Hang 5

Hang five foot positioning

Hanging five is the step child of the more committed hanging ten , but it's just as useful if you wan a well-rounded bag of tricks in your longboard repertoire. Hanging of any sort can be used to speed up your board while exhibiting a high degree of skill. Overall, hanging five is a stylish maneuver that has proven itself to be a timeless and styling option in longboard surfing.

How to

First, begin with a solid bottom turn. Use the momentum of that turn to propel you up high onto the face. Hanging on any kind requires that you are on a juicier area of the wave. The top half of the wave is where you want to begin your move to hanging five. This upper area of the wave is where your board can stay level against the wave's moving resistance. It's hard to explain until you are standing there, but you will feel your board plane out flat. It's a feeling of weightlessness that lasts until your board glides out onto the shoulder.

At this point, you need to stall your board. Apply slightly more weight to the back half of the board. The friction of the water on your tail will slow your board down and your nose will rise (learn more about parts of a surfboard). Be sure to stay centered with your knees bent. At this point, you are ready for the glide of the "hang five." With your weight on the inside edge of your board (closest to the wave), either cross-step (preferred) or scoot closer to the nose of your board. Position one foot on the nose (try to place your toes over the edge to perform a true "hang five") while your back foot (dominant foot) is firmly planted further back on the board. You will be alternating putting the bulk of your weight on the back foot to keep your board from nose-diving and leaning forward on the nose to get your board on plane.

Bibliography

• http://surfing.about.com/od/intermediate/a/How-To-Hang-Five.htm