Beginner Surfers Learn To Respect How Technical Surfing Is
Beginner Surfers Learn to Respect How Technical Surfing Is. So many watch it in films and it seems pretty easy. Many take lessons thinking they can figure it out without following techniques.
I give new students a specific sequence for catching waves and standing up to ride the surfboard. Most don’t take the instructions seriously until they try it their way and find they can’t do it. I have heard people say they tried it on their own and got up a few times. That is hardly surfing, that is luck.
Surfers Get Up Every Time
If you watch surfers in the lineup, most get up every time. Surfing is a series of techniques that come together to make the experience look seamless. Each piece has its own requirements. Catching foam waves and real waves is about timing. The foam wave rushes to the beach and is easy to intercept. The real wave breaks in a few seconds and has to be timed perfectly.
Catching waves is judgement and timing. The wave approaches and the surfer lines up to allow the wave to push the board or in a real wave go under it. Then the surfer paddles hard to get into the wave. Many cannot get the timing and are too impatient to stand up rather than catch the wave first.
Catching the Wave
After the wave is pushing the board, the surfer puts his hands in a man’s pushup position next to his chest. Many are too rushed and go immediately into a pushed-up position and then try some combination of getting their feet on the board. This jumble of activity upsets the balance of the board and lands the surfer in a bad stance.
The surfer must be deliberate. They place their hands on the board and rest a second. Then they push up and beginners bring one foot under their butt to stand on and advanced surfers move both feet at the same time. The surfer must land in the correct stance to balance the board.
The stance is feet shoulder width apart with the front food close enough to the nose to keep the nose level in the wave. Hips and shoulders have to be squared to the front with hands visible. Weight is equal on front and back leg and torso is upright with the surfer’s eyes looking at the beach. I see so many different body positions on the board that don’t work.
Counting Out Loud
I give new students a count to say out loud to get past their thinking and incorrect instincts. Other sports create muscle memory that often interfere with surfing. Snowboarders and skateboarders like to keep a shoulder back for balance, but in surfing it interferes with proper form.
I have students count “paddle, stop, push, back foot, stand, front foot.” This sequence takes them from catching the wave to putting hands on the board in a man’s push up position to putting a foot flat on the board under their butt and standing on it, to lifting the hands and putting the front foot on the board. Executed smoothly, it has many students up on the first try.
The second thing students have to respect is how physical surfing is. It takes upper body strength, flexibility and stamina. Most students realize they could be in better “surf shape” if they want to advance or get better at the techniques. The most demanding part is the paddling. When surfers are tired paddling, their session is near the end for the day.
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Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
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