Turning and dropping in!!! :) advice is appreciated

[ANZAC]

Dude.
Everyone is saying the same thing.
You really are paddling for the waves too late... simply not giving yourself enough time to get your feet.
Need to improve your paddling. Get sronger and better form.
Find some better/longer waves.
DONT GIVE UP.

[ANZAC]

Wish my mum would film me....

[TReMoR]

thanks everyone.... ill try out all your advice this week and try to drag someone to film me... but... about the waves... since im still a freshman at highschool, i cant really choose which days to go. My only choice is Saturday.... or no day.. so i go on saturdays whenever i can, wether the surf is 3 feet or overhead. Although they may be close outs, its still waves and i cant complain oh yea.. i was wondering.... just last week i was with my friend and we were paddling out.. and a surfer was heading right toward us, and he turned and dodged my friend but he almost slammed into me... all i could do was stare and hope that he didnt hit me... but... what should i do? am i supposed to duck dive? try to paddle away?

[drowningbitbybit]

The obvious points have all been made.
But one thing I would say is that you're unbalancing yourself with your legs. Your legs are too far apart and flapping about everywhere which will make you lose speed and be unstable.

The whole leg-kicking thing as you take off only works once you're nicely balanced and you've got some momentum.

So before you paddle for a wave, have your feet touching and only just above the water for a couple of strokes. Only pull them up (or kick) once the wave is almost taking you.

And then stand up quickly.

[TReMoR]

The obvious points have all been made.
But one thing I would say is that you're unbalancing yourself with your legs. Your legs are too far apart and flapping about everywhere which will make you lose speed and be unstable.

hunh.. i never thought of that one,..thanks for all the great input guys.. i think ill have to write it on my hand or something next time i go, to remind myself what to watch out for.

oh... ummm.. i have some conflicting opinions here... someone said i have to move up the board.... someone else said i have to move back. I have no idea what to do about that..., obviously if i move up then, more weight is put on the front and i can make the drop.... if i am back then i need to paddle much more?

[CHarvey]

I thought you might need to move a touch forward on your board for one reason. Looks like the nose of your board is to high out of the water. But, you have to keep in mind that if you move forward you are really going to have to arch your back to keep from becoming a submarine. What I was told when I was learning is that when you lay on a short board you should be able to put your arms out in front of you when you are n the board and the nose should touch the very base of the palm of your hand or your wrist. Bassically the point is to keep the nose of your board just a little out of the water while you are paddling for the wave. Make adjustments by arching your back or leaning forward.

[joem]

you need too be on waves ealier and futher forward on your board
i had this problem in october

[garbarrage]

think you're definitely gung-ho enough that you won't be able to do anything but "get it" eventually. solution to getting on the wave earlier is to be more decisive about which wave you're going for. take your time about picking your wave... just that you seem to be deciding to go for a wave when its almost on top of you and don't have time to set yourself properly. hard to do on a day like that.

as for nearly getting hit - it's your responsibility not to put yourself in that position. again hard to do on a day like that cos its hard to see where the peaks are. but obviously when someone else is on a wave they should do everything they can not to hit you.

[isaluteyou]

as for nearly getting hit - it's your responsibility not to put yourself in that position. again hard to do on a day like that cos its hard to see where the peaks are. but obviously when someone else is on a wave they should do everything they can not to hit you.

Exactly the moving object in this case the surfer on a wave has to make the motion to either pull around the stationary obect (surfer standing still) or pull off the back of the wave. As a standing object wont have the ability to move much - hope i explained that right Im not sure if thats correct but thats how i have always viewed things

[Thibb]

Regardless of all the good tips you are getting about form, the most important thing seems to indeed be your timing. You need to get on that wave before it breaks, so that you are up and standing when it does. The problem is that those waves you surf break really quickly, so you'll need to be fast. Anyway, right now it is breaking over you (check the second wave), which is a hopeless situation.

As for getting hit: if the guy just keeps heading for you, then you can consider just diving down at the very last moment. Try to keep your board somewhat in place and be prepared to get screamed at anyway, but at least you'll be safer below water than above if the surfer can't steer his craft and is too stubborn to get off.

