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A spin only wants to happen under the right circumstances.  Too often, beginners will become frustrated when trying to spin because they're trying to do it against the grain, or down in the trough of a wave or hole- and the results can be both predictable and frustrating- they catch an edge or an end in the oncoming water and end up upside-down.  In this article we'll discuss some key concepts that will help make spinning easier and more understandable.

Spinning on a wave or in a hole is one of those moves that will open up lots of other moves and allow you to move around in the hole and on it's shoulders- In this sense, it's a pre-requisite to the more 'advanced' moves, but a lot of details go into spinning and in this sense it's not really a 'simple' move.

If you're fully planed up on a big fat wave face, you should be able to spin in either direction, all day long, using a simple sweep stroke to power the switch from end to end, and making sure you keep that upstream edge out of the oncoming water.  Unfortunately for those of us who want to spin, not all waves are long and flat and fast, with enough pile to keep us on the wave... and for these waves, a bit more technique is called for.  This article is going to assume that you're spinning on steeper waves, the kind you can't really front-surf.

Key concepts:

Manage those edges:  If you're thinking about spinning on a wave, first of all, it's gonna be much easier to do in a newer boat that's specifically designed for it.  Your boat will have a flat, rockered hull with relatively sharp edges designed to carve.  Your mission, when spinning, is to keep your hull flat enough that you're not carving while also keeping that upstream edge from grabbing.  If you're flipping when you try to spin, it's a good bet that you're edging in the wrong direction (that, or you're spinning too deep in the trough and catching an end in the downflow before you get around).  If you're bouncing against the pile, carving laterally, your spin is not coming around, or you're flushing off the wave, it's a good bet that you're edging downstream too hard.  In order to manage your edges, it's important that you separate the idea of leaning from the idea of edging- they are not the same thing and you'll need to edge independently of where you're leaning, or whether you're leaning at all.  In general a lot of us tend to lean downstream more than necessary, which can complicate things like edging and balance.

Avoid lateral momentum- Lateral speed will complicate things, requiring you to carve, at least momentarily, either to initiate it or to squelch it- and in features that aren't that retentive, it will greatly increase your chances of carving off of the feature.  Often edging too much or being a bit off balance will lead to inadvertent lateral momentum.

Spin around a center, not 'the' center: It's rare to be on one of those fast, even, flat, smooth waves that will allow you to spin around the center of your boat.  Rather, when spinning, it's important to understand the idea of rotating around a center that is not the center of your boat- by leaning forwards or backwards in the boat and applying spin momentum with a paddle stroke, we can change the spot around which the boat rotates.  The goal, when going from front to back, is to rotate around a point somewhere behind your heels, very far forward in the boat- and conversely, when going from stern to bow, the goal is to rotate around a point somewhere behind your seat.  The reason for this is that not all waves are as flat as your boat's main hull segment- by initiating your spin on the end of your hull's 'flat' section, you use the rocker to help you free the other end of your boat from the water momentarily, and this allows it go go by you, upstream.

Lean upstream to free the downstream end of your boat:  If you are leaning back on a front surf in order to keep your bow from pearling, you are not positioned to spin because your stern will be engaged in the water.  In order to use the force of the water to help you, you'll begin a bit of veer with your bow and get your weight on your bow- this will release your stern and allow it to scoot down the wave.  By the same token, if you are in a backsurf and you're leaning forward (downstream) you are not positioned to spin.  If you attempt to spin from this position, the resistance required to disengage your bow from the water will likely flush you from the wave.  Instead, in order to spin from the stern, lean upstream and initiate a bit of veer with your stern.  Get your weight over the stern, apply a sweep stroke, and watch your bow scoot down the face of the wave... like buttah. :-)

Wind up your body, place the stroke, and unwind your body to drive the turn:  The power of your torso will be much smoother than that of just your arms- so in order to drive these spins, use forward and reverse sweeps that begin by turning your torso, placing the stroke, then unwinding your torso.

Lead with your head:  Something that will help you to keep track of where you are in your rotation as well as to get you leaning in the right directions at the right time is to spot where you're going- look ahead of where you're turning in order to avoid getting behind yourself in the rotation.  Also, look back upstream into the trough when spinning from stern to bow- this will help you notice how much room you've got before the stern begins to pearl, and it will encourage you to get your weight over the rotational center in the stern.

Use the grain of the feature:  If you look at a wave's shoulder, you'll see that at the corner it's not as steep as the center- and when we have an uneven gradient like this on a wave or feature (typically the shoulder of a wave), we refer to this as it's 'grain'. Remember, the steeper a part of a wave is, the faster it will accelerate you down it- which means that if you end up sideways on the shoulder, the end of your boat that is on the steep part of the wave can release and skip down the face of the wave much more easily than the end that's up on the shoulder. Also, perhaps more importantly, if you're front-surfing on the shoulder, the level of the water on one side of your boat will be lower than it is on the other- meaning that it's possible to release your stern to the inside of the corner, but difficult to release it to the outside. Typically, on any given wave, the grain of the corner rotates away  from the center for just this reason.  It's important to understand that a spin is not a strength move- you're using the force of the water as much as you're applying your own power, and if you try to force it, as often as not you'll end up flushing off the wave.  Using the grain is vital in determining where and when you can spin, and is probably one of the most common problems people have with spinning- not necessarily that their technique is off somehow, but that they're trying to do it in the wrong place.  (incidentally, if you're spinning against the grain, what you're really doing is blunting).

Spin before you end up down in the trough: Down in the trough, often there's not enough room to swing your boat all the way around- meaning that if you're to turn the boat without catching an end or an edge in the oncoming water, you need to climb up onto the pile or onto a shoulder.  Also, your moment of 'sideways' presentation to the downstream flow can be your moment of greatest drag- and if the wave you're spinning on isn't that retentive, you'll want your 'sideways' moment to come just as you begin moving upstream, rather than in the trough, where you'll stop moving upstream regardless.

When using the shoulder to spin, it's important to understand why you're using it- the shoulder provides an elevator ride up and out of the trough, which gives you room to swing your boat around. To spin on the shoulder, you surf over to it and initiate a moment of veer up and onto it. Depending upon how steep the shoulder is, it may be necessary to apply some edge in order to 'carve' up and onto it, but you'll need to flatten that edge out in order to turn.  Using a reverse sweep stroke and leaning up towards the bow, you can release your stern upstream, towards the center of the wave.  Before you surf all the way down into the trough on a backsurf, begin a forward sweep stroke on the outside of the turn to initiate a moment of veer such that your stern begins to carve up onto the shoulder, just as your bow did.  Again, once you're high enough on the shoulder to spin, flatten out that edge, lean upstream and pull your sweep through as your bow releases down the steeper section of the wave, and you're back where you started.

The real trick to a spin is in getting your downstream end to release. If you're leaning downstream, away from the trough, you're likely plowing it underwater and can't release it. Usually attempts to force a spin from this situation will result in a power-flip or flushing from the wave.  If you're trying to spin counter to the grain of a corner, you'll need more speed in order to get up on the shoulder enough to free your stern... (and when you get it, you'll actually be blunting ;-)

Another consideration for staying retentive when spinning- use 'catch' strokes to keep you on the wave- that is, you begin with your spin stroke- it starts by winding up your torso, placing the stroke, and unwinding your body into the spin... once the boat has come around, immediately do a power stroke to stop your rotation and to keep you on the wave if you're in danger of coming off. On many waves a catch stroke is needed after every 180.