Surfing is more technical than everyone expects and after a dry land lesson on surfing, beginners ignore what they heard and resort to instincts when their mind goes “gaga” in the water. The fact that beginners resort to instincts keeps them from learning. There are a few Main Tricks for Beginners to Learn Surfing.
In yesterday’s post, I talked about timing and rhythm. It is one aspect beginners don’t learn because their instincts say stand up on the board as fast as possible as though there is a stop watch. This is their first problem. The surfing sequence of getting in position for a wave, spotting the wave to ride, paddling for momentum, paddling hard to get in front of the wave, and then the pop up sequence is a dance. Dancing has timing and rhythm. It feels natural once you get it.
Catch the Wave
I see beginners renting surf boards and trying to learn on their own. The first thing they miss is paddling long enough to catch a foam wave. They often jump on their boards before the wave hits their surfboard. Its hard for a surfer to see people stand on the board before they have caught a wave. The surfing process has certainly two main steps. You must catch a wave and then you can stand up.
One reason beginners don’t catch waves is they don’t paddle hard enough quickly. Even after explaining how to paddle, beginners don’t get the concept of paddling hard. They sort of turtle paddle a few times as the wave hits the board and soon the wave has wrecked their ride. Paddling requires using the forearms in short, even, deep, fast, strokes. The idea is to get in front of the wave with a few strokes. The surf stroke is half a swim stroke. The hand dives deep and forearms pull. No hand paddling.
Calm the Mind
In unknown situations where anxiety is high, it is hard for the rational mind to overwhelm the panicked mind. Anxiety is the opposite of “flow”. Flow is the state of mind where the body and brain work perfectly together without thought. Surfers get to “flow” when they have developed the mechanics of surfing and muscle memory is correct. I give beginners a count that names each step in the process of popping up. Those who use the count out loud progress much faster.
The count is first paddle. The surfer paddles to catch the wave. The second count is “stop”. The surfer places their hands in a man’s push up position and glides for 5 seconds. After beginners get used to this move, I tell them they don’t have to glide as long, but they must start off each ride with a short glide. This keeps them from throwing their hands on the board in front of their shoulders in an already pushed up position. I tell them this position is “ride over”, done.
Get the Back Foot Flat on the Board
The next count is “back foot’. The surfer puts one foot on the board flat and under their butt. The foot must be flat for the surfer to stand up on it. If they only put the ball of their foot on the board before moving their front foot, they will wind up with hands and feet on the board at the same time and fly off the front of the board. Or their hands have trapped both feet behind the hands putting the surfer on the rear of the board and they fall off the back. When the foot is flat and they stand, they are lifting the hands off the board to make way for the front foot.
Finally the stance must be correct. I tell students imagine they are pushing a tall box. This visual seems to work. The hands are in front and one leg is behind the other as they pretend to push this box ten feet. When they get up on the surf board, I tell them they must push the box. Students with hands in front have their hips squared to the beach and ride without effort. Snowboarding is riding with one hand trailing and leads to falling off on the butt side of the board.
These simple tricks can make a difficult process easier.
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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