How to Do A Midlength Duckdive

Duckdiving made clear for people riding 7'6"s and below. Here I'm duckdiving a 7'6" and a 6'6" respectively. Legs over the tail. Legs over the tail. Legs over the tail. It's a misconception that you push the board down with your arms. This is, at the end of the day, a lower body move.
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[@retribution999]

People make duck diving look easy but ive never mastered it. I always ditch the board and swim under the wave. It works every time. This video is very helpful and i will try your techniques next time. Thx

[@bennyb.1742]

Please be trolling...

[@jimmccarley9609]

I have had some success diving my Takayama egg, but not too deep. Now, I will practice lower body control while waiting. This is a very cool insight. Thanks.

[@FaccioBaldoria]

Ahah i have the same

[@enoksrd]

Really appreciate your "slow motion + commentary" content. When I watch videos of people surfing at regular speed, I miss a lot of the fine points, that I don't have time to notice and that the narrator doesn't have time to mention.

[@conatussurf]

Thanks for this feedback. Gonna make more vids in this vein based upon it. Really appreciate it and gld it’s useful to you.

[@MikeStrip]

Great video! Another thing I’ve noticed from years of surfing is the longer the board the more time it takes to get the board down. Great suggestion on the knee thing never thought about that. My favorite board is a 5”0 26L, I’m 167 lbs. For some reason my 28L epoxy 5”10 board just feels very hard on diving deep consistently.

[@conatussurf]

Good point! Thanks!

[@a.f.m.4134]

This is great content - much appreciation for these insights

[@troynichols9788]

Great vid - slo mo & commentary. Well done. I debate on whether the dive or turtle roll is better for me personally - but since the roll is guaranteed to kill the forward momentum (and takes so much damn energy to get back up and on the board) I'm going with the dive for now and trying to get really goo at it, so I appreciate the vid. I'm 5'9", 165 lbs and ride a 7'6" CI Mid @ 52L so it's not easy getting it deep enoughf but I found a little trick that works for me and just wanted to share. I find a kind of '2 stage' dive works pretty good -- it's obviously not a John-John level 2 stage dive, but I focus heavily on the nose and sinking it just a tad more during the stab forward. So, after initially sinking the nose like normal, when I press down the tail instead of 'leveling the board' and stabbing it forward like a normal dive, I stab the nose down just a tad again, like a 2nd dive, and obviously not as steep of an angle like the first time, but NOT level ... just a tad below the level plane. It seems to help get me just that tab bit further under the wave's energy into cleaner water which is really needed b/c I wasn't deep to begin with. Then, when the wave's white water / cylinder / energy inevitably rolls over me and pushes the tail of the board down it's as though it's leveling the board for me b/c the board was slightly pointed down from the 2nd stage of the dive. As the wave's main energy vortex has now rolled over me, I'm leveled out, I'm deeper than I would have been w/out this little trick and I typically get a little boost "kick out" from the wave's cylinder and slightly pushes me out farther as I come back up. The key is taking a little more time in the beginning to sink the nose as far as possible, so I have to start the dive earlier than normal. But, if I can time the initial dive right, then that 2nd little dive/stab makes a world of difference. When it works, it works fantastic.

[@conatussurf]

Thanks for your thoughtful reply and additional tip. Definitely one of the things that cannot be simulated in a pool is the help we get from the waves curvature and force. One commonality I notice in your account, however, is that no good duckdive can be performed w/out radical control of the tail of the board, whether that be pushing it down further or leveling it out in stages as you report. If the surfer is unaware of the tail, even in the moments of the dive when the lower body disengages from the board, the dive will inevitably go "ass up" lol and the wave will smack the ass and pull the surfer back. All kinds of ways that tucking our butts in helps advance our surfing.

[@aussiert]

Duck diving will work if you are using a board that for every litre x 2kg of body weight, 80kg person can duck dive a 40 litres board no problem, my fish is 39.7 litres, I am 90kg and duck dive it no problems on any size I am brave enough to go out on 👍🏻 don’t forget that buoyancy is different in a pool than in the ocean. So you may be able to duck dive in a pool but not as effectively in the ocean.

[@conatussurf]

Yeah I also like to use others' platforms to espouse my own views instead of creating my own channel. LOL.

[@aussiert]

I agree it’s nice to share ideas and have open discussions 👍🏻 that’s the beauty of the surfing community.

[@conatussurf]

@@aussiert touche. To be more honest only post and don't consume on YT (unless you count goth karaoke via my personal account).

[@SecretReefs]

Form and timing is important -- I'm only 68kg and easily duck dive 46 liters step up with medium wide nose shape. Over the years the forms shown in the video become faster, better timed, and more sending nature. Thanks for the slow motion underwater shots and dive variations.

[@jamesdemuth3299]

Touchy….

