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SUP And The Helicopter 360

1. You need to be up near the nose to begin this manoeuvre as this is where the pivot point will be - straight under your body. A couple of cross steps wouldn't go astray to get you there in style. Billy's quite high in the wave in this shot - this will give his fins enough clearance from the bottom of the wave when he starts to bring the tail around. You will need to have the board trimming.

2. Once you're trimming in the pocket with your weight forward as much as possible, you may feel the fins release in the whitewater behind you. This is a good thing. It's your cue to get the board sliding out from the tail. Gently encourage the back of the board to spin by pushing out with your back foot while keeping your weight on your front foot. Just like Billy, use your paddle in the wave for balance.

3. The fins should be clear of the water at this point. This will only happen if you are keeping your weight well forward. Look at Billy, he is bending from the hips with the majority of his weight beyond the nose of his board. He is using his paddle to extend even further. Once the fins are clear, the board should spin around quickly but continue pushing the board around with your back foot.

4. At this point you should be surfing backwards. This is a really tricky thing to do so just go with it and focus only on staying balanced. You won't need to be focused on turning the board any more - it will turn itself around once the fins are back in the water. Billy is starting to bring his weight back over his board now. Notice he is bending his knees and still using his paddle to maintain control.

5. There is a lot happening in this step. Billy has got his paddle out of the water - getting it clear of his rail for when the board whips back around. He is twisting his upper body to aid the board's next direction change. He is bringing his weight further over the middle of his board which will drop the fins back in the water. He is even shuffling his feet back so he is ready to surf forwards again.

6. When the fins return to the water, the board will literally whip back into place. Get ready for it. If you are too far forward, you will nose dive. If your paddle is still in the water you will run over it and it'll buck you off. The board will be spinning by itself so all you need to do is concentrate on staying upright and well balanced. You may still need to be shuffling your feet around to the optimal position.

7. You should be just about around now but more than likely you will be somewhat off balance. Even with the best intentions it is hard to stay perfectly in control especially coming out of the very unnatural reverse whip in the previous step. Like Billy, you should put your paddle back in the water to help your recovery. You should be very close to your normal surfing stance now.

8. This is the easy bit, assuming you are still on your board. Billy has regained his balance, his feet are in the right spot, he is looking forward to where he wants to be heading and his board has come all the way around. Now it's just like taking off on a new wave. Get down low and pull into your next bottom turn to generate some speed and continue on your way. Billy rides out of this one perfectly.

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