisioning, let alone experiencing benefit from that on paipos… obviously a standard and totally functional approach in body surfing as in your hand becomes a planing surface, but I'm stumped on how or why it's of benefit on a paipo?
I know this topic is 5 years old, but I find this question interresting.
I would compare this stance to longboard nose riding, all things being equal.
It may not be the most performant way of riding, but it is stylish, and it gives a great feeling of trimming.
But most important, it requires commitment, as you need to position far forward, it gives this little extra rush of riding "head first" without the (relative) protection of the board.
This is also why I carefully choose on which wave I do it or not. If in my confort zone, I go for it, if not, I stick to the standard bodyboard stance, or I grab the nose with 2 hands.
I find the superman style works best on guitar pick shape boards, if well done, on the right wave, it's a blast, one really feels the tail behaving like a fin.
On my current ply board, flat, long and narrow, the superman style is not as efficient, I tend to use its variant, the "canon ball" style, it provides quite the same feeling, plus you really feel like you and the board are one.
The downside of the "canon ball" stance is that it is not very stylish, makes you look like a seal bodysurfing
Another fun alternative is the superman style with both arms. I use it on crowded small waves, it allows to perform quick turns (to avoid a collision for instance), using the hands like front fins.
