There are Surfing Techniques to Master as a Beginner in order to progress. Some beginners are vacationers and only surf once a year and others have ambitions to ride shorter boards while many would be happy with enough competence to just ride small real waves.
All three categories plus a few more must master the beginner techniques. Surfing is about timing and rhythm and after surfers get it they yes, I see it. Most beginners suffer from anxiety about learning something new that is not instinctual and dealing with the ocean that is powerful. This causes their mind to race and their focus to be difficult.
Focus is a Difficult Aspect for Most Beginners
I teach techniques to try and focus the mind on counting and a sequence. The timing and rhythm of surfing is a sequence played out smoothly one step at a time. The sequence begins with catching foam waves in waist deep water if you are on a sand bar beach. As the wave approaches, the surfer rolls over on the surfboard and begins to paddle for the wave. He looks to the side to see when the wave will hit the board. Then he paddles hard to accelerate in front of the wave. He wants the board to “take off” and gain speed, not remain with the tail in the foam or the foam under the board.
Then the surfer can put his hands on the board. This is a crucial step because most beginners have the instinct to place their hands in front of their shoulders and in an already pushed up position. This usually ends the ride because the surfer pushes the nose underwater in a pearl. The surfer must put their hands next to their chest in a man’s push up position. Until the surfer makes this a habit, they won’t progress.
Next the surfer pushes up and puts a foot under his butt flat on the board. This is the start of the beginner pop up. The advanced pop up puts both feet on the board at one time while the beginner pop up puts one foot on the board at a time. Many pros use the one foot at a time pop up. The foot must be flat or the surfer cannot stand up and release his hands before the front foot is placed. If the foot is not flat and the hands released, the surfer will keep flying over the front of the board or collapsing.
Riding in the Correct Stance
Finally the surfer must ride in the correct stance. Beginners need to be in the “push the box” posture. One foot behind the other with hips and shoulders facing forward parallel to the beach and the hands in front of the body pushing the box. This helps the board go straight and surfer does not have to fight balance to ride to the beach. Most beginners want to ‘snowboard’ which I call the stance where one arm trails causing them to fall over the butt side of the board.
The problem beginners have is they are not aware of what they are doing as they move through the stand up sequence and why they fall off. This is where coaching is important. I coach each ride to correct all the above mistakes. Beginners are not even aware if they are putting a knee on the board which usually causes an incorrect stance. Surfing begins with a lot of unnatural techniques for the beginner that are not instinctual. This is what makes it hard to learn for many.
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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