Surf lessons teach fundamentals so new students can advance to surfing real waves. Surf lessons begin with soft top boards because they are very stable and foam waves because they are sufficient for learning.
Most new students say this is more difficult than I imagined and more tiring than I expected. Surfing is one of the more difficult sports most people say they have ever tried. Yet, it looks so easy in the movies. Its a big deception.
Many new students are up and riding on the first wave. So, it can be easy if you follow the steps. The fundamentals are positioning on the surf board, paddling to catch waves, popping to a stance, and riding the wave.
Starting the Fundamentals
In positioning on the surf board, the student has to have their feet at the tail, be straight as a pencil, and balanced in the middle. Any alterations can cause the board to pearl (nose under water) or the board to tilt and then turn over.
Paddling is not swimming. Strokes have to be short and fast. The strokes have to keep the board going straight as the wave tries to turn it and be strong enough to accelerate the board in front of the wave. New students think they can ride the wave and paddle slowly, but the wave takes over and turns the board sideways and flips it
The Pop Up
The pop up for beginners is a series of steps. I give students a count to say out loud in the water so they go slow and cover every step. The student first paddles easy as the wave approaches and then hard three times when the wave hits the back of the board. Then the student puts their hands in a man’s push up position and rests for a second.
The student then pushes and almost at the same time, puts their back foot flat on the board under their butt so they can stand on the back leg. As they are standing, they are lifting their arms and moving the front foot toward the nose of the board.
Riding the Surf Board to the Beach
Once up, the proper stance is the front foot in the middle at a 45 degree angle forward. The back foot is sideways perpendicular to the rails. The feet are shoulder width apart and the student’s weight is equal on both legs. The knees are flexed. Most important is that the hips and shoulders are square to the front.
For Oceanside Surf Lessons, see the Home Page
See the Post Search Lessons Teach Fundamentals
See the Post Catching Real Surf Waves
See my Dry Land and in Water Demo video
See my other Surf site for more Posts
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