What Is Important in Learning to Surf?

Mark
April 16, 2021
5:05 pm

So many questions about what is important in learning to surf? There are the physical demands of surfing. It is one of the most demanding of sports. There are psychological factors making some more prepared than others.

Learning how to surf brings together a cornucopia of requirements and possibilities. It is a thrilling opportunity to connect with Mother Nature and have an exciting new recreation not to mention becoming part of a huge culture.

The Important Aspects of Surfing

One of the first, most important, and underestimated aspects of surfing is comfort in the water. Most people have a little fear of waves. Lessons start out in waist deep water so drowning is not likely. Falling in the water has rarely hurt anyone. So what is it that makes a person comfortable in the ocean?

It may go beyond a person’s comfort in the ocean to their other fears of safety. Some people are chargers and have no fear starting at 5 years old and others are greatly intimidated by this new situation. I think it might relate to their comfort in other new situations.

People with a little fear of the ocean, which they often don’t discover until they are in the ocean, should start with body surfing and maybe boogie boarding. I highly recommend both for young kids new to the ocean.

A second major area for learning to surf is most people underestimate their physical readiness for the demands of surfing. It looks too easy in film and watching from the beach. It only takes 10 minutes of surfing for a person to recognize they are not physically up to the challenge.

Surfing demands flexibility. To get up on a surfboard, the surfer has to do a push up on the surfboard and then put their foot flat on the board under their but and stand up on it while then putting the second foot in front near the nose. Try this in your living room. The foot must go flat on the floor. It is tougher in the water.

Surfers need upper body strength in relation to their weight. The problem for all of us during the pandemic is we have put on weight and not exercised enough. The surfer has to push their upper body off the board so they can put a rear foot on the board. How many pushups can you do?

Strangely, balance is not as big an issue as people presuppose. If a person can get into the right posture on the surf board by correctly executing the pop up, riding the surf board is pretty easy. The problem exists when they don’t have the physical conditioning to correctly catch a wave and execute a pop up.

Stamina is an issue for many sedentary adults. Surfing is like doing intervals. There is exertion and recovery over and over. If a person is not used to aerobics, they don’t recover and fatigue sets in quickly. Walking is a minimum preparation, but something with more intensity is better.

Weight is a major issue for new surfers. People that are overweight probably lack all the requirements because they have not been exercising. Surfing is fun and the rewards are great. It is also a sport for the fit.

Learn More

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