Surfing Waves

I have been surfing for a little while and can stand without too much trouble, however my question however is related to the next step. I struggle with anxiety facing un-broken waves. I know this may be natural feeling, yet it stops me each time. Can anyone help with any advice on how to control this feeling. Help anyone please.
Thank you in advance

Hi Meadow,

I'm a relative beginner, but.... everyone has fears to start off with, its about becoming confident in your own abilities, once you are confident you are in the right position, u know how to get out past the breaking waves and u are confident in your fitness the fear will fade a little.

Fear is perfectly normal to feel and keep us from making stupid decisions, if you start to paddle out and freak out at the size of the building swell, get out. Its your bodys way of saying... ur not ready.

Stick to the <2 - 4ft waves, avoid anything sucky and hollow, and build your confidence .

Ive been surfing for around 4 months now 1 - 3, 5 hours sessions per week. i went out on a 6ft / 12 second day and freaked out. It only made me realise how unfit and unprepared i was for such heavy waves. Surfing is a progressive sport / hobby and takes time to get better.

Short answer is get in the water and surf more!

peazz has it - its the unknown. If you have ever had to teach a kid to swim, it can take weeks or months before they will even put their head under the water, and then a few months later they are diving to the bottom of the pool thinking its the funnest thing ever. Same with riding a bike or going down a waterslide etc - scary until they have done it and realised it didnt hurt and they can cope with it. I'm sure parachutists think most people are strange and you will never catch me climbing a rock face over 30m high, but others do it all the time.

I know thats not really an answer, but surfing takes you out of your comfort zone in the same way that putting a kid in the pool does. You just need a bit of experience to understand that the risks arent really very risky and, as peazz has said, you are prepared and know how to deal with the risks to prevent them occuring or how to deal with them if they occur. For example, learn how to protect your head when you fall, how to stay out of the way of other surfers, how to get to shore if your leg rope breaks and how to get through a wave/white water (probably the most common risks).

I guess there is the classic dichotomy of whether the best way is to use the 'sink or swim' approach (go out in big waves and realise they arent too scary after a while) or the 'slowly slowly' approach (go out in conditions you are comfortable with or just a little bit above what you are comfortable with, stretching yourself each time). I'm pretty much in the latter camp so, yes, agree with the suggestion that you stick with smaller waves or smaller days, work your way up, just keep going surfing; and as your skills build and your understanding of surfing builds then so will your confidence.

Most people you see surfing have been surfing since they were kids, and its only the 5 or 10 or 40 years of surfing that gives them the confidence they have, not something that mentally they have that you dont have.

So - understand the risks, prepare for the risks, know what to do if they happen and practice.

Here's a counterintuitive suggestion for overcoming fear of unbroken waves - don't look at them

No, really, bare with me here. When I'm out in waves that are a touch above my comfort zone, I find that I don't commit to it, and as I paddle I'm looking over my shoulder at the wall of water approaching me and it's a self-fulfilling prophecy - I don't catch it. Or worse still - catch it, but screw it up.
And how to get round this? Don't look at them coming and commit. Make sure its the right wave and you're in the right place, make sure noone else is going to go for it... and then look at the beach, start to paddle, forget about whats happening behind you for a moment, and really commit. When the wave collects you, you'll be paddling fast enough to really catch it, you'll be nicely balanced and then it becomes instinct to pop up.

In reality, you need to keep your eyes open to make sure noone else is coming along the face, and you need to know where the wave is breaking, but don't try too hard - focus on where you're going, not what's coming

Cheers for the help guys. I am still unsure whether to go for the full on approach or the slow one. I might just have a go and see what happens, I think this all stems back to an old body boarding incident years ago where I was pinned down in nasty surf. Cheers for advice though and I will keep you posted.

Hi Meadows CJ

I think I came from exactly the same place as you have! I spent an awful lot of time in the white water as I just had this mental barrier when it came to paddling out in all but the smallest waves.

I took things gradually, and will now paddle out in overhead waves in the right circumstances.

I would start paddling out on smaller days, especially if you are with friends who you know are well within their comfort zone as I'm sure they'll give you confidence. Wait for waves that you know you can catch, a lot of less experienced surfers will paddle for lots of waves, even if they are going to close out or break a bit earlier so you don't have as much time to get up and riding. If you wait for a nice gently peeling wave, your success rate will be higher. Once you're up and riding those waves the wipeouts will probably bother you less as the reward is higher!

Don't let it bother you that some days you'll choose to stay in the white water; as well as improving your pop up you can start practising turns, and you can always find reformed waves to play with. A session in the white water really focusing on a particular skill will be more productive than a terrifying and unsuccessful session trying to get out back!

I'm sure that, like me, you will start to feel more confident. As your confidence grows you will want to push yourself more and take bigger steps!

Cheers for advice zebroo sounds like good sense, I am lucky as I do have a surf buddy who to be honest has been so patient with me and a real good friend. Still its time to take control back and really start to enjoy me surfing again.