Bottom turn in Surfing

Reviewer Clear, memorable, and actually teaches you why the turn shape changes depending on what you want to do next -- hard to do better in 7 minutes.

Moderator Comprehensive, structured bottom turn lesson -- top five mistakes, fundamentals of stance and body position, and three named variations by intended top turn. As squarely on-topic as a video gets.

Reviewer The small-wave vs big-wave breakdown is the standout -- most videos never mention the back arm should behave differently depending on the wave.

Moderator Entirely about the bottom turn -- compression, knee bend, back-arm swing usage, and how the technique changes between small mushy waves and bigger power waves. Squarely on-skill from start to finish.

Reviewer One of the most instructive videos in the set -- shows both the right and wrong way.

Moderator Thorough breakdown of bottom turn mechanics (compression, inside-arm pivot point, staying compact, front-arm power) followed by a genuinely valuable compare/contrast between a world-class surfer and a good-but-not-elite surfer, pinpointing exactly where the difference shows up (compression timing, arm preparation).

Reviewer Outstanding - explains the why, not just the what. Best teach in the set.

Moderator Entirely about the bottom turn - 10 points on timing the lift, where the waves energy is, rail vs fin, lean vs pivot by speed, the 70/30 energy rule. As deep as it gets on this one skill.

Reviewer The practice-on-land suggestion, cushions and floor lines, is a nice touch most bottom turn videos skip.

Moderator Explicitly the basic bottom turn -- foot placement, vision, shoulder drop, rotation, weight distribution, forehand and backhand both covered. On-topic throughout.

Reviewer Good side-by-side breakdown -- the hip/knee/ankle stack cue alone is worth the watch.

Moderator This is entirely about the bottom turn, frontside, with real footage broken down frame by frame across three different surfers. Nothing else competes for screen time -- it's the whole video.

Reviewer Solid technical cues, just skip past the plug for his other video.

Moderator Five specific, named bottom turn techniques -- back foot placement, dipping the front knee to dig the toe rail, keeping the lead arm outside the body, touching the trough, and eyes on the next section. All bottom turn mechanics.

Reviewer One of the best breakdowns in the batch — specific, correct, and clearly explained.

Moderator This is a deep, corrective breakdown of the backhand bottom turn specifically — the common mistake of staying too straight-legged, the correct 'banana shape' with folding at the hips, and the rotation needed to actually turn rather than just hold position. About as on-topic as it gets.

Reviewer Solid, memorable framework; sales pitch at the end doesn't take away from it.

Moderator Built entirely around teaching the bottom turn via a clear three-part cue system (hold, load, release) with specific body positioning for each phase -- hips over the rail, shoulders square, eyes on the lip, then extend/slingshot.

Reviewer Accurate and information-dense, if a little fast-paced.

Moderator Squarely about bottom turn mechanics, using a compress/extend 'spring' framework: load by compressing and engaging the rail, counter-rotate with the back hand, then unload by extending, initiating the turn with the shoulders. Explicitly frames the bottom turn as the foundation for the top turn.

Reviewer Short, correct, and explains why it matters.

Moderator Squarely about the bottom turn -- a single, specific, correct correction: don't roll the shoulders forward, straighten the back through the turn, which sets up an easier transition onto the heel edge for the top turn.

Reviewer Good use of pro footage to teach real technical detail.

Moderator A technical breakdown of a bottom turn performed by Steph Gilmore, analyzing compression, eye focus on the lip, rail/chest engagement, body tilt, and the arm-twist that kicks the back foot around. It's analysis of elite footage rather than direct to-camera instruction, but it's genuinely teaching the mechanics of the turn.

Reviewer Clear fundamentals, and that timing tip -- wait a beat before you drive up -- is worth stealing.

Moderator Straight bottom turn instruction covering both forehand and backhand versions, from a Surfline coach. It stays on the turn the whole way through.

Reviewer Really good on rail engagement - clear analogies, good comparisons.

Moderator Squarely the bottom turn through a rail/fluid-dynamics lens - lean over the rail, Coanda effect, reduce drag, minimize the standing-on-the-board transition, good vs bad fin-heavy example. Core of the clip.

Reviewer Good detail on the trailing-arm plant, but it moves fast -- better as a supplement than a first lesson.

Moderator Frontside bottom turn mechanics specifically -- compression, trailing-arm plant on the wave face, extension and pull into neutral. On-topic, just brief.

Reviewer Clear, well-sequenced lesson, good starting point for the backhand bottom turn.

Moderator Explicitly identifies the backhand bottom turn as 'the most important' skill to learn before top turns and walks through it: drive down, lean into the heels, look and point, rotate the shoulders. Directly on topic.

Reviewer Correct, useful idea; less hands-on than the best of this batch.

Moderator Analyzes Taj's footage to make a specific, correct point about bottom turn strategy -- holding the turn longer instead of breaking early builds more speed/power into the top turn. More conceptual/strategic than mechanical (no body-position cues), but squarely about the bottom turn.

Reviewer Real technical depth on generating drive and torque, but the delivery is choppy -- expect to rewatch sections.

Moderator Squarely about the bottom turn -- specifically the drive and power phase and the pivot mechanics that follow it. The transcript is choppy, reads like a video that's mostly demonstration footage with sparse narration over it, which makes it harder to follow, but everything actually said is on-topic.

