Been surfing a year - but not getting anywhere!!!

[IRLfeline]

howaryas...I started surfing last summer by taking a 2 day clinic. Since then I have gone pretty religiously every weekend (once or twice). Now, a year later, I don't feel like I am making any progress. I catch the occasional wave and ride it to the shore, but nowwhere as many as I though I would after a year. Should I persevere, or am I wasting my time? Help!

[JRR]

persevere! try different stuff and don't be afraid.

[jonny]

what surfboard do you ride and what's your height, weight, general fitness level?

[SurfEm]

Hey i am a girl and have also been surfing a year and dont seem to be getting anywhere either!! I need some help so i posted this in the same thing coz its practically the same problem... i cant turn the board on a wave very well so i cant really go sideways but i can ride waves into the shore but thats about it! I am way too scared to go out when its like 3 foot lol i dont know why and i am thinking about giving up. Ive been going out with my friends who can surf but do you think i should get some lessons to help me or what??

[jonny]

let us know what sort of board you're riding surfem?

[SurfEm]

ok ive been riding a 6'3 umm normal??? board lol sorry i dont know really what type it is or anything.. and if it helps my height is like a metre 60 and i weigh about 50 kilos

[kieran]

Have you tried an angled take off to go down the wave

[jonny]

ive been riding a 6'3

leaning on a shortboard is always going to be tough. They generally don't have the volume, bouyancy or stability that will progress you.

If you can, I'd really recommend borrowing a mate's mini-mal - for your height and weight something like a 7'6" or 7'8" should be big enough. Make sure it is a nice thick, wide mini-mal shape and not a thin, pointy gun shape.

You'll be able to paddle much, much faster (the key to surfing), it will catch the wave much easier, it won't throw you straight off if your foot is slightly in the wrong place or your body weight shifts the wrong way.

Try it. Once you have it mastered - you can then get back on your shortboard and really rip!

The other tip to mastering surfing is just building up your paddling power. The faster and stronger you can paddle, the better chence of getting a wave you have. Simple as that!

As long as you are having fun then it doesn't matter how long it's taking you.

A famous surfer once said - "the best surfer out there is the one having the most fun"

[SurfEm]

Hey yeah i have tried angled but somehow i always end up going straight ahead lol or turning a bit and falling straight off!

Ive had a go on my friends mini mal and i went great! My mum promised me a mini mal for christmas and i still havent got it lol but i was wondering if it was worth it because i might be able to get her to buy it this month. Thanks for the help, after today getting smashed around and not getting any waves and nearly drowning about ten times i was going to give up but then ive said that heaps of times before but if u think a mini mal would really help me improve then ill get one! I do think i need to get some strength into my arms coz i suck at paddling real bad lol any ideas on how to get strong arms?? thanks

[jonny]

the best thing to do is just get in the water whenever you can really. Even if it is flat as a pancake just get in a paddle around for a while.

other stuff to do is go swimming, do press ups (girlie style if you want!), go to the gym, get a book/dvd on yoga - that's great for strengthening and stamina, go running with a small bottle of water in each hand. Anything really.

You'll be able to tell a huge difference after just a few weeks though I promise you.

Mini-mal wise - even if you get one now and sell it in 6 months? There's always a huge market for second hand mini-mals so you'll not lose much cash if you look after it.

Whatever happens don't give up - it is the best feeling in the world once you're up and skimming down the face of a beautiful clean wave....

[Surfem]

Wow thanks 4 ur help ive been having trouble with this kind of stuff for so long and its good toget some advice from ppl who know their stuff :D ill definately go searching 4 a mini mal asap!
I really wana get better at paddling so ill start doing some girly style press ups i think lol whenever i cant get to the beach and the yoga sounds like a great idea!! Thanks heaps! cant wait till i can get to the skimming down the face of a beautiful clean wave stage :wink:

[kieran]

i have got both a minimal and a shortboard, the difference is amazing. Surfing the minimal is like being on a small boat, the is so much room for error. Where as with the shortboard the pop has got to be right first time, its much more unstable but so easy to turn.

I would certainly recommend having a go on the minimal even if you just hire or borrow one

[surfem]

will do!! thanks dude

[sinistapenguin]

DON'T GIVE UP!! - THAT GOES FOR EVERYONE!!

Right, just had to say that up front!

The key to moving on to the next level is two-fold -

1. Having the right equipment
2. Having confidence in your ability

1 EQUIPMENT:

I agree with Kieran (as usual!!) try a mini-mal. I surfed for 8 years on a shortboard and got pretty good. I switched to a mini-mal 2 years ago and my ability shot through the roof! If you can ride all the way to the beach, then your board is probably buoyant enough, but it could be that the lack of stability stops you from turning etc.

How hard do you have to concentrate to stay on the board to the shore? If it's more than 'hardly have to be awake' then the board is probably not right.

2 CONFIDENCE:

Confidence is a key thing.

I am way too scared to go out when its like 3 foot lol i dont know why and i am thinking about giving up

If you are happily riding white water to the shore then you will certainly have fallen off numerous times and been held under - hence:

after today getting smashed around and not getting any waves and nearly drowning about ten times i was going to give up

In reality, we all say that we've nearly drowned, but I would think if you're honest, you didn't nearly drown, you got scared by how powerful the sea can be!

You need to find a day when it is about 2 ft and clean. Watch the waves, if you time it right, you should be able to get out back without meeting too much resistance. Once you are out there, you will appreciate the more peaceful side of surfing, you are not constantly battling white water, you can sit and wait. Get your energy back, gain some confidence.

At the end of the day, you know if you fall off, you will survive. My brother in law was out with us at the weekend. He had been struggling in the whitewater for around a year and was also getting fed up.

He went back in the water yesterday - it was 1-2ft and clean, the sun was shining (it was altogether not threatening) Remember a 2 ft unbroken wave is about the same size as the whitewater you have been catching!!

When I left him yesterday morning, he was very disillusioned, but he caught his first 'open face' wave during the day and when I saw him last night he was as stoked as anyone I've ever seen.

Keep at it, your confidence will grow and you will get better.

Cheers

Sinista

[PapaW]

Focus on the basics... Balance and stance...

on a 6'3" your giving yourself a real hard time.. invest in a 7'" + board with stability for you to perfect balance and stance on a the waves then you can go back to your 6'3"

[dreamwr]

If you start out with a long board, you won't have to work so hard on keeping the board stable. You'll be able to glide and learn how to ride it smoothly. You may have surfed for a year, but you haven't gotten enough wave riding time. The long boards will give you this precious time on the wave to get a better feel for how the board works with many types of waves. It's really not that hard to turn on a long board. For a sharp turn, just grab a rail.