Body movement - John John

Most surfers are not as talented as John John. Every surfer can learn from him.
In this video he is very generous with his tips.
His body awareness is obvious, we can all learn from that to help prevent injuries.
This article focusses on ideas that relate to Yoga asanas.

Start from the feet upwards

There is a wide consensus for the need to have strength and mobility from your feet upwards.
A knee or hip issue may in fact be directly caused by something lower down needing attention.

With 26 bones, 33 joints and over 100 muscles, ligaments and tendons, your feet are incredibly complex.

Article: How Your Feet Affect Your Whole Body

A simple spikey ball can help keep the feet subtle.

Surfers body shape

As surfers we favour certain sides of our body and certain muscles. Few surfers are perfectly balanced on both sides of their body.

Most of us are unaware of this until someone points it out, usually a health practioner. However you may notice you get injuries mainly to your left side of your body. If you are a natural footed surfer you may have a naturally stronger right side from the lower back downwards.

Muscles tense rather than being too flexi

Many disciplines including Yoga highlight that too much flex in certain joints is dangerous. A certain amount of rigidity will protect the ligaments or knees and elbows.

I like to feel a little tense from a muscular point of view.
If I am super stretched out it's funny my timing is different.

John John

He prefers short stretch or mobility sessions rather than long eg. 1 hour sessions.

Being comfortable in endpoints

Doing routines positions or endpoints where you are going to be in the extreme parts of surfing prepares you for when you are.
A large part of John's routines appear dedicated to the actual positions his body is in when surfing.

That split second you feel pressure on your groin and whether that turns into a 3 month rehab or not depends partly on your preparation.
In surfing when your front foot unintentionally slides down the surfboard it can result in a severe groin injury.

Hamstring stretches

When that AFL or NRL football player 'pulls a hammy' it looks horrible. John does some very good hamstring stretches. These are a common Yoga asana.

Shoulder stretches

The video includes 2 great stretches for your shoulders. John also mentions the need for work or treatment on parts of the body you can not effectively self treat.

"I get a lot of body work done especially around competitions."

Open hips

John demonstrates the Pigeon and mentions the hips are a central part of that chain.

Use of core

One interesting tip is where John mentions his core being the best place to turn from.
The idea being more power is generated by engaging the core through turns.

Ghost on Ghost

The word Ghost often refers to a surfer who appears when the surf is on and seems to get into the best postion in the line-up. John John rides Pyzel surfboards and has made the Ghost model quite famous. Here is a black Ghost surfboard sitting in a set of Ghost vertical surfboard racks.