Surfing is Timing and Rhythm
Surfing is timing and rhythm. When you look at a surfer in the movies it looks like one simple movement to get from lying down to standing up. When broken down, it is a series of movements including timing the wave.
One of the first problems beginners surfers encounter is their nervousness and panicky mind in the water because the whole experience is so new. I tell students in the dryland portion that when they get in the water their mind goes “gaga”. They forget everything from the dryland lesson.
The Basics of Timing and Rhythm in the Water
The surfing rhythm can be broken down into some steps:
1. The surfer spots the wave.
2. The surfer starts paddling before the wave arrives.
3. The surfer paddles hard when the wave starts pushing the board.
4. Then he puts his hands on the board.
5. The beginner then executes four steps to the stand up position.
6. Now the surfer is riding.
The beginner has the impulse to do everything at once because he feels speed is essential. It is not. The sequence has to be executed smoothly. Including each step is the essence. The mind is racing much faster than the actual events in the water.
I give new students a count to say out loud in the water. Paddle, stop (put hands in man’s push up position on the board), push up, put the back foot flat on the board under your butt, stand on that foot and raise your hands, move the front foot to the nose of the surfboard.
The count is paddle, stop, push, back foot, stand, front foot. The purpose is to slow down the action. Secondly, it is to be a substitute for thinking. Thirdly, it gives the exact sequence to be performed. Without this process, student’s go to their instincts which are all wrong.
When students start to calm down in the water and feel the timing, they improve measurably. Pretty soon they are feeling the wave and executing the steps in order. They are standing on the surfboard and riding to the beach.
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For Oceanside Surf Lessons, see the Home Page
See the Post Surf Lessons Begin with Foam Waves
See the Post What You Learn in a 2 Hour Lesson
See the Post How to Progress in Surfing
See My Dry Land and In Water Demo video
See How to Catch a Green/Real Wave video
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