How to Face Down the Centerline

In and around some parks, beaches, or similar recreational places, you might have seen some people doing yoga in these enviably cool poses and postures. For me, one of these poses is Virabhadra, warrior II pose, in which the yogi is stretched with one foot in front and the other in the back like on a surfboard, with one arm pointed forward and the other backward, and the face held high and looking forward like an ancient god (which is actually where the pose gets its name). There is nothing all that difficult about this particular pose and anyone with a sense of balance can easily pull it off, but boy, does it look cool!

Well, imagine doing that on the waves while riding a board, like Rob Bain did back in the day. He named that stance after the Hawaiian legend Duke Kahanamoku who is hailed as the grandfather of surfing. And although Rob Bain wasn’t as influential as Duke, the stance that paid tribute to the legend has since influenced many pro surfers and contributed to the technical innovations of the sport. That’s because it’s not just a cool pose, it’s also a great stance that adds to the performance of a surfer.

Why Is the Duke Kahanamoku Stance Important?

It’s an open stance, which means that you’ll start reaping its benefits when you try backside tube-riding. If you saw some great surfers doing tube rides or if you did a bit of online research to improve your tube-riding, you might have come across two main methods: using the hand at the front to point towards the direction of the ride and keeping the chest and shoulders open. These two are important to maintain balance as well as control, and for successful tube-riding, you’ll need to perfect both. 

With such an open stance in which you are facing down the centerline, you’ll be in complete control of the rails, fins, and curves, which will allow you to turn to any direction you want with more ease. But that’s not its only advantage. You'll also have a clear view of the wave and the ability to gauge your following moves with more clarity. Plus, you’ll preserve your energy because the stance actually requires very little effort once you get the gist of it.

Common Mistakes

Okay, the stance itself might be effortless, but you’ll need to work on getting there. You’ll probably realize that once you lose balance and fall while trying to make a turn. But there are also other symptoms that might indicate that you’re not doing it right yet. Having neck and back pains is one of those indicators, and it means that you are straining your upper body while trying to maintain the position. 

In addition to those, you might be having difficulty seeing what’s in front of you because either you are too focused on doing the stance right or you are doing it wrong so you don’t have a clear view. Or, you might end up doing over-twists and over-turns by sparing too much effort, and once again, losing balance as a result. Let me tell you that these are all okay, and the good surfers are generally those who are not afraid of falling and failing. So, let’s see how you can practice and get it right.

How to Improve Your Open Stance

First, relax your upper body, and we happen to have the very guide for that, in which I recommend doing cross-steps. Once the upper body is relaxed, you’ll be able to work through your ankles, knees, and hips, and won’t have to stiffen the other parts to maintain your body position. After that, you can try exercising the open stance on your board. Remember from our previous instructive articles that the back foot should be angled at 45 degrees - that will help you with your open stance. Also, give a slight angle to your front foot towards the stinger, but not too much.

If you want an even more open stance, there is switchfooting, and knowing that Kelly Slater wins championship with both regular-footed and goofy-footed surfing should be enough motivation for you to at least give it a try. You can switch your feet right from the start or a bit after you take off. Or, even better, you can keep switching while riding a wave. Yes, you will fail while trying, but in the end, you’ll reap a lot of benefits. It’s a practice that will endow you with not only a proficient open stance, but also more versatility, better awareness and weight-distribution, and a more relaxed nervous system.