Surfing Waves

sorry for the winge...

So i've had 1 group lesson, i bought a board/wetsuit and i've been for 2 other sessions myself practicing. In total about 6-7 hours trying to get going, i guess its not that much but its frustrating, i dont feel like i'm getting anywhere. I've not stood up once yet. All i seem to do is nearly injury myself like every 3 waves. Some things i dont understand:

how far out in the water should i be practicing? sometimes if i go out far ish, the waves seem way too big to handle, should i just go out but wait for smaller waves only? Should i be practicing on broken waves only? If i stay in too close i end up on the beach before i've had a chance to stand. Do i need a beach with small waves that last for a long time? or doesn't this matter? Do i need like 1ft only waves or something?

Maybe i should get some private lessons, i dont know, thought i could work it out myself...

Go where you feel comfortable and get hold of the basics

Whiltewater is where its at to practice on for beginers.

Man getting it right isnt measured in hours, but months...

Try not to get flustraited, we all have bad sessions no matter what ther skill level!

Point no1, get balanced on your board and learn to paddle. Forget the rest.

walk out to about chest high or to where the waves have broken and catch the broken wave /whitewater. when you can comfortable stand up then push on to the green wave

Like they said: stick to the whitewater until you feel you have a bit of balance standing on your board and have tried to steer the board by slightly leaning to the sides. That can take you anywhere from a few long days to a few long weeks (my girlfriend, haha). Then slowly move to unbroken waves but start small and try to have someone explain to you what the difference is between a plunging and a spilling wave. The former are much much easier and less likely to send you flying.

As for your last remark about being at the beach before you even manage to stand up, that pretty much just shows you need to become quicker at getting up. If it's done right, it happens very quickly. If you are still stringing together the different parts of the movement, then you will not be able to ride an unbroken wave either as you will be back off the wave and on the flat water before you are even standing up.

Love the ocean, enjoy just being in the water. I'm not saying don't try, I'm saying don't give up. Nobody just gets up and starts surfing. You need to develop those certain muscles along with wave knowledge and balance etc.. It will come enjoy each stage.

Have fun

if you're having problems with the pop-ups, practise at home laying on the floor, just getting the motion down. remember that the faster the board is going, the more stable it is. also, what size board are you riding? if it's too small, it could be just aiding in your difficulties

keep practicing the pop up in the white water until it's almost a natural movement! The more you do it then eventually the less you'll have to think about it & then you'll start progressing. It takes ages!

That's not 'having trouble'... thats 'learning'.

Steve - you're not the only one so don't worry. I've only done about as much time in the water as you and have managed just a few seconds standing up (and wobbling a lot!) before either the board comes to a halt on the sand or I fall off in a heap!

When I get really frustrated then I just go back to laying on the board, catching an incoming wave and getting the board in trim so that at least I get the exhilaration of zooming back onto the beach at some speed - that still gives me a smile and a break from falling off!

As with anything I've learnt over the years, practice and experience is key - that's why I'm doing a lengthy roundtrip this weekend just to try and catch a few hours in the water. I've been practicing my pop-ups at home and want to try it out again in the water and hopefully by the end of the day I can be just a little bit better. If not, then I'll end the day with lying on the board zooming back to the shore, but at least I'll be smiling and looking forward to the next trip.

Hang in there...
Martin

there's a lot more to surfing than just standing up, you need to maybe sit on the beach for a while and take notice as to when people start paddling to catch a wave, after you get the idea, paddle out into a spot where you saw either someone riding a wave or where you saw it break and sit just a little further out then that spot, look out towards the waves coming in, if there coming in in sets, wait till one goes by you turn around and start paddling for the next one, after you have the momentum from the wave pushing you, standing up is easy...keeping your balance is the hard part. Hope this helps...don't give up...you have to feel the stoke otherwise the effort was for naught. Good Luck!

Just got my popup down after 6 weeks of being whitewater boy. Last session (Monday of this week) it just clicked and I was popping up without even thinking about it, paddling into my waves too, not just catching whitewater. That's 6 weeks of going 3 to 4 times a week. I think the major factors are A.) just going out any time I can (like everything else, practice makes perfect), and B.) after 6 weeks of going out, my paddling muscles are finally starting to get in surfing shape.

Sykes wrote:Just got my popup down after 6 weeks of being whitewater boy. Last session (Monday of this week) it just clicked and I was popping up without even thinking about it, paddling into my waves too, not just catching whitewater. That's 6 weeks of going 3 to 4 times a week. I think the major factors are A.) just going out any time I can (like everything else, practice makes perfect), and B.) after 6 weeks of going out, my paddling muscles are finally starting to get in surfing shape.

yep practice is the key to surfing.

those video saying you can surf in 1 day is utter bs. you need at least 2~4 month of practice till you can pop up and ride the green wave.

pkbum wrote:those video saying you can surf in 1 day is utter bs. you need at least 2~4 month of practice till you can pop up and ride the green wave.

while in most cases thats sorta true, it isnt in all.

drowningbitbybit wrote:That's not 'having trouble'... thats 'learning'.

Lol, love that answer, short and sweet.

You know, as a beginner, I think the biggest issue when you start out is getting in surfing shape. It all begins with paddling, and the muscles needed to paddle. You don't usually use those muscles, and it takes a little time for them to get in proper shape. Once you notice yourself developing triceps, you'll notice that your surfing is getting easier (my fiancee likes that too, although how it helps my surfing is not something she's really concerned about).

Not even as a learner...

I went out the other day, first time in a few months, full on winter kit, half knackered befreo I got wet lol.

Lasted 40min got 3 waves, almost killed myself. ouch....