[@reubenmcvey52]

This is pretty unrelated but I recently bought a second hand board, it’s a 6’11 x 20 inches and has a pretty thin pointed nose and a fish tail, is this considered a midlength or a gun surfboard and will it surf in smaller waves??

[@DJ_JMIZZEL]

Never thought about shifting my weight back to my feet during the duck dive. Something new to work on.

[@conatussurf]

Let me know how it goes!

[@DJ_JMIZZEL]

@@conatussurf omg...so much easier and faster. Like you said it is all about the control. I did a late duck dive and I thought I was going to get blown up. But I really didn't have much weight in my arms I kept the weight under my feet..so easy... This how time I couldn't sinking the tail because I put to much weight in my arms..smh so I would get dragged on bigger waves 😞... You are a game changer 😁😁

[@lukasj7689]

best duckdive video.

[@conatussurf]

Thank you.

[@jennsurfbruja]

such a good video

[@conatussurf]

Thank you!

[@theeskatelife]

A duck dive like that would probably only work for waves 3 ft and below

[@SasoCasablanca63]

He said he is 140 pounds riding a 7.6. Would someone heavier be able t dive deeper? And therefore duck dive bigger than 3 Feet? . I have a midlenght and my Achilles is turtle rolls that Zap my energy when paddling out on Beach breaks. So I need to learn this method if it works for 2-4 feet which is my level. I am 170

[@relaxingsounds5469]

This is bs 😂

[@anatta467]

I live in Indonesia and surf my 6'10 on waist to overhead but not barreling energy. It works when it works

[@seangerst6561]

Well, in every bigger wave lineup you will find some longboards or mid length. So they can go out as well, and therefore everyone can do that too. The very important thing is to find your flow in paddling and have enough strength to paddle for longer time, and of course you need to have good wave knowledge and watch the waves and currents (that's probably even more important then strength, because big board are not really meant for deep duck dives)

[@reubenmcvey52]

What was the dimensions of the first board? Can you use it in smaller waves?

[@conatussurf]

7'6" x 21.75" x 2.5" -- it's a great board in smaller waves and you can see me surfing it in many videos on this channel. For example, it's the board I'm surfing in the "Millisecond Push Up" video and will feature heavily in the video I'm dropping tomorrow on Jose Barahona.

[@aaronvu6292]

Good illustration.

[@elliotmartinat7819]

Exited to try this whith my 5,4 foam bozrd

[@davide9227]

Hi, thank you for this video, indeed very helpful. What volumes are your two boards?

[@conatussurf]

I don’t pay attention to volume as a measure. I will make a video about why not.

[@w.coast_piano6404]

My excuse is always I’m 140lb and I ride a 7,8 with 41 liters. I don’t have a excuse anymore ):

[@reubenmcvey52]

This is pretty unrelated but I really want an answer, I have a 6’11 x 20 inches with a pretty thin pointed nose and a fish tail, is this considered A midlength or more of a gun, and could I surf it in smaller waves?

[@conatussurf]

Hey dude! I'd need to see the board but it sounds like more of a "gunny" shape, but still 20" is pretty wide. Nevertheless it doesn't sound like it's the best all around board with the super pointy nose.

[@gregn8206]

I’m goofy footed, so obviously my leash is on my left. However, when duck diving it feels natural to push the board down with my right knee/foot, and kick left leg (with the leash) up. Is this incorrect? Like will the wave catch the leash and pull me back?

[@conatussurf]

Doesn’t matter which foot you use. I personally use right if knee dive and left if foot dive. Just peculiar to me. No rationale.

[@sweet-sinner]

hey! would you duckdive with that7'6 in big white waters?

[@conatussurf]

Me personally? I would find a channel and try not to get caught inside 😝. I personally surf smallish boards in sizey surf. Newer surfers who require large boards are generally better off taking their time to figure out the sets and work as hard as possible not to get caught inside. This takes patience, but it totally pays off. It is a totally reasonable goal to get good enough to ride more duckdiveable sized boards in larger surf, but I wouldn’t do it if it means sacrificing style and progress.

[@sweet-sinner]

thanks for clearing my doubts, if you were caught inside would you bail or try to turtle roll?

[@conatussurf]

@@sweet-sinner I would actually try to duckdive and if I wasn't able I'd catch the next whitewater in to find the channel and get out of the impact zone. It's not worth spending time in the impact zone of large waves with a big board. Better to go in a bit, reset, and find a better way out. I try to avoid turtling and bailing in equal measure. I don't find either of them very effective.

[@sweet-sinner]

@@conatussurf thanks a lot

[@brian2973]

How many litres in that 6'6"? We're similar weights.

[@conatussurf]

I don't do literage on my boards. The 6'6" is 20.5" x 2.5".

[@centralfloridafishingsourc8249]

Or, you weigh 230 lbs and just simply duck dive it like you would any short board lol!!!!!

[@conatussurf]

LOL.