Surfing Waves

I've been around this forum for like 8 years now. You would think by now I can surf really well, but at best I would just say barely intermediate. The only expert bit I would say now is that I'm great at putting on and taking off wetsuit. I was expecting this is a sport that you just keep practicing and should get better? Often I see these really good surfers, that just absolutely shred every wave that comes through. It makes me wonder how are they able to do that? I'm pretty sure I surf more than they do in the last two years. I'm wondering if it's because I'm not forcing myself to learn those more advanced turns?

When it's under 5 feet, I can catch waves after waves and usually 10-12 waves within an hour. When winter swell comes and it's always head high, I would consider lucky to ride 2-3 waves in that hour. Part of the reason for this is because I always stay at the shoulder plus I don't really want to go over the falls since I got seriously injured twice when I fell and it was reef bottom. I landed on the reef and broke my longboard. There seems to be a massive difference in force when the wave is overhead. But hey, all the other surfer seems to be making those critical drop each time.

I also struggle to take off when it's big and crowded. Simply because I know there are other surfers inside. Once I take off from the peak, I would have to navigate through them. Sure, most of them would move out of their wave. But I'm not confident in myself that I would not run over them. I think if there were less surfers around, I wouldn't mind taking the chances.

"When it's under 5 feet, I can catch waves after waves and usually 10-12 waves within an hour. When winter swell comes and it's always head high, I would consider lucky to ride 2-3 waves in that hour."

Don't lose sight of how good you are! Remember your sessions at Rockaway and be proud of the progress.

To reduce the crowd factor, consider surfing more in the early morning and spending time at beach breaks where the peaks are spread out and the bottom is sandy. Knowledge is power. Focus on one spot. Get to know the conditions year round that work for you and those that don't. When you get a spot "wired" you will be more comfortable taking chances.

I am so lucky to live where I live. Perhaps this is just your place in surfing. It's difficult to overcome fear after an injury. I have never been in that situation from surfing but first off you want to stay safe. 3 waves an hour is not much to learn on but maybe that is all you can do. It beats zero waves an hour but I can usually catch more than 3 waves in 30 minutes sometimes 5 times that amount. My advice is small steps. Just move over a yard deeper in the lineup from where you are no big change so you stay safe.

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So this is what I'm talking about. I'm always sitting at the shoulder when I'm the few on a longboard when it's overhead. I sit right at the end and hope for a bigger wave that comes through so the guys at the peak won't get it. Although I caught the wave, I leaned hard into it thinking it's going to close out very quickly. But it did not so I lost my balance.

I know I should go close to the peak, but with so many other good surfers. I become a hazard to everyone else.

This is an interesting one. I agree you should just go to the good peak and wait your turn. Stay a bit outside until you think it's your turn, or an outside one comes in that only you can catch. When you've waited long enough, paddle more inside and take your turn. Obviously don't do anything dangerous, but it's not like pipeline-busy, you should be OK. And don't wait too long either! Take your rightful wave!

As for the actual wave, try to get into the mindset of doing one manoeuvre if it's a closeout, don't just kick out but carve down the wave to get ahead of the white water. Or do a floater or hit the lip. It's a much cooler feeling.

OK I looked at your other videos and it looks really busy to me haha that would probably scare the hell out of me. I would still try to get some of the good waves, but yeah your issues are mostly based on that you are surfing a really crowded spot where there are not really enough waves to go round and everyone is getting in your way. I would try to surf somewhere less known I guess if that exists where you are?

BaNZ wrote: I was expecting this is a sport that you just keep practicing and should get better?

In what sport, swimming, baseball, golfing, shooting, etc. would a beginner get better if he did the actions / movements incorrectly ?

"Practice does not make perfect, Practice makes permanent." If you practice wrong, you just get better at doing "wrong".

( and even if you are taught the right way, but are not confident, indecisive and assume things, then it still won't matter )

BTW, I don't like waves over 5 feet. I like 3-4 feet. Small waves are fine even though I've been surfing for over 25 years.

You gotta get in there and fight at the peak. Don’t worry too much about those inside. Somehow they avoid being run over by the others out there.

It is sooooo much easier to catch the wave at the correct spot rather than the shoulder. Just go straight out to the peak next time and try your luck.

BaNZ wrote:I sit right at the end and hope for a bigger wave that comes through so the guys at the peak won't get it.

With a crowd that's a good strategy! The wave was FAST and the peak had caught up to you by the time you took off. You didn't cut anyone off and nearly had a great ride. With bigger waves it's always about commitment and knowing the spot for your first maneuver. I struggle with this too. Keep watching the videos and work out the next "baby step."

Can resonate. I like bigger (like, max 1.5 OH) but not super big. My fear is mostly about crowded: hitting others, getting hit by others. One thing that helps me a lot is to surf different types of boards and different sizes. For me, a shorter board works better when taking under the peak especially if it's fast and pitchy takeoff; a longer board is just much harder for me to control.

Today I went to a less crowded spot and I took my longboard out. I was able to catch much more waves and it's still within my comfort zone. But I'm feeling like I'm doing something wrong as I'm unable to finish the ride. It nearly always closes out on me unless I'm sitting right at the shoulder end.

Despite trying everything I know, I just can't get enough speed to make it pass the faster section. It's high tide and the waves are slow and fat on the outside. But once it's inside, it jacks up fast and becomes very steep. The camera angle unfortunately doesn't show the inside. Or you would see me kicking out in the faster section.

