Surfing Waves

Hello!

I used to play around on a longboard in college and have recently returned to surfing after about a 10 year hiatus. I would describe myself as an upper beginner, eager to learn more intermediate maneuvers. I recently went to a week-long camp in Costa Rica and made some improvements. I was catching green waves (sometimes with a push from my instructor ) but starting to turn down the line a bit. The waves were closing out a lot so the rides were pretty short... Any thoughts on what can be improved? I think my front foot placement is a bit too straight ahead and I obviously need to get stronger to better my paddling skills. (Please excuse the commentary of my friends!)




Thanks!

nooshie

You are balancing the weight of your butt hanging off one side of the board with your arms hanging off the other side. You need to rotate your hips and bring your hips over the center of the board. Surfing is about moving your weight around and the main control for that is the position of your hips which should mostly be centered over the board. This will make you more stable because instead of having to make up for that weight hanging off the side of the board you can use your arms to balance side to side on the board. The other things that can help you are building paddling skills and wave reading skills.

Thanks! Would you say I need to be more upright in the torso? And I still have a similar bend in my knees or am I too crouched? And last question--by the hip rotation, do you mean I should move my right hip more underneath my body? This is something I was having trouble with starting from the pop up--I think I need to twist more in the initial pop up. Thanks again!

First thing I noticed is that your stance is quite 'frozen' - you pop up but then it seems like you are really afraid of falling so just stand very very still and dont move anything. So you will need to learn to loosen up. This starts with your head - watch the videos and see where your eyes are looking. Which is down at the nose of the board. You need to look where you are going, you never need to look at the nose of your board. So head up and that puts the weight more centred over the board (as old man says) for a start (your head is heavy, if your head is leaning forward and down then the rest of your body has to stick out to balance it). It will also twist your shoulders to be a bit more front on (good). Then you need to loosen up the knees and hips and let them move about a bit and be a bit lighter on your feet.

But just looking up will help an awful lot and is the place to start (it will also help you catch waves in the first place, as looking up helps you figure out where to go, avoid other surfers, balance your board better etc)

edit: one of our regular, waikikichan, has a blog that covers this - look here http://alohaki.jugem.jp/?month=201611 and scroll down to the third entry 'Look Down-Go Down. Look Up-Stay Up'

Dont worry about it too much, looking down is a pretty common beginner level thing. But you do need to fix it.

Hope that helps

Might be worth reading through these two threads as some similar issues/points re stance and hips etc (you arent entirely the same but there might be some useful tips)


viewtopic.php?f=9&t=33343

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=33348

Thank you! Reading through those threads/links now and lots of good info including a rotation exercise by Accidental Longboarder that I am going to give a whirl before bed tonight Looking down was a huge problem for me. Definitely need to fix that. Lots to work and it's freezing in New York and I'm without a wetsuit thick enough for the near freezing water temperatures...

Before I go out I try to focus on just one (maybe two) things to work on that day. There's a lot that needs improving but I think keeping eyes up and rotating the hips so I have a better stance are tops right now. More time in the water will lead to more paddle strength I hope! And more time in the water will also lead to me relaxing more on the board too!

Thanks again for the feedback. Happy to have found this forum!

That exercise is a good one for me but perhaps for you practice going into your stance then rotating your hips and dropping your back knee then stay in that configuration and move your weight (hips) forward and backward. Once you feel comfortable with that learn to move forward and backward.

nooshie wrote:I would describe myself as an upper beginner, eager to learn more intermediate maneuvers. I was catching green waves (sometimes with a push from my instructor ) but starting to turn down the line a bit.

To get better at surfing, you need to be honest with your true level. You are not an “upper beginner”. My assessment would be more “newbie / lower tier beginner. ( especially if you still need a push assist ) The reason why I say / warn this is you’re “eager to learn intermediate maneuvers “. You still haven’t got the most basic skills of paddling , pop up and proper stance/ body line. Without that, all the adjustments and tweaks mean nothing. Crawl before you walk, walk before you can run.
That said YOUR surfing looks great, you got that eye. ( albeit a bit side eye bent over ) of the many videos I see, you are one of those that’ll do well in surfing, IF you don’t get ahead of yourself.
1) on the 2nd video you shoot out your board. Better to veer off the oncoming whitewater and extend the ride. ( most likely you get a rail to the shins a few times , but that’s how we learn and improve )

Thank you! And yes--you're totally right. Definitely need not get ahead of myself. I do realize all the work that needs to be done after reading through these responses and looking at some of the other beginner threads. Appreciate the encouragement and humbling! (LOLed when I read the "a bit side eye bent over." Now if only I wasn't sitting a desk right now Perhaps I'll close my door and practice my pop up now...

oldmansurfer wrote:That exercise is a good one for me but perhaps for you practice going into your stance then rotating your hips and dropping your back knee then stay in that configuration and move your weight (hips) forward and backward. Once you feel comfortable with that learn to move forward and backward.

What I meant by this is to move your hips toward your front foot then back toward your back foot (This corresponds to moving it toward the nose and toward the tail). Adjusting your weight on the board helps you to speed up and slow down. After you can do that then you can try to walk forward and backward a little as well.

