You'll get more time on the nose if you practice what these guys say. These tips really work, if you work them. So, everybody get out there and Hang Ten!
Israel Paskowitz -- "In the setup, try to position or angle your board so it will draw the longest line across the top of the wave. Then get to the nose right away. Stay on the inside rail a little more, so you can keep to the top of the wave. Use that rail to hold you up high, even to make small turns or adjustments to keep you climbing into position. Watch excellent noseriders or videos. Study how they set up the wave. The rest is body English. Especially notice the bent knees and weight over both feet. Then you just have to get used to the more parallel stance that's used. And, that's simply practice."
Wingnut -- "Good noseriding starts from really
believing you can do it. Basically it's just crash and burn. Just
go out there and eat it a dozen times in a row. See if you can
stay up there. Invariably, you can go one foot or 10 yards farther
than you thought you could. Push it. Go out and commit to it,
and go as far as you can. Just camp there. Soon you'll recognize
the impending signs of pearling, and then you can do something
about it.
"Also, get some videos and watch how Slick or Hynson and
August, in the first Endless Summer, each set up the board for
the noseride. Watch how they maneuver the nose into position.
A lot of the old Bruce Brown videos have great footage of guys
like Lance Carson and Mickey Munoz setting up their noserides.
Keep looking at how they did it. Then go out there and camp on
the nose. Pretty soon, you'll learn that being on the tip and
a foot from the tip is the same thing, as far as difficulty--the
only thing is, they don-t give you points for being back one foot."
Chris Schlickenmeyer -- "When setting up the noseride, stall and maneuver until you get the nose headed right for the curl. That's where the most lift is in the wave. As soon as the nose is headed for the curl, immediately start for the tip, so that when it gets there you are on the nose at the same time. Get there quick or the board will speed up and take you right out of the curl. The rest of it is body English. Watch a good noserider surf and imitate what they're doing with their body."
Bill Stewart -- "Many people have a little trouble going from Hanging Five to Hanging Ten. It's like that back foot is glued to the board and won't come up for a full ten. It's only one more step. Just one more step. Take that step! Fall off. Get another noseride. Bring that foot up. Wrap those toes right around the tip. Fall off. Do it over and over again. We have leashes today, so why not? Pretty soon you will know when you are about to pearl, because you've been doing it so much. Then you'll know when you can back off--right before that happens--and you'll be Hanging Ten all the time!"
As you try the tips from the pros, it's also good to get cross-stepping down.
Bob Howard -- Fluid and natural cross-stepping is important for getting there and back quickly. So practice when out of the water by walking the curb, or a telephone pole or 2x12 plank laying on the ground. Go quickly up and back, until it becomes so natural you don't even think about it. Lean forward slightly, comfortably, to give yourself more momentum and natural ease -- it's a slight falling forward feeling -- when going for the tip of the plank, pole, curb or board. This will make running to the nose easier and more natural. Get use to going for that tip and Hang 5 and 10. This will also get you use to the distance of each step -- from whatever your starting point is -- and how many steps it takes. But don't count them or measure them. This needs to become automatic--so just let it happen. Repeat that over and over again. Then, do it even more quickly--at a run. Go up and back until you don't have to think about it at all. Then take it into the waves. The object is to get to the nose as fast as possible. And cross stepping is the way you do that, not scooting. Besides cross-stepping adds big points to your style quotient. And you can never have too much styyyyyyle! So practice. And have fun doing it.