Why is surf progress so damn slow?

[JulianOnWater]

hi all ... i'm totally hooked by surfing, but damn is it tough

i started surfing later in life (40+) but am fairly athletic, flexible etc so no issues there.

Been at it for 2 years now.

Im progressing, but certainly slower than i expected. I know what i 'should be doing' (as i watch a million youtube surf how-to videos) - but translating that in the water has been harder than i thought.

Is this normal...? Why is it such a hard sport to pick up? What has other people's experience been?

Let me know if im alone on this... or any general tips to maximize progression/learning in the water, let me know (harsh advice welcome)

Thanks

[oldmansurfer]

What you should be doing is getting in the water and working at learning about the waves and the currents and how to paddle and get out through the surf and how to catch waves as in where to line up and which waves to go for. You can't realistically learn those things watching videos although maybe you can get an idea of what you should be doing. Surfing is a difficult sport. One question is how many times a week do you surf? Another is have you taken surf lessons?

[jaffa1949]

Julian , I am a little confused about where your surfing is at.
This thread is about you learning and you are right it is challenging and hard, it take quite a lot of wave time to learn to be basically an effective surfer multiply that in age (your age) difficulty more so!
Then your other post about setting up a surf school? Pretty ambitious, I moved that to the shoredump section, but maybe the people here will help out and PM you, but there is so much more that just standing on a board, there is an entire ocean of surf knowledge to be had.
Concentrate on your skills and meet up with similar age surfers of similar skills progress together.
Just enjoy the adventure you have each time you paddle.
jaffa

[JulianOnWater]

hi ... to answer both posts... i live on the west side of LA, so i get in the water at least once a week (over last two years).

Where im at? I can paddle into waves and have fairly good positioning ... am getting up on waves and increasingly trimming. But popping up continues to be a problem (on steeper waves/ beach breaks), as does turning.

While i have specific things im working on now .. at each stage ive found that it's taken me a long while to learn the fundamentals - that are seemingly straight forward

With regards to setting up a school - if i were to do that - id be doing that with a partner... im more interested in hearing from the communities experiences of learning (ie whether my progression is more a reflection on me personally, or whether most surfers go through a slow learning curve?

Thanks guys,

[krustyburger]

Julian

I can empathize with your struggles, as also being a later in life beginner (36). Here’s my take on surf progression…

1. What does it mean to be a “good surfer”?… Are you setting realistic expectations on your progression? Is the sport of surfing still worth it to you even if you can accept that you will never be great at it or even “good” by the standards of an outsider to the sport/ beginner?

2. If you feel surfing is worth doing, even if you may never be “good”, then you are on the right track… IMO on the way to real progression and fun.

3. How often can you get to the surf? Some may measure progression and experience in years while in reality Wave Count is a more accurate measure. Is someone that claims to have been surfing intermittently for 30 years going to be better than a committed beginner with a few solid years of daily sessions under their belt? Not necessarily. You surf about once a week, so maybe you have 100 sessions under your belt. I think its perfectly reasonable that you are still working on your pop up... you just started your surfing journey.

4. What can you achieve with the limited surf access you have? Perhaps becoming a Competent Long-boarder who can enjoy yearly surf trips and intermittent sessions at a mediocre break is a great achievement, or perhaps you have the time, energy, fitness to progress your surfing into more advanced long-boarding or other high performance realms. Either way, its only going to feel like an achievement if you are really having fun.

Surfing is a chain of complex skills that must be pieced together, as OldManSurfer mentions: reading the ocean, reading the crowd, figuring out positioning, spotting surf-able peaks from junk waves, paddling, popping up, figuring out where your feet should land on a board, turtle rolling, stamina, comfort in strong currents, not to mention turning and all that jazz.

Even when the conditions are crap, you can still focus on building your skills across a myriad of the above. Consider it a successful surf if the ocean has taught you a lesson and made you a better waterman, even if you didn’t “shred” on that day. Look back at that session and focus on something you did well with an inward smile.

And yes, I do think the belief that adult learners cannot be competent surfers is BS. It may be true that most adults don’t have the time or energy to commit to surfing, and many don’t have the fitness to run a mile, much less surf for an hour or two. But all of that can be changed. I can attest to loving surfing and feeling like I am progressing every day, as much as I would have in my teens or 20s.

-Krus

[waikikikichan]

but am fairly athletic, flexible etc so no issues there.

I suck at sports and never go to the gym and I am the least flexible person you will ever meet ( No way I can bend downwards and touch my toes ), yet surfing is fun and enjoyable.
At the surf stand in Waikiki I worked at, I once asked a visitor if he needed a surf lesson. He said "Nah, I don't need one since I'm a really good Snowboarder". So I replied, " Oh then I should sign you up for TWO surf lessons ".

