realistic progress?

[iomarti]

Hi everyone.

I was thinking today, about targets I want to set myself this summer, and what I want to achieve by September, but I have no idea about the average timescale of how beginner surfers improve.

I've been surfing for nearly two months now. I'm breaking the habit of using my knees to pop up. I popped straight to my feet on 9 out of 10 waves today, and wiped out once. This is all in white water, but it takes me a while to go for the pop up, I spend ages paddling, making sure I'm goin fast enough. I surf about 3 times a week.

So, My aims for September....

1. To be able to pop up on an unbroken wave.
2. To be able to do a turn, of some sort.

Do you think this is realistic, bearing in mind my progress so far?
Any other things I should be aiming to achieve?

Thanks,

xx

[dondiemand]

i think you can do it..if u go 3 times a week, u should develop a pretty decent upper body strength, which will help u on ur pop up, and try popping up quicker than u normally do, this will give u time if u want to do bottom turns, goodluck!

[libby]

Sounds exactly like the goals i set myself for before i left NZ. I havent quite reached them, mainly because like you i had issues with popping up to my knees, and by the time i finally got that sorted it was just before i had to come back to uni, which means more or less no more surfing for me (in the summer i was surfing twice a day most days for a couple of months). I could tell i was so close, and had i been surfing constantly till now i have no doubt that i would be standing on unbroken waves and turning, in fact i was probably not far from it at all as i could stand and catch unbroken waves, so it was just a case of it all begininning to gel together.

If you are getting out there everyday i reckon you could do it no problem by september, but if you find yourself getting stuck in a rut at any point i reckon it might be worth getting a lesson with a professional to help you move on to the next step. I wont be surfing regularly for the next year but when i come back to NZ the idea is to get some lessons, if i can afford to i might even have one every fortnight, just to keep me progressing.

Anyways hope this helps, keep is posted on your progress.

Libs

[Laguna]

Ye I think its a good target. Try going 3 times a week and getting as much practice in at paddling. I think paddling and getting fitter is something everyone needs to work on. You should be able to pop up on unbroken waves, I think getting out there would be the harder bit.

Practice paddling and duck diving as well. If you cant duck dive after a while just settle for turtle rolling and try duck diving later on.

When popping up on unbroken waves it will feel a lot different and a lot faster so you will have to be confident in controlling your balance on the board. On unbroken waves, it will feel different popping up because you drop in from the lip of the wave, dont be too scared to take the chance to pop up, and you will get a lot of bad wipeouts but you got to overcome it all, it happens to everyone!!

Once you catch your first unbroken wave you wont forget it! Its the best feeling in the world. Turning will become easy then!

Good luck

[iomarti]

Thanks guys... had to just check I wasn't being an idiot by setting myself targets that take people years to achieve... I want to learn to surf well and I am serious about it, I'm not expecting it to be easy but I'm gonna graft.

I think it's important not to try to do too much too quickly. I want to be totally consistent in the white water first...

Libby - I feel for you, getting so close to your goals and then having to put them on hold, that must be so frustrating. We'll get it... you before me I'm sure. Feel free to boast when you nail it! I won't be too jealous...

[iomarti]

and i will practice paddling. i really like paddling!!

I'm learning to turtle roll.. I practice in the lulls. I got the timing wrong when I tried it for real, and rolled back up at the wrong moment..

i don't think i'd be able to duckdive my 7"2 minimal....?

[GowerCharger]

having goals is good, no matter how good you are at surfing there is always more to learn, but dont be to worried about fitting them into a set timeframe. Some people pick it up quick some slower, main thing is to get as much practice and as much time in the surf as possible.

your at the stage where you can pretty much improve every time you get out there even if the waves arent brilliant. When you get better you start getting fussy about looking for better waves, bigger waves etc. etc.

[Laguna]

i don't think i'd be able to duckdive my 7"2 minimal....?

That would be more difficult to duck dive, for now I would turtle roll. Its good to have targets, Im like that and hope to accomplish things in a certain time frame. Aslong as you try hard to get out the as much as you can im sure you will get better really quickly.

It is good to feel completely confident in the whitewater first, you can also master your balancing on your board and get a feel of it better.

[tomcat360]

I think you can probably accomplish more. IMO, the bottom turn comes rather naturally once you drop in.

Or maybe I just can't remember....

Anyways, you'll definately make it going 3 times a week. Also, really being able to nail a well performed turtle roll will greatly help you. I am dependent on a duck dive, so when I surf my longboard, I basically just take the battering and wait for the right moment to sprint back to the line up.

[dreamer]

i'm 5 months into surfing & i've just got into cutbacks -- so aim a little higher mate, by september i reckon you should be aiming at linking your turns on a wave.

As soon as you start popping up on unbroken waves, you'll instantly find it easier -- I reckon the most common misconception is riding white wash is easier.. rubbish!

[drowningbitbybit]

and wiped out once.

I think this is very poor... you should aim to wipe-out far more often


Seriously, if I finish a session with dry hair, then I know I havent been trying hard enough
Take the odd risk on a wave that looks a bit big, or might be about to close out. You'll take a few dunkings but learn a lot in the process.

And at the end of each wave - throwaway move. Really throw yourself into a turn, or stamp on the tail, or grab a rail and lean back... do something which pushes your surfing beyond your limit and wipe-out. You'll learn loads, progress quicker, and if its the end of the ride anyway you've got nothing to lose.

[DayWalker*]

LMAO @ DBBB!

@ least 20 wipe-outs. Then you know I've had a decent sesh!

[iomarti]

good stuff guys.

you're right, dbbb, you've nailed my weakness - i play too safely... gotta get more of a balance between being consistent and takin some chances.

So today, two beaches, three hours in the water and NO KNEES! not even once!! I'm so made up. ''I'd like to thank the surfing waves forum..... "

Oh and I wiped out today, you'll be pleased to know...several times, but once so horribly I'm still feelin it. And going through my head was 'what shall I do with my board...' and in the next second I just realised how the answer was just not up to me at the bottom of what felt like a HUGE wave (prob 4ft!!)

[Laguna]

Evrytime I set foot in the water, I get my whole body and head underwater to get used to the temperature. This way I dont care about wiping out

[iomarti]

ahhh noooo

i think i've made myself sound like someone who doesn't like to get their hair wet..!

i'm always goin under water, love it, and turtle roll in circles in lulls.

yeah, hardcore me....

[iomarti]

I just wanted to say, on the eve before September 1st......

GOALS ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

Unbroken waves...no problemo....!!

Bottom Turns.....pretty capable now...!!

So goals for New Year's Eve coming soon....

[iomarti]

actually, sometimes I wonder if I'm getting better at all..

But reading that first post, it seems like so long ago now.... it's amazing reading that now..

[IdRatherBeSurfing]

ive been surfing for nearly 12 months now and still cant stand up, knee or otherwise

:demoralised:

[Phil]

to have progressed that far in 4 months is pretty impresive though

[iomarti]

ok guys.... remember this one thing....the fact that i live by a decent beach and can surf 3times a week, sometimes more. If you surfed that often, you'd progress the same. So chin up... and come and rent the flat above me!!