I want to help her improve

[CARBr6]

Hello all.
So we went out this weekend for the first time owning boards. I went fine with my longboard, but the missus didn't do so well. I always knew right the my very first wave that I would be a longboarder, I'm all about the cruise! She, however, was always frustrated with the lack of manoeuvrability of the hire boards and set her mind to something smaller. So I spent a long time on here reading posts and checking things out talkingto some of you and generally researching and settled on a 6'8" Surfbetty (NSP Funboard) for her figuring that the epoxy construction with the thick rails and width would give her a board with enough buoyancy that it wouldn't be too far removed from the boards we were both used to but with less length and a better shape would give her the responsive ride she was looking for.

So, getting back on point, she didn't have a good day yesterday and was quite upset at times so I lent her my board so she could at least get some waves and have a stoke of her own, I even tried out her board and managed to get it moving fast enough that I nearly stood up on it but it being a lot less stable than mine I fell off. I tried to tell her that such a step would be a steeper learning curve than mine and that it would be hard but I am worried now that when we go out I will be up on my waves having a great time and she will be stuck getting angry and frustrated and I don't want her upset, so aside from selling her board and getting her something bigger, could anyone give me some advice to pass onto her and/or point me in the direction of some of the great articles and posts on here that might help her to get more of an idea of what she needs to do in order to get up on her board as I know that when she is up she will be flying about in no time.

I know you guys can help as just reading posts here has helped me to understand so much more as to what is going on with my board and the wave and I have been able to translate that into movement and better riding.

Thanks guys, lets keep my girl's stoke alive!!

[jaffa1949]

Let's quickly cover this for you so she doesn't lose the stoke!
Really 6'8" epoxy isn't going to feel at all stable after a surf school or hire board.
Are her expectations realistic? Does she think it would be easy? Something in the NSP line about 8ft would be a better option. Very few people can make a board sing first off! It is not the board that can't turn her skill level is stopping her turning.
Good luck read on together! Then ride on together!

[CARBr6]

I totally agree with you Uncle J!
I tried to explain to her but I don't think she fully understood. She is a newly qualified teacher (which over here means a LOT more paperwork than an already overloaded teacher) so she doesn't have time to read through pages of forum threads to develop the theory like I do (I am a standard employed office worker with loads of time on my hands!!)
I have really expanded my knowledge through here and I'd like to cherry pick the best bits to help her, although I think the main thing is fitness needs to go up, she needs to paddle earlier and harder to get the board speed up. Once she is on it I think she will manage alright, she is a pretty good surfer (read: Better than me!) it's just come as a bit of a shock I think.

[oldmansurfer]

I think I missed the part that said the dimensions of the board she was using. Sometime turning is about skill and sometime about the board. I was watching the ASP contest recently and one pro surfer said that previously he was quoted as saying that the board is 5% of what goes into being a pro surfer and he said he wanted to redo that estimate to 10% just for the psychological comfort of knowing a board and what it can do. So how does this play into your situation? I duno but a longer board doesn't mean you can't turn it. the pros all go so short but they are really fit and could surf a closet door much better than many of us could surf the best board.

[drowningbitbybit]

So if the board can't change, I think the best thing to change is the conditions – I don't know what the conditions were like at the witts the other day, but it would help to get her out on a small, clean and consistent day so she can go again and again and again. And go right back to the newbie days and surf in waist-deep water (standing if necessary between sets) so there's no fear factor and the waves are easy to catch - chances are that you're out much further back on your longboard and that will be unsuitable for her.

Time to hit somewhere like Saunton on a small clean spring day.


And also - as well as the learning curve, the other thing she may not have grasped is that it happens to everyone. There are still plenty of days when I go out and just don't have what it takes and have to sit in the water, getting nowhere, watching other surfers (particularly longboarders) having a great time. For me, it's no drama, I can laugh it off and come back tomorrow, but to your other half... super frustrating!

[drowningbitbybit]

Practical tips for moving onto a less stable board...

Slow it down. It's too wobbly to leap onto the board and paddle like mad. Don't rush.

Centre yourself. When paddling, get the right spot on the board, and maintain that balance by keeping your knees close together and using the arms front to back, rather than out to the side.

Catch the wave properly. The board won't just cruise along with the wave anymore, and needs to be caught properly with a couple of extra paddles.

Pop up, but then get down. A trick I used to do (and still do when I feel like Im getting bad habits) is to always touch the board with my trailing hand once Im standing just to get into the habit of getting down low. Pretend it's a railgrab if it makes you feel better

Don't look at your feet! You'll just fall off! Look where you want to go, and point your leading arm out towards it.

Do it all again. She's a teacher. Tell her she's got 1000 lines... "I must keep the board balanced, catch the wave, pop up, and then keep my weight down low".