Reviewer Well-structured and clear, good progression from bottom turn to top turn.

Moderator Detailed bottom turn breakdown - go to bottom, lean toes/heels, spot section, point leading arm, rotate torso for torque, compress then release into the top turn. Core of the video is the bottom turn.

Reviewer Good footage analysis, bottom turn covered clearly among other moves.

Moderator Footage-based analysis that repeatedly calls out bottom turns ('have a look at a simple bottom turn, he's looking leaning and extending') alongside cutbacks and re-entries — bottom turn is a recurring, explicit focus even if not the only maneuver discussed.

Reviewer Good concise cues, though it's one tip among many rather than a full breakdown.

Moderator Bottom turn gets explicit, direct attention here ('even after years of practice most surfers still have room for improvement on their bottom turn... shift the focus to how you set it up') plus related mechanics — head leading the turn, hip/shoulder sequencing, compression — that are core components of it.

Reviewer Excellent, detailed coaching on the bottom turn mechanic.

Moderator Q and A, first chunk is a deep forehand bottom turn answer, leading hand and back arm reach. Then drifts to board design and paddling. Covers it among other things.

Reviewer Clear beginner breakdown - head, arms, lean, compression.

Moderator Beginner turning - covers bottom turn to top turn with look/point/lean/compress-extend. Bottom turn is part of it but shared with top turn and general turning theory. Solidly on it, not exclusively.

Reviewer Clear enough turn breakdown, but half of it is merch and channel plugs.

Moderator Whole clip is bottom turn to top turn - go to the bottom, compress, point front arm, drive off the bottom, extend. Bottom turn is half the title and well covered front and back hand.

Moderator This is about the subtle turn-down setup right before the bottom turn — the timing and positioning that sets the turn up. Directly part of learning to bottom turn well, not a tangent.

Reviewer Good catch on a setup detail most people skip.

Reviewer Real footage, clear cue, easy to try on your next wave.

Moderator Analyzes a real surfer's turn technique before/after, including specifically 'driving out of his bottom turn' with shoulder/eye positioning, plus separately covers where on the wave to turn. Bottom turn is part of a broader turn-technique analysis, not the sole focus.

Reviewer Clear, well-explained fundamentals — worth watching before drilling bottom turns.

Moderator This is really a lesson on carving vs. trimming, but it explicitly frames carving as the prerequisite for a proper bottom turn ('if you can't carve turns... you're not going to be able to do bottom turns'), so the weight-shift mechanics taught here are foundational to the sub-skill even without drilling the bottom turn itself in isolation.

Reviewer Solid bottom turn walkthrough.

Moderator Bottom turns plus carves and snaps, explicitly breaks down the bottom turn setting up the top turn. On topic.

Reviewer Smart perspective, light on actual technique.

Moderator Whole clip is about the bottom turn, specifically arguing intermediates should skip it and ride high. On topic even if contrarian.

Reviewer Genuinely teaches the turning mechanics, just wrapped in windsurfing-specific sail work.

Moderator This is windsurf wave riding but the content is dense with actual turning mechanics - carving upwind on the heels, transferring weight to the toes, driving off the back foot to slash the board round at the top of the wave, which is the bottom-turn-equivalent move described in real detail.

Reviewer Worth studying frame by frame if you already surf — light on explanation though.

Moderator Tom Curren doing bottom turns, framed as 'study up' — this is pro-level bottom turn footage for analysis. Squarely the skill, just presented as film study rather than a walkthrough.

Reviewer Brilliant analogy for why the back foot must be over the tail - high-value fundamentals.

Moderator Surf Simply quick tip on back-foot position for carving turns - front foot = accelerator, back foot = steering/brake, get the foot right back over the tail to carve. The bottom turn is exactly that kind of weighted carve off the base of the wave, so this is core to it, even if it is framed as carving turns generally rather than the bottom turn by name.

Reviewer Strong, practical fixes for your turns.

Moderator Top turning mistakes, foot placement, weight distribution, looking where you go. General turns including the foundations the bottom turn needs.

Reviewer Excellent on the whole-body mechanics of turning.

Moderator Turning fundamentals, the kinetic chain from eyes to feet. General turning more than the bottom turn specifically.

Reviewer Great cue for shifting weight with the hips, not the shoulders - solid foundation for the turn.

Moderator Quick tip on moving weight fore/aft via the hips - feet are the big dial, hips the fine tuner. It explicitly ties this to putting weight back for carving turns and to stopping a nose-dive at the bottom of a steep wave, which is the bottom-turn moment. But it is a general weight-transfer skill that underpins all turns, not a bottom-turn walkthrough, so partial rather than squarely on-topic.

Reviewer Clean, structured carving instruction - good teaching, mild course plug.

Moderator Longboard carving tutorial - bottom turn is named once (a shallow bottom turn on the frontside as a weight-distribution example) but the focus is general carving on big boards, not the bottom turn specifically.

Reviewer Good concept on speed and turning, not a how-to.

Moderator Kinetic energy and why turning at speed is hard. Touches turning generally, not bottom turn technique specifically.

Reviewer Excellent flow and power-zone lesson; well taught.

Moderator About flow and the power zone: staying high on the wave, speed-point management between turns. Bottom turn gets only a passing mention. Right sport, adjacent topic, not squarely the bottom turn.