Foam Waves to Real Waves for Beginner Surfers
There is a progression from Foam Waves to Real Waves for Beginner Surfers. Like many sports or businesses or professions, there is an apprentice period leading to the objective.
Surfing begins in foam waves with soft top boards. The soft top boards are excellent and can be surfed in real waves. For the person who doesn’t surf frequently, they can be a life time board. They are high volume so paddling is easier, they catch waves easy, and they paddle easy.
Surfing is Timing and Rhythm
Surfing is timing and rhythm. The surfer learns to time the arrival of the foam wave and paddle to get in front of it. Most beginners paddle too easy and leave the tail in the foam as they try to pop up. This results in pearling (nose under water) or difficult pop ups. In foam and real waves, the surfer needs to have the power to paddle hard to get in front of waves.
The pop up is a sequence. I give beginners a count to say out loud so they won’t default to their instincts. The count is paddle, stop and glide, push, back foot, stand up, front foot. This takes them from paddling to catch a real wave, to putting hands on the board in a man’s push up position and holding it for a few seconds.
Getting the Pop Up Right
Then the surfer pushes and places a foot under their butt flat on the board. If it is FLAT, they can stand on it releasing their hands so their other foot can move to the front of the board. They must arrive in a stance with feet shoulder width apart and their hips and shoulders parallel to the beach. I call it the “push the box’ position. Hands in front and feet apart as though pushing a tall box.
Real waves require timing. The wave should roll under the board and lift the tail. As the tail rises, the surfer paddles hard to catch the wave. Once again, power is needed. As the board starts down the face, the surfer stops and glides and then pops up.
The surfer spends his life trying to improve his wave catching ability. Some move on to bigger waves. Others are content with a certain maximum size and then work on their maneuvers and tricks.
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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