Friday, August 5, 2011

Teach me how to Grubby


I have this hope to complete the trifecta of sliding 360 moves this year, but I'm not sure if it's going to happen. I completed my first spock a year ago. I made my first flaka a month ago and now I'm hoping I can some how make a grubby or two before the year is over. I've actually had a few very close grubbies. I've water started out of one and biffed the exit a few times when I've rotated cleanly.

The move itself is sorta like a cross between a flaka and spock. Sound ridiculous? My theory is that the entry is a lot like a flaka (deep downwind, unweighting everything) and if you do that correctly the exit will be like a spock (sail steering with some slight backwinding). The actual initiation of the move is different than either of those moves. You sheet in while jumping like the vulcan, but then you hold on and kick the tail as far downwind as possible.

When I watch this video the main mistakes I notice are:

1. Not enough speed off the wind. Like the flaka, a proper setup is a big key to success for the grubby.
2. Not getting the sail back across my body during the slide and extending the clew hand (often symptomatic of the sail being heavy because you don't have enough speed).
3. Leaning the mast too far downwind during initiation. This is the crash that tends to roll me into a quasi loop.


Anything that I'm missing?

5 comments:

Fish said...

Hey! Here is at least a topic where I can offer some advice.

Looks to me from all the vids that your front arm is too straight and back arm is bent. You need to be fully sheeted out for this move, and that is also a key timing aspect of the trick. The back leg extension (& lower body & leg twist) and back arm extension need to happen simultaneously right after the pop & pump. I can't tell if your lower body is twisting enough to get the board past 180 but I think that is part of it too. At the critical part of the move, I think your front arm should be bent and pulled in toward you and the back arm fully extended - and it generally stays that way until the end. Sheet in too early after starting to spin also seems to kill the rotation.

Anyway, a few thoughts to work on there, but looks like you are really close. Leaning more into the nose will also let the body twist and sheet out happen a bit easier. That was one of my initial problems with it - digging the tail after the 180. If you lean into the nose more it keeps the tail lifted a bit rather that low so it digs and kills it.

I'm sure you will get some other responses from other more qualified sailors!! Good luck. You'll get 'em by years end no problem, judging how fast you squared away the flakas.

Fish said...

Oh yeah, and another thing that seems to squander most of my grubbies lately. It is not a carving move, it is simply yet another freestyle trick done on a broad reach.

windsurfinggypsy said...

the rotation is driven by the push of the clew.....unlike the spock there is not as much twist as there is seperation between back hand/foot.
the front arm does not need to do anything but pull your weight off the board...keeps the back foot up.
Last piece of advice is not from me but from Tonky Franz may sound stupid now but later you will get it.
Dont Go Fishing Duuuuuude!

cammar said...

Hey! Here is at least a topic where I can't offer any advice whatsoever!
Know nothing about grubby, but just wanted to say hi!

Garfi said...
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