Everyone beginning to surf and progressing learns how to catch surfing waves. It is about timing and rhythm to catch and ride them. I try to instill this concept in new students.
Surfers learn to ride foam waves and then progress to real waves. The concept for catching both is similar. The wave appears. The surfer gets in position. As the wave starts approaching the surfer gains momentum on the surfboard with paddling. As the foam wave gets close to the tail of the board or the real wave lifts the tail of the board, the surfer paddles hard to get into the wave.
Starting with Foam Waves
I start new students catching foam waves by standing with the surfboard and rolling over onto it in one smooth motion when the wave is 15 feet away. The surfer paddles easy three times and then hard three times as the wave hits the board. The surfer paddles until he feels the board take off. In some waves it could be two paddles. In big foam waves it might be 6 paddles. Once the board has taken off, the surfer can put his hands on it.
In a real wave the surfer gets in position where he knows the waves are arcing. He can look at the line up to know about where this happens. When surfers see the wave start to rise, they paddle to where they think it will arc. They get the board in position keeping an eye on the wave. As the wave rises and lifts the tail, they paddle hard to get into the wave. Then they can put their hands on it for a pop up.
Catching Real Waves
On real waves, surfers can use a couple different strategies. As the wave rises and they catch it, they can push the nose toward the pocket before executing a pop up to help outrace the lip. Especially good if the waves are closing out. Or the surfer can paddle parallel to the breaking wave and catch it at a corner. At this point, the wave is not moving as fast nor is it as steep.
The secret for beginners who tend to be anxious and think they don’t have enough time is to catch the wave before putting hands on the board. For intermediate surfers catching real waves, they have to learn to let the wave rise under the board. Too often surfers chase the wave and try to get in over the top. Practice is the key. It takes judgment, strength, and courage to improve wave catching.
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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