Been at it for 2 years now.

Great ! Then now you only have about another years worth to see some marked progress. I truly believe it takes 3 years for a beginner to learn the basics and THEN start progressing. ( That's why I cringed when people asked if a 7'6" funboard is okay to purchase after just been surfing for 2 months ).

Im progressing, but certainly slower than i expected. I know what i 'should be doing' (as i watch a million youtube surf how-to videos) - but translating that in the water has been harder than i thought.

Is this normal...? Why is it such a hard sport to pick up?

1) What is EXACTLY the problem ?
2) "Pick up" what is so hard ?
3) What size board are you currently riding and what were the previous boards you progress from ?

[oldmansurfer]

I learned without lessons however I grew up in the ocean and was bodysurfing from a young age and then progressed to bodyboarding and then to kneeboarding before I surfed. I didn't need to learn about waves and the ocean and already knew a lot about riding waves from years of experience. Before I started surfing I was riding waves at least as big as most of the surfers I knew would go out in. I think these days most surfers have some kind of instruction either formal classes or a friend who tells them what they are doing wrong and how to do it right. You might think you can figure it out and maybe you can but an experienced person watching you might be able to tell you how to improve faster. If you had photos or videos of yourself surfing we might be able to say something more or maybe you can try to describe what trouble you are having in precise details. Oh yeah what is your height weight and dimensions of surfboard? Looks like wakikichan has answered. Listen to him

[steveylang]

I started in my late 40's and it's been a couple of years for me. I think there's more than a few reasons why progressing in surfing is harder than many other activities or sports:

1. In a 2 hour session, you're only actually 'surfing' on the order of minutes (or under a minute, depending on the break.)
2. The playing field is constantly moving and shape-shifting very quickly and often chaotically, and rarely the same way twice.
3. You are trying to learn an inherently difficult activity, but your attention is split between the activity itself and that playing field. If the break is crowded, a significant part of your attention must be paid to other surfers as well.
4. So many of us learning surfers go through at least one period where we are surfing too small a board, which unnecessarily cranks up the difficult level further.

I'll also watch tutorial vids and think, 'oh yeah that's what I have to do' and maybe we even practice it on a surf skate or just a regular skateboard. But then all that goes out the window when you actually paddle out, for those reasons and more.

Where do you surf? I live in SFV. Depending on your board(s) I think Sunset is the easiest wave in our area. First Point is wonderful too, if you can manage the crowd.

[JulianOnWater]

Thanks @waikikikichan .. good to get your take that it takes 3 years to really start getting good. In that case, this is my year ha

@oldmansurfer sounds like you have a deep intuitive understanding of waves and how they move. Im still fighting against faster moving steeper waves (jacking waves), especially when dropping in (holding back vs going with the wave). I agree that getting external feedback is helpful and im totally open to it

Thanks @steveylang ... i totally agree... you have a few seconds on a wave and every wave is different, which makes getting your rhythm tough. Not to mention you're not so much catching a wave as you are competing for a wave.

perhaps the more astute question from all the great advice is: how do you maximize your surfing progression when you have about a minute wave-time each session, and each wave is different and being competed for?

[waikikikichan]

how do you maximize your surfing progression when you have about a minute wave-time each session, and each wave is different and being competed for?

Easy answer: Ride a Bigger board. You still haven't answered the question of what type and size board you ride. So I'm not sure what advise to give concerning that matter but 100% pertains to your main question.

[JulianOnWater]

@waikikikichan i have a 8.6 that i learned on. A recent 7.6 which i love and am catching lots of waves on. And a 6.7 which i also catch waves on but im more discerning about when i take it out. My main board is my 7.6

[ConcreteVitamin]

At my crowded home break, on an average day I may catch 5 waves or so in a 2-hour session, and 1 minute wave time means 12 seconds per wave --- meaning these aren't bad waves at all!

Keep at it.

[dtc]

Friend of mine who is a good surfer - not pro level but a guy who you would admire in most line ups.

He started surfing when he was 11, having been in the ocean doing surf lifesaving classes since he was 6. He then surfed 3 days a week plus literally 5-7 hours each day on the weekend (he would take a break some afternoons to play rugby). He did this all through high school; when he got a car he and his brother would hop in on Friday night and head somewhere to surf all weekend, sleep in the car or a cheap tent, eat peanut butter sandwiches.

So when you see those very good surfers - that’s why you aren’t one!

However you can still become a good surfer.

If you want to improve, how do you improve in other sports? Want a better bottom turn, practice your bottom turn; if you practice surfing the wave as long as possible without falling off then you won’t get better at turns. I read someone say it takes 200 attempts at doing a snap before you start doing them properly.

Also how do you improve - think about what isn’t working and try to understand how to do it better. Practice out if water if that helps. Visualise. Whatever you would do to improve your golf, do it for surfing.

