Beginner Surfers Progress to Advanced on Soft Tops as the fastest route to advanced surfing. Surfing is slowly learned and lots of pieces have to come together to advance. It takes a special type of person to become an advanced surfer.
The best way to advance is surfing is slowly. Learn all the fundamentals. Get surfing fit. Progress with the right surf boards for your skill level. That starts with using a high-volume soft top. I start most beginner teens and adults on a 9′ soft top. I find that when beginners try to teach themselves on an 8′ board, they are forced to many bad habits because the board is sensitive to skills.
Learning the Correct Pop Up
The skill that is crucial is landing in the right stance from the pop up. That is the purpose of the pop up and where beginners have the most trouble. The pop up is an executed sequence that requires strength, flexibility, and some agility. Beginners that are overweight and not surf fit have trouble executing the pop up and therefore landing in the right stance.
The right stance is feet shoulder width apart with the front foot near the nose to hold it down in the wave. Hips and shoulders have to be squared to the front. This is the position that most beginners find difficult. Hands are out in front where they can be seen. Most beginners default to a snowboard stance which is a shoulder facing the tail and a hand trailing the body.
Getting into the Right Stance
Until the beginner can get a stance with the hips and shoulders square to the beach, parallel to the beach, they will fall off the surfboard. This, of course, keeps them from progressing. The higher volume surfboard is more forgiving until the stance is landed correctly. It gives the surfer more attempts whereas a lower volume board would have them falling so quickly each time, they would never get the idea.
The larger volume surfboard gives students an opportunity to correct their stance on the fly. They can move a foot not in the center of the board. They can twist their body square when they pop up in the snowboard position. They can learn to paddle out for bigger waves and start catching real waves. At some point after catching real waves and having mastered the pop up and riding to the beach, they can start thinking of lower volume boards.
Remaining with the Soft Top Board
If the surfer is not going to surf frequently, they might consider sticking with the higher volume board. It is easier to paddle, catches waves easier, and is easier to ride than lower volume boards. People living locally to a surf beach have the best opportunity to move to smaller boards if that is their ambition.
The 8′ soft top is a great performer. It can catch 7′ waves, accelerate in the pocket and do bottom turns and cutbacks easily. Advanced surfers do 360’s and aerials on 8′ soft tops. The board performs. And it is still easier to paddle than a smaller board which makes sessions longer. One of my students who has gotten proficient on the 8′ soft top wants to move to an 8′ hard board so his skateboard talents of maneuvering can come into play. That is a good move. He will maintain the volume with a 21+” width and 2 3/4″ thickness with the 8′ length.
If he masters the capabilities of that board, the next move is to a 7’6″ board with the same width and thickness. Moves should be 6″ at a time. It should always be fun and not become frustrating by moving to lower volume boards too fast. The goal should always be longer sessions and lots of fun.
Read Other Posts:
Beginner Surfers Learn on Soft Tops
5 Steps to Improve Surfing Performance
3 Ways to Catch Real Surfing Waves
Training to Ride the Surfing Short Board
Short Board Surfing Techniques
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