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Boom = BoomShaka = H awaiian hang loose hand sign

Guy has discovered and highlightedwindsurfings core skills; the very blue

print of the sport.These skills are easy tomaster as individual movements, thensimple to apply during manoeuvres. Forinstance in a gybe, you combine threecore skills; the same three youd useduring a tack and many freestyle tricks,whether youre a beginner or an expert.

Guy has allocated each Core Skill with anappropr iate name.Boomshaka,t he MissingLink,the Moon Walk, Downforce,the Twist andthe Old John Wayne are, believe it or not, allsuitably labelled and easy to understand after a

little explanation! His discovery of windsurfingscore skills combined with his Muscle Memoryprogram is the most efficient way to developyour windsurfing.Windsurf is proud to presentthe first of these Core Skills:BOOMSHAKA!

BOOMSHAKA!words: GUY CRIBBpics: SHAWNA CROPAS

BOOMSHAKA!

Boomshaka is the movement of sliding the front hand from itsnormal sailing position, as far as it will go to the very front of theboom.Applied every time you flip a rig.

Boomshaka encourages the rig to flip around a vert ical mast, which helps youkeep your balance whether a beginner or an expert.

It enables you to reach the new side of the boom, (after the flip) regainingyour normal hand position with much greater ease.

(Unlike the actual Shaka where your l ittle finger points up,during Boomshakakeep your fingers together.)

Dur ing the carve gybe,failing to do a Boomshaka is the third biggest cause ofdisaster,partly because it s the third stage of four,(entry,footwork, rig flip,exit).You can find out why in this feature.

However the main aim of this feature is simply to introduce you to Boomshakaand to tell you roughly when to use it. In future art icles when Boomshakahappens,well label it with a Boomshaka icon, instead of explaining it verbally,so keep this article nearby for reference.

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During deep or shallow waterstarts whenyoure flipping the rig,it s crit ical to keep itout of the water.Boomshaka helps youachieve this.Also,using the board forbuoyancy is very handy.

Some people are still teaching to hold the

mast when flipping the rig.This isdetrimental to your windsurfing andprogression because:

Downforce (called Mast Foot Pressurein the old-school) cannot be appliedwhen holding the mast.

If youve got small hands, (all kids,mostwomen and many blokes) the mast istoo thick to hold with a solid grip.

Holding the mast hinders you fromthrowing the rig forwards sufficiently toexit gybes planing.

Whereas Boomshakaenables you to:

Create Downforce.

Grip the rig whatever t he size of yourhands.

Throw the rig far enough forwards forplaning exits in gybes.

And it still keeps the mast vertical whenthe rig is flipping.

HOLDING THE MAST?.. .

BOOMSHAKA!

WICKED! DOH!

WITH BOOMSHAKA WITHOUT BOOMSHAKA

GUY CRIBB INTUITION


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TACKING...

GYBING...

BOOMSHAKA!BOOMSHAKA!HANDS IN NORMALHANDS IN NORMAL

POSITIONPOSITION

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During the tack,your new front hand must pass over t he top of theBoomshaka hand, (remember this by calling it over taking).This enablesyou to keep pulling down into the boom wit h your Boomshaka hand,thustaking some of the weight off your feet as you precariously step around thefront of the board.(Unfor tunately this actual moment of pulling down withmy Boomshaka hand was missed in this photo by about 1/100th second.)

Dur ing the gybe,your new hand passes underneath your Boomshaka handto encourage you to stay low with bent legs for suspension and balance.Ifyou pass your new hand over the top (as you do for a tack),youll standtoo upright, straightening your legs and stall.

To exit the tack or gybe with any speed requires throwing the rigforwards.Boomshaka helps this in two ways.Firstly by giving you theperfect hand position to throw the mast forwards. Secondly because itenables you to reach the new side of your boom in your normal sailingposition quickly in one hand movement.

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GUY CRIBB INTUITION



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WHEN TO BOOMSHAKA...

Guy Cribb IN tuition 01273 842144 [email protected]

FREESTYLE:

For most manoeuvres (tacking and freestyle), getthe Boomshaka over and done with beforebeginning the manoeuvre. In the case of theVulcan shown here, Boomshaka is done beforelift off.

TACKING:

When tacking the first thing you do is aBoomshaka.This naturally leans the rig back asufficient amount to turn modern boards.(In the

old days,when boards were long and thin, onehad to lean the rig way back to turn them.Nowthat boards are short and fat, leaning the rigback just pulls you off balance when you steparound the front. In the words of John Lennon:aBoomshakas all you need.)

GYBING:

During the gybe its critical not to Boomshakauntil you are ready to flip the rig.Trying theBoomshaka early in the gybe pulls the mastback, killing your control and speed.

GYBING: The Third Most Common Mistake Revealed!.. .

BOOMSHAKA!

Failing to do a Boomshaka results in the rig swinging heavily behind you, causing you to stall and the boardswerve into t he wind.

To recover from this,sometimes youll scramble for the mast, but this virtually guarantees you wont comeout planing.

Its virt ually impossible to exit a carve gybeplaning without a Boomshaka.Compare t hevertical-ness of the mast during the correctBoomshaka gybe sequence (on previous page)and the sequences without Boomshaka (shownleft).

Note that as the rig in the failed attempts fallsbehind me,my head start s looking behind metoo?Well, thats another stor y for anotherarticle,but between you and me that could wellbe the catalyst for the fourth most commonmistake in a carve gybe!

For more information on Guy Cribb INtuition

and his Core Skills visit www.guycribb.com andsubscribe to Windsurf magazine!

To experience Boomshaka! and Guysrevolutionary INtuition windsurfing syllabus andcoaching skills, join Guy and Shawna on one oftheir tuition holidays around the world by callingGuy Cribb INtuition 01273 842 144.

Or meet Guy during his UK Tour at one ofBrit ains leading shops or clubs.See advert in thismonths magazine (pg 94) or call your localwindsurfing shop.

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Core skills and Boomshaka are copyright of Guy Cribb INtuition.


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