[crepuscular]

to move foward ot back depending on surfer's preference, just remember your centre of gravity should be at the middle of the board.
Myself do move foward by ahout 5cm on days with small waves because I find it easier to catch waves, on bigger waves usually slide back a bit.

Like other ppl who commented on the video, most of the time you catch waves breaking over you, so timing when the wave going to break on you is something you need to pratice on, it's a guessing game

The first wave you tried to catch you paddled in too late, for small waves you need to paddle earlier and harder to pickup more speed, but look over your shoulder sometimes to check if how the wave is building up behind you to adjust your speed, otherwise the wave may just go under you or over you.

[Beachbumhippie]

Get a bigger board, and as you feel the wave pick you up give a couple of good strokes, then you will feel the wave pushing you forward, time to pop up. When the wave starts to lift out of the water paddle like your life depends on it. Good hunting bud.

[garbarrage]

Get a bigger board, and as you feel the wave pick you up give a couple of good strokes, then you will feel the wave pushing you forward, time to pop up. When the wave starts to lift out of the water paddle like your life depends on it. Good hunting bud.

agree.... even if you don't buy one. maybe just rent or get a loan of one. should get you going a lot faster.

[teaweed]

The obvious points have all been made.
But one thing I would say is that you're unbalancing yourself with your legs. Your legs are too far apart and flapping about everywhere which will make you lose speed and be unstable.

The whole leg-kicking thing as you take off only works once you're nicely balanced and you've got some momentum.

So before you paddle for a wave, have your feet touching and only just above the water for a couple of strokes. Only pull them up (or kick) once the wave is almost taking you.

And then stand up quickly.

I used to, and still do sometimes, take on waves just like the threadstarter. I found that kicking my feet like that helped me paddle (my strokes) faster to catch the wave. I've been kicking like that ever since. I do have to work on keeping the feet closer together.

[O_Danny_Boy]

what everyone else said, try to control your legs there all over the place before you start to kick

[smallwavegrovellerchick]

You look like you're padding hard enough but thatyou aren't getting into the wave or penetrating them early enough. I think it might be a combination of the waves (short and fast) and the board you're riding that are contributing the the problem.

If these are the only accessible waves, you might want to look into a board with a little more volume (maybe something a little thicker, wider, &/or longer) just so you can get into the wave a little earlier.

I'm not familiar with the breaks in your area, but if possible try to find waves that break for a longer distance or that are more slopey on the take off so that you have more time transitioning from your belly to you feet.

Just as a side note, some waves open up a little more and go a little further with certain tides. I don't know the optimal tide conditions for your particular break, but it might be something for you to look into. I surf a shallow reef break that is very tide dependent. The waves may turn on for only 45 minutes to an hour and then flatten out as the tide gets too high so I plan my sessions by the tide height.

Anyway, good luck!

[TReMoR]

thanks for all your really really really helpful advice!! i was about to go last week except i caught a cold!! REally sucked because i was really looking forward to trying all the advice you guys had but hopefully i can go next week

[TReMoR]

I WENT SURFING TOAY!! haha.. my mom let me go with my friend although i still had a little bit of a cold... the waves were REALLY small but i caught and stood up on about every wave i paddled for.... since i just went with my friend.. i got him to take one footage of me.. its not very clear.. its from a go pro... I know i should have kept my weight lower.. but i was trying to turn left.. and then i ended up extending and leaning back too much..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBlGU5vvSxw


after like 45 min we had to come back out cuz our parents were gonna come after 55 min.. so we were like lets ride one out... and then i was on my board.. but then the board fliped over and i fell on top of the rails... with my crotch.. it HURT SOOOO bad ><

THANKS FOR ALL THE ADVICE! IT WAS VERY HELPFUL!

[Beachbumhippie]

Thats cool Tremor, next time try not to stand too up right stay low knees bent use your leading hand to touch the front of the board if it helps with balance.

[TReMoR]

Thats cool Tremor, next time try not to stand too up right stay low knees bent use your leading hand to touch the front of the board if it helps with balance.

thank you.. ill try it ! im hoping to go tomorrow too.. im going to try turing along the face of the wave tomorrow