Overall I'm glad with my progress today. The videos are not in any particular order.

From looking at wave #4 ( which you made it out onto the face ) versus wave #5 ( which you got caught behind the lip ), what differences were there ?

Hint: Wave #2, or what's on the lower part of the screen shot, kind of gives you the answer.

I see you still haven‘t found the accelerator yet you are making the bottom turn and and angle take offs OK but there is no increase in speed from them onto the wave face!
You have about one to two foot of accelerator in front of you, which you don‘t step up to use ( you may still have fear of nose diving) you have made the takeoff so less likely! Your stance is still very gluefoot static with the same length of board from flapping up and down slowing you!
Interestingly when you do a slight fade to the left on takeoff you get better position in a slight power pocket!

THOUGHT you can get more speed even though rightly the waves are slowish and tending to drop a section in front of you!
Speed on waves like this is generated by stepping forward to the accelerator, speed gives more power, mores-eyed means more control , more power can drive you through a section ‚‘‘closeout‘‘, often there may be clean face beyond that, speed can even set you up to drive and float over a small section / starts like a pull out!
Without ability to change speed and direction with some power/ control, it is regression, start using your feet and accelerator there is nothing to loose except regression

waikikikichan wrote:From looking at wave #4 ( which you made it out onto the face ) versus wave #5 ( which you got caught behind the lip ), what differences were there ?

Hint: Wave #2, or what's on the lower part of the screen shot, kind of gives you the answer.

I'm not entirely sure. I think my surf stance did not change and as Jaffa said, I'm being very rigid. Therefore it must be my positioning? Wave #4 I was slightly further down the shoulder and #5 I'm deeper and by the time I popup, it's already breaking in front of me on the second peak. My thought process was that if I move in deeper then I could possibly gain more speed if I stay in the powerful section. However that did not work.

On wave #2, are we talking about where the white water is? Where you could see the waves breaking? Therefore I should know it's reef there and I need to get over that peak or else I won't make it pass that section?

jaffa1949 wrote:I see you still haven‘t found the accelerator yet you are making the bottom turn and and angle take offs OK but there is no increase in speed from them onto the wave face!
You have about one to two foot of accelerator in front of you, which you don‘t step up to use ( you may still have fear of nose diving) you have made the takeoff so less likely! Your stance is still very gluefoot static with the same length of board from flapping up and down slowing you!
Interestingly when you do a slight fade to the left on takeoff you get better position in a slight power pocket!

There's a reason I did not step forward. Because I can't turn the board when I'm closer to the middle. I'm anticipating that the wave is going to close out so I need to get ready to kick out. I'm guessing this is exactly why I'm failing to go past that section because I'm prepping myself to not get over that section. Let me know if I'm wrong, but the right way to surf these wave would be cross stepping all the way to the nose after a bottom turn. Then cross step back to the tail and kickout if it closes out?

On that wave with the slight fade. I was going to go left but then I saw the other surfer and I wasn't comfortable in my skills, hence why I turn and went the other way. It wasn't my goal trying to get into the powerful section. I wish it was lol.

No nose rideable different, having a step or two forward engages acceleration, where the board matches or speeds up with the wave is trim!
In all of those videos your nose ( the board) is flapping- and down each of those looses speed, you would notice an acceleration even with two steps forward That gets the spot. Longboard surfing is being able to move between the speed spot and then stepping back to turn even changing weight pressure between front and back foot acts as accelerator and brake.
Be brave don‘t look for a pull out if a waves doing something, look to how you can use that to do something to continue to ride!
That is how and why reentries, Top turns lip bounces were invented.
The waves were pretty weak but you could drive a lot more

Without bothering all the other responses let me give you mine: buy a step up or gun.

I break out a high volume 6'6 step up and then a 7' or 8' california gun on big days. Some of my friends that weigh less use a 6'4 stepup, but I end up getting more waves than me. So, want to surf bigger waves? Buy a board for the occasion. Only pro's sur 20ft puerto using small shortboard.

Hope that's the advise you needed

BaNZ wrote: Let me know if I'm wrong, but the right way to surf these wave would be cross stepping all the way to the nose after a bottom turn. Then cross step back to the tail and kickout if it closes out?

Well it depends on what your goal is.
Are you a traditional classic style rider ? Then cross stepping sounds good. Can you cross step all the way to the nose ?
Are you more of a progressive rider ? Then maybe carving from rail to rail from the tail would be good. Like Jaffa said, instead of kicking out, you could do a foam climb and land and keep going.

jaffa1949 wrote:No nose rideable different, having a step or two forward engages acceleration, where the board matches or speeds up with the wave is trim!
In all of those videos your nose ( the board) is flapping- and down each of those looses speed, you would notice an acceleration even with two steps forward That gets the spot.

This advice came in super handy today as it was 15mph offshore gust. First wave, as soon as I popped up. The wind picked up the board and push me back up the wave. The first few waves I caught, I was lingering very high up the wave and the board was flapping up and down. Which is then I started to take your advice and step forward more and shifting the weight to the middle of the board. I was in the wave woohoo! But at the same time, I couldn't get used to the extra speed so I was going to the bottom of the wave too fast and losing the momentum. I still couldn't make it past the faster sections but I think I'm getting there. Didn't surf at a spot with camera today so I don't know if I surf any better but I'm just going to assume I did!