Beginner Surfers Want to Know How Long to Ride the Soft Top
Beginner Surfers Want to Know How Long to Ride the Soft Top because they are eager to ride real waves like advanced surfers. They often got into surfing because the film of advanced surfers made surfing look easy and fun.
Once engaged, beginner surfers realize there is more to the sport than they imagined. It seems simple that you jump on a board and catch a wave, but it is much more dynamic and technical than is imagined.
Learning the Fundamentals
The soft top surfboard makes learning the fundamentals and getting in surf shape much easier. It is easy to paddle, catches foam waves easily, and is relatively easy to stand up on and ride. Yet, the beginning stages are more technical than beginners expect and more physically demanding.
The beginner learns to catch foam waves with good timing. And with good timing and rhythm pops up into the right stance to ride to the beach. After mastering the beginning steps in several visits to the beach, the surfer starts paddling out to catch bigger foam waves.
The progress of the beginning surfer includes learning the fundamentals of timing and the right pop up. Getting into surf shape so he can paddle for a longer session and endure more paddling. Building courage to ride bigger waves which move faster and are more punishing.
Moving On to Real Waves
After several sessions of riding bigger foam waves, the surfer begins to catch real waves in the 2′ to 3′ category. He gets used to the increased speed of running down the face and will pearl a lot at the beginning (nose of board goes under water). He learns to start pointing the board toward the pocket to avoid pearling and catching waves in the corners to avoid the steep drop.
As the surfer begins riding bigger waves, he will learn the maneuvers. If the surfer started on a 9′ soft top, he will attempt to ride the 8′ because it is more maneuverable and higher performance. Surfers ride 7′ waves on the 8′ board so it is not a hindrance to progress.
Learning the Maneuvers
The surfer learns to bottom turn into the pocket, accelerate by pushing the nose of the board up and down the face of the wave and do cutbacks to return to the power of the wave. At this point, the surfer might want a hard board. The hard board does perform better than the soft top.
It is best to step down a little at a time if going shorter is the interest. Decreasing the length by 6′ at a time maintaining the width and thickness of soft tops is an appropriate process. If the surfer wants to surf longer boards because he likes their style, then moving longer is no problem.
It is important to master the fundamentals. They are the same techniques used in advanced surfing, but the advanced surfer has mastered them. If the surfer is having problems popping up and staying on the board, he should get a lesson before bad habits become too ingrained in his muscle memory.
More Posts
Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
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