So I've been (trying) to surf for a while now - I think I've owned my board for 1 1/2 years, but it's a been a bumpy ride of broken toes and a broken rib.

Anyhow, regardless of freakish injuries, it's super fun, but I'm still awful.

I've not had any lessons yet, just me grabbing my board and trying....failing...trying again but in this time I've gone from 'whitewater', to being able to catch <a very limited number> of green waves.

So I wanted to note down everything I've learnt from reading/watching videos etc and journal my main sticking points right now. Hopefully I'll fix them in the future!

Now I'm not a pro, so why would this article help you?
Well I've gone through the internet and found some good resources so you don't need to.

Let's first cover the basics...

Where should your feet be on a 7foot surf board?

  • Shoulder width apart, toes pointing slightly outward.
  • Your feet should be over the stringer(Line going down the middle of more fancy boards). Most foamies don't have this, so just keep your feet in the middle of board (based on width)

But where should your feet be along the length of the surf board?
Front food in the middle of the board, back foot just slightly beyond shoulder width apart and therefore close to where the fins are.

Why paddle?

It's to try to match the speed of the wave, so it doesn't pass under us. We can then get in front of it and slide down it, with the help of gravity!
(You can't actually match the actual wave speed, no one paddles at 16km/hour).

How to paddle?
You'll spend around 60% of a surfing session paddling(probably 70+ as a beginner!), so better get good at it!
Check out some of these videos

Good video, although gets a little technical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTZT_kc8qoQ

A really good video that covers even more - Video analysis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maREoE6baA8 *

* The important take away for me here is when they say 'oreo biscuit' - So when you feel you're about to nose dive, curve up and push up so so your weight moves to the back of the board, pushing the tail down, lifting the nose and THEN you get pushed. I never do this, because I'm a rookie.

Other videos to check out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZL78RSFgtc
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClbAgx7HTW0OcYUI2D_RnNw

How to popup on a surf board?

TBC

Good beginner exercises for surfing

8 minutes into Kale Brocks video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb1C0rqTqto although it gets a little wild at 9.15 haha!

Mobility routine - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pxhr2Y949o

Another Kale Brock video here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGDRqEJkV9U

Good beginner stretches for surfing

How best to practice?
The problem with just surfing for practice is there is such a tiny amount of time spent getting waves (especially as a beginner - as you wait, then try, then fall off) so this doesn't actually give us much popup practice. I'd estimate in 2 hours I probably get about 40-50 seconds on the actual waves total! Insane.

So on land practice makes sense, which I plan to do this week+

Priority of learning things
One of the things I've wondered lately, is prioritising learning key components so that you actually learn faster, as they all have a snow-ball effect on each other. Sounds kind of obvious, but I think I've probably jumped to green waves too soon.

For example; If you learn to paddle well, you then preserve energy, which means longer sessions, going for more waves, which is more popups, which is ultimately way more value from a single surf session.
The inverse of this is wasted energy, and less practice in the same session length.

This just comes down to Ego, and one of my favourite expressions 'Go slow, to go fast'.
I may throw in some white water sessions this month too.

What I think my main challenges/issues are right now with surfing

  • Stand up too tall once I popup - Probably because being low feels uncomfortable, so I'm going to start working on squats/holding that position, as well as flexibility.
  • General balance - Balance is obviously essential.
  • Positioning on the board - Sometimes I'm too far back, which slows me down a lot.
  • I go for waves that are beyond me. I may catch the odd bigger (3-4foot?) wave but its usually luck, or ends with a nice washing machine cycle. Time to get that Ego in check!

What I think I'm 'Ok' at? (Could be way off here, I'm pretty terrible! 😀 )

  • The actual popup - It's pretty quick, I don't get up slowly (I don't think?)
  • Paddling - I think I paddle pretty hard, although this possibly rocks my board.

So I plan to spend the next few weeks:

  • Practicing the popup on dry land & keeping LOW.
  • Improving balance - Need to find a routine now.
  • Squats / Holding that position / Hip Flexibility - This should help make staying low feel more comfortable, as I think right now I stand up as it's uncomfortable.
  • Pushup and knee to opposite elbow, with a flat back - This should

Make it happen
As I've learnt throughout life, the difference between talking and doing is usually all about implementing the process to do it, so just like everything else, this goes in the calendar for the next few weeks.

So I've added a slot from 6.30-7am, this is straight after 30 minutes of cardio(see posts related to getting in shape) so I'll be nice and warmed up!

The rest will be done when out surfing this week.

If you stumbled across this as you're new to surfing, then I hope this helps you.

Thanks for reading!

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