Secrets To Perfect Bodyboard Rail Control

July 2, 2022

Itโ€™s the seemingly insignificant and small details that can make a huge difference.

Like in all sports, control is a massive key to success. Bodyboarding is no different and it all starts with control over your board, how you hold your board and how much pressure you can exert on to the rail will affect the relationship between the board and the wave face, it will determine how fast you go and how functionally you travel along the wave. The purpose of this video is to explore the leading arm or arm closest to the wave face in relation to the direction of travel. The video illustrates how we should place our arm on the board and how we should hold on to the board whilst riding.

The โ€˜Claw Gripโ€™ helps to give us enhanced control over the rail and allows us to more
easily bend and recoil the board whilst riding. It is this bend and recoil motion that gives us projection across the wave face. The flexing of the board changes the shape of the rail and engages the rail in the wave face. This gives us increased stability and speed.
Rather than having your leading arm flat on the board with your forearm in contact with the deck, we should be aiming to have sideways forearm, (kind of like a Karate chop) with only our elbow bone touching the deck. It is common to see elbow creases or indentations on the boards of experienced riders, as this grip puts a lot of pressure on a specific point on the board.

With just our elbow bone on the deck we then twist our wrist and grip the nose of the
board with our fingers and thumb. Two fingers on the tip of the rail edge, two fingers on the tip of the nose edge and thumb pointed toward the middle of the nose.
With daylight between the underside of our wrist and the deck of the board we are now holding the board using the Claw Grip technique.

This guide will talk about what we like to call the โ€˜Claw Gripโ€™ – The reasons we use it and why it will improve your bodyboarding.

In order to learn perfect the claw grip, just ask during a bodyboard weekend or holiday.

Destinations

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1999

Secret Morocco with Jeff Hubbard

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1749

El Salvador

15 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ4249

Costa Rica and El Salvador

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1679

Bali

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1900

Women’s Bodyboard Retreat Secret Morocco

8 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1999

Nusa Lembongan

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ3599

Tavarua

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1499

Women’s Bodyboard Retreat

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1549

Portugal

9 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ1650

Southern Sumatra

7 NIGHTS

ย /ย 

ยฃ2299

Costa Rica

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