How can I improve my surfing skills

[surf patrol]

Hi, I'm surfing for 2 years (Beginner).
I've recently uploaded a video to Youtube:

you can skip the first 1:30 min.
I'd like to know if you can see from this video any mistakes/suggestions/comments on how to improve my surfing skills.


In this video the waves are 3-4 feet, I'm surfing a 6' 2" (30 Liter) short-board.

[jaffa1949]

Shalom, You seem to be doing ok , but with a go pro it's hard to tell get someone to video you from the beach!
Why? Because it shows what the wave is ding and how you are responding to it. It shows how you are producing speed and working your turns.
The GoPro flattens the appearance of the wave even big ones so not really useful,as a learning tool.

Enlist a friend one who surfs would be best as they would understand what to video!

[canttouchit]

I see, unfortunately the beach is too far fro someone to film me, even if it was close.. I don't see anyone coming with me on 6 am

Well thanks anyway

[dtc]

My only comment is that your paddling stroke goes very wide (ie your hands are a long way from the board) and that will put a lot of strain on the shoulders. Think about going almost straight out in front and pulling your hand back right next to the board - much less strain, less chance of injury and also much more powerful. But otherwise looks like fun

[jaffa1949]

Further Jaffa thought, the tip on the width of your paddling is good one, the surf itself Is not giving you much help, but you are on the face and your turns are working. Maybe film the break a bit before you go out so we can see what you are surfing. I really don't see much that more surfing is the thing that help you improve. maybe getting out in better surf or getting to a better break Difficult call in Israel , I know!

[canttouchit]

I agree regarding the width of my paddling, though it might be a GoPro panoramic distortion, anyway, I'd pay attention to that next time.
Well the waves were a bit disappointing this day, they were 3-4 feet and surface was smooth but the waves length was very small what gave me top 7-8 seconds to ride a wave.

@Jaffa, what do you mean by "you are on the face"? (not familiar with this expression).

[jaffa1949]

The face of the wave is the unbroken part of the wave where you ride across the wave not just straight to,shore.
The fastest action is where the green face is turning to white water( Where the wave is breaking).

[canttouchit]

I think that on the last wave I caught I could maybe do a 'cutback' to gain few more seconds on the wave.
I seems like I'm getting too far from the white water.

[oldmansurfer]

Do what feels good to you but yeah it looks like you are too far from the whitewater. Just curious How often do you surf?

[canttouchit]

I started with a 4 meeting surfing course using foam board.
Then I bought a used 7' 0 funboard, that was absolutely the worse deal I've ever done, this Funboard was
full of water and deformed it was holding me back, but i straggled with it and surfed on average 1.5 times a week, 3-6 feet waves.. eventually I got used to this piece of garbage.

Not long ago around 9 months ago I bought this 6' 2" shortboard, I was amazed how easy the transition was. The first time I went to the sea with this new board I caught almost every wave.

I surf on average ~1.5 times a week during the last two years.

[oldmansurfer]

I would guess the waves are limiting your learning at this point..... on the other hand if you can surf those waves then that is great. What I used to do to keep from getting too far in front is to take off deeper behind the peak. Those waves look like foam climbs should be not too difficult to learn. The way I learned was to take off deeper and then make a hard bottom turn and go up into the whitewater and turn like you would normally off the lip. On smaller mushy waves it is surprisingly easy to do. A good board can make a big difference. I surf fairly junk waves but most often they probably have more power than those waves.

[waikikikichan]

Your back side surfing is much better than your front side, which is usually not the norm. But that's great, since most beginner can only go to the side facing the wave. Your back side surfing will lead to good front side cutbacks.

Pros-Your paddle is good. your pop up is good.

Cons- Your front hand is "dead". It needs to be used to steer more than just counter your off-balance.
Also you are "reaching" for the wave during some deep turns. Reaching causes your head to go past your butt. When a motorcycle GP racer touches a knee down, it's because of aggressive lean not that they stuck a leg out. If you are "paddling" to gain speed while riding, that's not good either. Power the tail thru slow sections with your legs so the board displaces water. Skateboarders and snowboarders don't reach down to scoop snow or concrete, neither should you.

lastly, focus on controlling your board all the way to the kick out. Don't just jump off your board.