Often asked is Can Adults Learn to Ride Real Waves. People are usually drawn to surfing because they see experts in the movies shredding real waves on short boards. It looks fun and cool and of course the surfers look fit and healthy. Who wouldn’t want to be and do that?
It is also amazing how many people that are not in good physical condition do not have a realistic assumption of their fitness. Surfing even at the beginning level is demanding. Can someone who has not been active get to the point of riding real waves and maybe shredding?
The Basics of Getting to Real Wave Surfing
Just so we are clear, foam waves are the waves of white foam after the real wave breaks. Foam waves are ridden straight to the beach and real waves are ridden at an angle in the pocket formed as a wave is breaking. Both can be ridden on soft top surf boards. So a person can begin on a foam wave and progress to riding real waves.
The journey could be thought of as learning to run a marathon or do an Iron Man. No one does either the first week. What does it take? It takes consistent practice and strength building. It might take the unconditioned starter a few years to complete those events. The same with surfing. It takes learning techniques, getting stronger, and lots of practice.
A person who does not live near the beach has a bigger challenge. I have had remote workers living in Oceanside for a few months take lessons and progress from foam to real waves. An athletic person in decent shape could do it in a month. I have had new students do it in the first lesson, but that is rare .
A new surfer learns the techniques of catching waves and popping up in the first lesson. If the person is reasonably athletic, learns well, can get the feel of the timing, and get the proper pop up that lands him in the right stance, he progresses quickly. It is not uncommon to have a student move from riding to the beach to paddling out and catching bigger foam waves.
What changes with real waves is the timing and fear factor. A foam wave can be seen from a distance. A real wave breaks in a few seconds and positioning is crucial. The wave has to be judged on a sand bar beach to see if it is rideable. At a resort on a reef, the waves form slowly and everyone starts with riding real waves. On a sand bar beach, the surfer notices he is going fast and the nose is pointed down. This unnerves surfers at the beginning.
Courage and willingness to crash are important. All surfers have to buck up their courage to advance. Crashing is part of the game. You almost have to learn to laugh at the crashes. No one likes them, but they show you did something wrong and you have to be competitive to beat Mother Nature’s willingness to wreck you. Being strong and being able to move smoothly from lying down to standing up are minimum requirements.
Cardiovascular fitness is needed for longer practice sessions and the more paddling needed in riding real waves. Time in the water develops these traits or steady out of the water cross training. This obviously means you need time to devote to progress. Think of how much time is needed to learn golf. It is the same process with some different requirements.
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