ivan says

Key point is to twist your upper body towards the front of the board as you start cross stepping. This will help you maintain a more center line as you step forward rather than off the side of your board.

tip

To begin your cross step, step back with one foot and turn sideways on your board (remember the sideways wind stance?).  Now your toes and heels are pointing toward the rails (sides of the board).  Bend your knees slightly, keeping your back straight and head up.  Do not look down at your feet. Keep your chin up with eyes looking forward at all times.  The idea is to keep your weight completely centered over the middle of your board.  Slowly twist your torso so that your hips begin to open up towards the front of the board and at the same lift your back foot up and over your front foot.  Turning your hips, shoulders and head forward will really allow you to keep your body centered over the middle of the board, which is essential for cross stepping.  If your weight moves out over either rail, the board will tip and dump you over the side.  Once your back foot is firmly planted in front of the other foot slide it out and move it up about three or four inches then repeat the cross over with the back foot again.  Try making short steps until you get to the nose of your board then try it in reverse back to the middle and keep going towards the tail of the board and back to the middle.

Keep your arms tucked in (no flailing) and hold the paddle close to your body so that all of your weight is over the middle of the board.   Remember to keep your head up and turn your hips, which will consequently turn your shoulders and head toward the front of the board as you lift your back foot up and over your front. 

Move from Your Knees

Move From Your Knees

The movement that you do with the cross step, moving your back foot over your front foot, should always be done with knees bent. The movement, rather than coming from the waist, should actually come from the knees. Most people's inclination is to rise as they move, but the trick is to keep your knees bent and let the knees do the work. When placing your foot down on the board, you need to really bend the stationary knee until your foot is safely planted on the board. Only when both feet are balanced on the board should you move your other foot.

Read more at Trails.com: Tips for Cross Stepping on a Long Board | Trails.com http://www.trails.com/list_3275_tips-cross-stepping-long-board.html#ixzz2if7Wleb6

the stall

Longboard Clinic The Stall #4

1. Lift the nose high, the fin and bottom curve of the rail will slow the rate of descent, allowing the tail to sink down and into the pocket as the section catches up.
2. Now with speed reduced dramatically, and the board critically positioned, where no true log could arrive from turning alone, release the pressure on the tail.
3. Pressure released, water eagerly takes the rail in a loving embrace. Centrifugal force takes the fin and the board is once again compelled forward and into trim.

This is the stall, and for those working to master its intricacies, there is much bounty to be gained from the precise execution of this move.

• Deeper tubes
• Glorious head dips
• Better down the line positioning and speed.
• Solid nose rides, with the tail set deep in the pocket, enabling gravity defying fives and ten's.

some nice gong shots

 

the woggle!

 

found this on the 'net:  interesting advice and one seconded by my pal supthecreek!

Learn what I call the woggle, where you are on the nose and you woggle to slip sideways down the face of the wave to a slightly more powerful position in the wave curve and you can hold your line ( old masters of this were Phil Edwards and Miki Dora watch and learn) learn to read the wave with your feet the fluctuations of power and that's where you get the feel of when and how much to back off the nose.
I have identified the sweet spot on all of my longboards where the board gives continual acceleration I often woggle from that spot too, when the board feels balanced and able to take an expedition forward I go and I mostly get back just part of my set of surfing things, I use the nose functionally not as a trick I do cheater fives and head dips forward in the section - See more at: http://www.surfing-waves.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=16880&p=145426&hilit=+nose+riding#p145426

 

no advice and good advice

see this video:

http://mpora.com/videos/AA68VfRnnHV

it's supposed to be instructional but it sucks at that.  the surfing, however, is pretty sweet to look at.

in a few words, here's some much better advice from a longboarder named Belen Kimble-Connelly: "The biggest mistake made with the cross step is that you walk the board, when in fact you should actually be pulling the board with your feet under you and bringing the nose to you."

 

the max dexter board

http://www.thesurfingblog.com/maxx-dexter-surfboard-the-perfect-longboard-for-noseriding

    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VN30dWvhBsw

Locked in on the nose

There are lots of good logging films and plenty of clips on you tube. When you watch them, analyse what the surfers and waves are doing. Watch waves that show the surfer setting up the noseride. Pause the action just before they go to the nose and look at where they are and what the wave is doing around them. Try and visualise how the wave looks at that moment from the surfers point of view.

Once you become adept at hanging five you'll notice that there are some times where the board feels much more stable and "locked in" compared to others. This might only be for a split second, especially in beach break style waves. These are the moments when the time is right to move the back foot up to hang ten or kick it out into the wave face or hang heels or lift it up and hold it while you stand on one leg! Only feel and experience can help you judge the moments it will work but you can practice the balance needed for the moves over an over again on a long skateboard. Then when you're in the water, you're only learning how to get set up properly not trying to improve your balance as well. This is something i found really useful when learning to hang heels.

A few quick tips from around the web

Just so I don't forget:

 Advice I was given by a renowned title holder: keep the shoulders square & facing the nose as you walk. Must try it one day.

Just remember, when you step forward, you move forward on the board. When you step backwards, the board moves out in front of you.

Learn to be in the proper position on the wave at the right time. Focus on the fundamentals: learn to predict what you need to do position yourself in the best portion of the wave, near the curl. Sometimes you will need to fade to the peak, others you will be taking off almost parallel to shore to catch a fast zipper. Come off the bottom with a mellow arcing bottom turn and as you rise to the top trim forward and level out. Practice this, cross-stepping to trim forward and back. For most longboards, the sweet spot is ~ 2/3 way up to the nose. Develop a relaxed style. When you're comfortable take it to the nose