How to Progress to Surfing Short Board
Many new surfers want to learn How to Progress to the Surfing Short Board. It is a patient path of slowly improving skills, conditioning, and courage. All three work together for progress.
Beginner surfers find learning to surf is more technical and tiring than they expected. Moving to advanced surfing on the short board is more of the same; more technical and more exertion. It takes regular visits to the water to advance. You cannot advance surfing once a month.
Timing Foam Waves is a Start
The beginner surfer learns to time foam waves. Timing of waves is a constant throughout the surfers life. Advanced surfing is about riding the waves that are available. This requires judgement and by now, good instincts. It also requires excellent conditioning and skills to have the confidence to face heavy consequences for mistakes.
The beginner perfects the popup so that he pops up and rides every time. No one wants to fall off big real waves. The advanced surfers you see in the line up catch every wave. The surfer advances to intermediate when he is catching real waves and performing the basic maneuvers. Those are bottom turns into the pocket, cutbacks to return to the power, and accelerating for speed.
Maneuvers for Short Boards
All three maneuvers are short board techniques that can be learned on 8′ soft tops. A person who doesn’t advance to shorter boards can do most of the necessary maneuvers on a soft top including riding 7′ waves. The point of shorter boards is duck diving and sharper carves. If the surfer is not real ambitious nor have expert tricks and carves in their dreams, they can be quite content learning everything on a soft top.
The surfer learns every thing above on a soft top and then can start moving to shorter boards 6″ at a time. The boards should retain good width of 21+” and thickness of 2 3/4″. These dimensions can be retained for many advances of 6″ shorter at a time. The higher volume helps make the transitions easier and retains the fun.
Moving to Lower Volume Boards
Riding a lower volume board requires greater strength and stamina. The board starts sinking in the water with lower volume and more difficult paddling is necessary. The best conditioning is paddling, but cross training in the gym can help. Stamina can be build cross training with aerobics. Running, swimming, treadmills, hiking, and biking all build cardiovascular capability.
Getting lean is a great advantage. Pro surfers want to be light and strong. They want less weight on the surfboard and more stamina for longer sessions and bigger waves. Surfing can make you lean, but then a good nutrition regimen can augment the exercise and energy necessary.
Courage is Necessary
Courage is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. All pro surfers say they were afraid as they moved to bigger waves. Bigger waves have more speed, more weight, and more wrecking capability. Spending time under water doing backward somersaults is a good test of your mettle. Surfers have to tolerate and almost enjoy big wipe outs as they progress or they will back off. Surfers learn to manage fear not eliminate it. Laird Hamilton says if you don’t have fear there is something wrong meaning you don’t have enough respect for the waves.
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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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