Surf Lessons for Beginners
People with surfing on their bucket list should take Surf Lessons for Beginners. Surfing is a sport that is difficult to learn without the assistance of an instructor. It is more technical than people expect.
Surfing is about timing and rhythm. There are a few techniques, but putting them together in the right timing is difficult for beginners. Our instincts are wrong when it comes to surfing at the start.
The Important Count and Sequence
I give students a count and a sequence and say I don’t want you to think and I want you to count so you don’t follow your instincts. Our instincts have beginners throwing their hands out in front of their shoulders and putting one or two knees on the board. This only results in falls.
The sequence gets surfers to put a foot on the board first and stand on it. This is the only good way to maintain the boards balance. The beginner starts with putting a back foot and standing on it and an advanced surfer may move to popping both feet on the board at the same time.
The sequence is watch for the foam wave you want approaching. Roll over on the board in a balanced position and begin paddling easy. Then when the wave is close, paddle hard until you feel the board take off. This takes patience because most student’s instincts are to jump up on the board too soon.
Executing the Pop Up
Once the board has caught the wave and the surfer feels the board take off, he puts his hands in a man’s pushup position next to his rib cage. This also takes patience because most students want to throw their hands in front of their shoulders in an already pushed up position. I tell them they can call this move “ride over”.
After resting a second in the man’s push up position, the surfer pushes up and places a rear foot flat on the board under his butt. This gives him the perfect platform to stand up. This is crucial. As he stands up, he can release his hands from the board. The timing is crucial. Now he can move his other foot to the front of the board. With the hands off the board, he can get into the right stance. If he keeps his hands on the board until the front foot is also on the board, this will result in falling.
Getting the Stance Correct
The right stance on the surfboard is feet shoulder width apart. Weight equal on the front and back leg. Most important is the shoulders and hips are parallel to the beach or squared to the front. The surfer can’t have a shoulder or arm trailing like a snowboarder. If both hands are not in front the beginner surfer’s weight is not correct on the board.
That is the sequence and timing students learn in a surf lesson. It is rare a student can figure it out on their own. At the beginning, I was shown how to do a pop up correctly and stand on the board and the rest I figured out. The correct pop up puts the surfer in the correct stance. That is all there is to begin progress to advanced surfing.
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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