What to Learn on a Soft Top Surf Board
Beginner surfers might wonder What They Can Learn on a Soft Top Surf Board. Too often beginners buy a board that is too low in volume for a beginner. The right size soft top can accelerate surfing progress.
A recent surf student had tried to learn surfing on an 8′ soft top board. He weighs 205 pounds and is 6’4″ tall. Even if he was a good surfer, the board is a bit small for his size. He valiantly tried 10 times and mostly pearled and fell off the board.
New Surf Students Need the Right Size Board
When I started him on a 9′ high volume soft top and showed the proper pop up sequence, he was riding every wave and paddling out to ride bigger foam waves. He learned more in one session that he had in ten sessions by himself. Having the right size beginner board helps learn the fundamentals so you could move to a lower volume board.
The surfer needs to learn the pop up sequence before riding any board. The sequence slows down the action into a methodical smooth transition from catching the wave to rising into the correct stance. Beginners don’t think about the correct stance. They think up is good.
How to Do the Pop Up
The beginner pop up has the surfer paddling to catch a foam wave and then putting his hands in a man’s push up position and gliding for a few seconds. This stop is important for the flow of the pop up. Then he pushes up and places a rear foot on the board flat and under his butt. If it is flat, he can stand on it and release his hands. When he releases his hands while standing, he can move his front foot to the nose of the board.
The proper stance looks like someone pushing a tall box. Their hands are out in front on the box and one leg is behind the other to give the push. In this stance, hips and shoulders are square to the front and the hands are out in front.
The surfer learns the pop up and can use it to ride real waves. He can paddle out to catch bigger foam waves and then start catching 2′ to 3′ real waves that are mixed with foam waves on sand bar beaches like Oceanside, CA.
Moving to Bigger Waves
On the soft top the surfer can progress to bigger real waves and learn the maneuvers of bottom turns, cut backs and accelerating. At this point, he might consider moving to a hard board. The best moves shorter are 6″ at a time maintaining the width and thickness of bigger boards. Lower volume means harder paddling which can mean shorter surf sessions.
If surfers visit the water infrequently, the soft top may serve their purposes for a long time or for life. The idea is to have fun and avoid frustration.
More Posts
Oceanside Surf Lessons for Beginners
Beginner Surfers Learn the Pop Up
How to Progress to Surfing the Short Board
For Surf Lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page
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