[dtc]

I guess one question is whether she is catching waves and popping up, then falling and she is trying to surf along the wave; or is she missing the pop up (falling immediately); or, indeed, not even catching the wave? Each of these will have a different solution

That said, DBBs tips about getting down, dont look at feet and all the rest apply regardless.

Also make sure her body is positioned in the right place when she starts paddling for the wave. With a longboard, you can be a few inches off; the shorter the board the less flexibility. And everything is based around position - paddling for wave, catching wave, popping up etc

So to find the perfect position
1. lie on the board in the water and move up and down until the nose is about 1inch above the waterline - this will seem too far forward but its not (beginners often think having the nose out of the water is safer, but it just slows you down and means you will perl or miss the wave). As a test of my comment, paddle in the 'perfect' position (not to catch a wave, just paddle) then move back a few inches and paddle again - you will notice its harder in the second situation.

2. put a mark on the board so you come back to that position - I draw a line in the wax (with my fingernail) at eye level. Some people have a board logo in the right place.

3. when you lay down to start for a wave, make sure you are in the perfect position. If you are too far forward you can arch your back if need be

Second tip - pop up with your right hand near your waist and left hand about rib level (assuming natural footer). Makes popping up much easer and gives you more time.

[CARBr6]

Thanks guys. That's great I knew you'd help.
DTC, she isn't landing the pop-up I've told her she needs to be quicker with it, she has a habit of going to a knee first (if I'm being brutally honest I do too) and that is not helping so she needs to practice that a bit I think.
Good tips on finding the balance point of the board, when I tried it I was a lot further forward than I thought I'd be.
We are both goofy so presumably the hands will be the same but opposite.

I'll let you guys know how we do at our next session.

[dtc]

If she is missing the pop up, then its probably that she is too slow (or too late) or that she is not popping up into the right position.

So:
- try the hand thing I suggested (for goofys, it is left hand down near hip). After a bit of practice this becomes muscle memory

- pop up straight away - do not hesitate. Being slower with the pop up does not make it easier, it makes it much harder! Commit to the pop up, 'explode' up. Going first onto the knee is badness. Positioning your hands further back will help her in being able to get up without using the knees.

As a suggestion, try popping up as soon as she feels the wave has caught the board. Sometimes she will go too early and the wave will pass underneath her, but to start off this is fine (better than popping up too late). Popping up early gives you a bit of extra time and the board is a bit more stable (plus you then have the really fun bit of leaning forward and heading straight down the wave from top to bottom). I found a lot of beginners seems to catch the wave, then think 'ok, I'll just wait a bit to make sure everything is stable and I'm feeling confident' - result is they are heading down the face of the wave out of control before they even start. I say this all the time - surfing is like riding a bike, its not easier to go slower, its actually harder to go slower.

- once her feet are brought underneath her then, as DBB suggests, get low. Bend the knees, not the hips - your upper body needs to stay above your hips - if she leans forward at the hips, rather than bends at the knees, then she will topple over. Most of the time you need to keep your weight evenly balanced between front and rear foot - changing the weight comes later when you start to turn and stuff.

So in short form: pop early, pop hard, bend ze knees.

Most of this can be practiced in the white water - if she needs some confidence, spend a session or two just popping up in the white water and riding the board in. You can get 30 or 40 pop ups done in a session, rather than the 8-10 you might get out the back. Then its 'just' a matter of feeling confident enough to do the same thing when you are at the top of a wave.

[drowningbitbybit]

Here's another suggestion to try... just for one session, if you can, stick your longboard fins on the shortboard. It will stabilise the board, particularly in the whitewater, and make landing the pop-up much easier. After that, it'll be going straight toward the beach in a very straight line, but we can worry about that later

[CARBr6]

I just wanted to say a huge 'Thank you' to all you chaps.
On the journey to Cornwall last Sunday I loaded up this forum page and set in front of my girl to read.
Then (and I can't honestly say how much of this was down to what she read here and how much was down to other factors) when we got down to Polzeath she managed it! Third wave in and she stood up, took another few attempts to nail it down and then after that she was away and loving it. The smile on her face just made it perfect for me and we had a great week so thanks guys for taking the time to help her out. She is now confident and comfortable on her board.

[dtc]

On the journey to Cornwall last Sunday I loaded up this forum page and set in front of my girl to read..

Huh, already you are braver than me.

I know people learn differently, but for me I work by analysing how things should work and then practicing. Others just naturally learn. Anyway, what ever helped - congrats to you both.

In the future, when you have kids, you can spend your time arguing over whose turn it is to surf and whose turn it is to look after the kids... bet you didnt think of that.

[drowningbitbybit]

The smile on her face just made it perfect for me and we had a great week so thanks guys for taking the time to help her out. She is now confident and comfortable on her board.