Thanks! That made sense and I tried it this morning when I woke up. When moving the hips toward the front and back, you want keep the knees pointing slightly toward each other correct? Am I right in thinking that helps keep your hips under you rather than sticking off the side of the board?

There are many ways that your knees can go but usually not in opposite directions. I think most surfers have both knees facing forward with the front foot more forward and the back one at the most at 90 degrees from the front so not towards each other although that was a popular style of surfing for a while. I think there is a lot of leeway depending on your structural requirements.

nooshie wrote:Thank you! Reading through those threads/links now and lots of good info including a rotation exercise by Accidental Longboarder that I am going to give a whirl before bed tonight

this is a good exercise on weighting (not sure if its the same one you are talking about)

https://boostyoursurf.com/blog/2017/01/ ... surfboard/

nooshie wrote: When moving the hips toward the front and back, you want keep the knees pointing slightly toward each other correct? Am I right in thinking that helps keep your hips under you rather than sticking off the side of the board?

For knees, you dont want them both pointing outwards (poo stance) or both pointing inwards too much (X-stance). The latter is caused usually by having feet at 3 o'clock position (rather than 1 oclock for front foot).

But seems to me your knees and feet are totally fine so I wouldnt worry too much about it. You just have to bend more at the knees than the hips (straighter upper body) and keep the weight over the centre of the board. Which is mostly caused by the head thing. Head up and keep your hands on opposite sides of the board (unless otherwise required eg turning). Those two things will straighten you up, make you look ahead and give you more balance.

From there you can move onto the more 'advanced beginner stuff' like weighting of the board and starting to turn. Pop up is still a bit slow but you pop up, so that is what you want (just might be a bit slow on bigger/faster waves so worth keeping as an area for further action). I agree with waikikikichan (who is, in fact, a surfing instructor and not a desk instructor like me, so you can trust what he says) that you are at a great starting point, no serious issues you need to 'unlearn'; just need a bit of practice (like us all).

Stay stoked!

I am also not a surf instructor and just have an interest in the physics of surfing as opposed to all the incredible practical knowledge that Waikikichan has in teaching surfing. It's all about balance and moving your weight around which is controlled by your hips. Practically speaking they may say to move your head or your arms but still it is only because that changes your hip position. I never taught anyone to surf and no one ever taught me to surf other than pushing me into a couple waves so I am somewhat clueless to the problems others have learning to surf so maybe don't listen to me

Hey buddy, I think you are doing just fine for as green as you are. It’s a process. Your commitment to getting in the water, and training out of the water will decide how far you get in your development. Period. A lot of the advice you get will tend to fall into place by accident . I think your pip up was pretty damn decent too. Pura Vida!

Where were you in CR?

I think the guys gave you valuable tips already, but I noticed one thing I don't think was mentioned:

In the first video, your back foot seems a bit misplaced, it's not aligned with the stringer but rather forward, too close to the inside rail. Because of that you ended up having to counter weight by putting extra pressure on your front foot heel, and that probably didn't help with the balance.

On the good side, your pop up is not so "step-by-step" but a bit towards an one-motion pop up, which is what you should aim for! If you keep practicing it on land, not only you'll get a more explosive and fluid pop up, but you'll also have more precision on the feet placement

On the second wave your feet were more aligned with the stringer, and you can see you had more control of the board than in the first video!

Onelove wrote:Where were you in CR?

I was in Playa Grande!

Thanks again everyone for the tips I creep this forum every few days and always learn something new!

Hi nooshie, good you are getting advice here, I invite you to add your perspective on your surf adventures. Too often it is guys advising but a little sisterhood and what women experience innthe water would be great.
Women surfers add something to a lineup where silver back alpha males strut their stuff, it brings back family fun and a sharing spirit

Haha, yes! I will! I haven't been able to surf too often since my trip to Costa Rica but managed to get in a super fun session in Bolinas when I was in the San Francisco area two weeks ago. Last weekend I was out in Long Beach, NY and struggled to read the sandbars. Only caught two waves lol. I'd say right now that's one of the big things I've been trying to improve upon--knowing how to catch waves on my own and figuring out how to correctly position myself. And also having confidence in the water when I'm alone or with a friend. It definitely CAN be intimidating when you're one of the only women in the water AND a beginner but have found people to be super nice and welcoming! Hopefully going to get out again this weekend!

Hi guys I still read the forum quite often and gain a lot from all the tips and insight everyone shares. I've been reflecting on my surfing journey and stumbled upon this old post of mine back from when I was just getting back into the water. I wanted to share a more recent video. You will notice progress but of course, there's still so much to learn. I'm slowly getting closer to the nose, trying to get better with my cutbacks (need to get farther back on the board, I suspect), trying to not get too far ahead of the wave... lots to work on! Getting to this point has taken a lot of time. I surf about 3 times a week now and progress is not always linear! But this is what excites me about surfing!

Anyhow, wanted to share and say thanks for the early tips and encouragement.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXAoonVSz-s