It’s not easy; the guys who make it look easy are like my friend.

[JulianOnWater]

Nice one @dtc

[oldmansurfer]

Surfing has always amazed me in that people are able to do it and make it look easy. You go out through the surf and manage to put yourself in the right place to catch a wave then paddle enough to gain power from the wave stand up quickly then go from dropping down the wave (vertical navigation) to turning at the bottom of the wave (horizontal navigation) somehow bring the board under you as you get to the bottom of a steep wave. Just that alone is such an accomplishment. Then doing maneuvers that seem to defy gravity. This is why a longboard helps people learning to surf. It slows it down a bit , you don't need to stand as fast for most waves and it allows you to get down the face before it's steep so you don't have to transition from vertical to flat as much.

[waikikikichan]

Im progressing, but certainly slower than i expected. I know what i 'should be doing' (as i watch a million youtube surf how-to videos) -

Have you been watching "How to Surf Like a Pro in 25 Minutes" ? Or "How to Rip" ?

[LuckyLucy]

Hi,
You mentioned that you had difficulty popping up, and I sympathize with that bease I faced the same struggle. What helped me, was just to take the board out on the sand and practice popping up *quickly*. Also, it's important to ensure you have correct technique in the water. But remember, practice makes perfect. Eventually you will get better if you keep trying.

[IB_Surfer]

So lets talk equipment: What kind of board and what dimension and what specific model fins (FCS 5, Futures 460...)? How much do you weigh?

As to perception: this morning it was knee high with occasional waist/almost chest high sets, surfed at 5:50am for an hour and a half before going to work. I got 3 that connected long rides, 3 close-outs but made the drop, about 4 that were closing out so I backed out and missed 3 waves (I didn't pearl or fall off by mistake, but it still happens once in a while, still makes me laugh when I do).

Practice practice practice: I surf every Saturday and Sunday and try to get in at least one early morning weekday before-work session, sometimes more. Nothing beats progression that increasing the frequency of practice.

Travel to surf: although not right now for the pandemic, nothing beats a good vacation in warm water where you surf daily, it fills you with awesome stoke. I drag my wife along and she has become quite a beach fanatic (she doesn't surf, we can't all marry perfect women).

Get back to me on equipment, maybe something will help if you re getting hung up at the lip

[Yoav400]

hi all ... i'm totally hooked by surfing, but damn is it tough

i started surfing later in life (40+) but am fairly athletic, flexible etc so no issues there.

Been at it for 2 years now.

Im progressing, but certainly slower than i expected. I know what i 'should be doing' (as i watch a million youtube surf how-to videos) - but translating that in the water has been harder than i thought.

Is this normal...? Why is it such a hard sport to pick up? What has other people's experience been?

Let me know if im alone on this... or any general tips to maximize progression/learning in the water, let me know (harsh advice welcome)

Thanks

God! finally, someone to relate to...
I have been out there for 6 months...(same stat 40yrs.. quite fit)
SO DAMM HARD

[oldmansurfer]

I can't think of another sport where the playing field is constantly changing. Things that are the same as other sports is the equipment. A surfboard can hinder or help your learning as there are a variety of surfboards. Surfboard design itself is very complicated. Experienced shapers will make a 3 surfboards exactly the same, same size, same shape everything the same except not exactly the same as it's difficult to make 2 boards exactly the same. Small variations in the shape of the rails or the way the board is glassed will change how it performs. To a beginner they will seem exactly the same but to a pro they may notice marked differences. But this is just illustrative of why it's difficult not to mention the science of board design hasn't been entirely worked out yet. Then there are fins and besides different amounts and placement of fins there are different fins. To a beginner this won't matter much but somewhere along the course it will. Then there is the surfer. Fitness matters. But given a certain fitness some learn faster and some slower. More time in the ocean means more time to learn. So if you surf more you learn faster as long as you aren't getting so tired you are unable to paddle enough to catch a wave or getting injured. But surfing well requires reflexes and strength and balance and endurance. Then back to the wave. Probably the most difficult part of learning to surf is learning about the ocean. To surf well you need to know waves and currents and be able to figure out which wave to catch and which to let go by. You need to know were to lineup to catch the wave and where to paddle out to get to the waves. Then there is the skills how to paddle, how to popup, how to turn the board how to get through the waves. And the waves are not static so it's not like skateboarding or snowboarding. I don't think there is another sport where you can be resting and end up miles away from where you were. Lots of reasons why it's difficult. I think watching an expert surfer you think "I can do that" but it takes a long time to get to that skill level if you ever do. Most of the best surfers have been surfing since they were a child. The older you are when you start the more difficult to progress however if you just ignore that you won't ever be able to surf like John John Florence it's still a lot of fun.