The right way to teach surfing is ........

[PunaTuna]

Do you know why surfing is taught differently where you are?

Easy answer ......... RESPECT. Respect for the ocean. For example, as little children growing up in Hawaii, the very first thing we are taught is .......
" NEVER TURN YOUR BACK TO THE OCEAN ".

I was going to say thatBut thought that was a given

[jaffa1949]

Trouble with the given , it only is known if you live on the ocean shore, Arizona Al or Moscow Mikeal ain’t going to know that!
I’m finding that moving to a different culture is teaching me to know how much I don’t know!

[RinkyDink]

Being a kook is just part of it in my opinion. I’m a kook. It’s like a right of passage in a sense, be it a noob, greenhorn, whatever. Just let it roll off your back and keep at it...but do heed their advice. Respect and safety is at the root of it all. Respect for other’s safety or you might find yourself getting dirty lickins rather than a couple expletives yelled at you.

I'd say a kook is someone who is in the way. A beginner, even when they're exhausted, has made sure they have not put themselves in a position to block or obstruct other surfers. The worst kook foul in my opinion is the person who decides that they just spent $99 on a Wavestorm and by God they better get at least a few waves. If that means they have to drop in on somebody or muscle their way into a wave, then so be it.

A beginner, in my opinion, is as much a spectator or observer as they are a surfer. A beginner is out at a break to figure out a) where to go and not go to stay out of people's way b)figure out how to position themselves for waves without getting in people's way c)learning how the tide affects conditions and how that might influence staying out of people's way d)getting their paddle fitness started by successfully paddling out of people's way e)patiently waiting for a wave that nobody wants so they can . . . yep (you guessed it) not get in anybody's way. With kooks it's all about wave count first and learning how the ocean works and everything else later. Yes, everyone is a kook when they get in the way (it happens to the best surfers as well as the noobs), the trick is to keep kook goofs to a minimum. You can't get yelled at a surf break, any civilized surf break, if you're not in the way.

[PunaTuna]

Being a kook is just part of it in my opinion. I’m a kook. It’s like a right of passage in a sense, be it a noob, greenhorn, whatever. Just let it roll off your back and keep at it...but do heed their advice. Respect and safety is at the root of it all. Respect for other’s safety or you might find yourself getting dirty lickins rather than a couple expletives yelled at you.

I'd say a kook is someone who is in the way. A beginner, even when they're exhausted, has made sure they have not put themselves in a position to block or obstruct other surfers. The worst kook foul in my opinion is the person who decides that they just spent $99 on a Wavestorm and by God they better get at least a few waves. If that means they have to drop in on somebody or muscle their way into a wave, then so be it.

A beginner, in my opinion, is as much a spectator or observer as they are a surfer. A beginner is out at a break to figure out a) where to go and not go to stay out of people's way b)figure out how to position themselves for waves without getting in people's way c)learning how the tide affects conditions and how that might influence staying out of people's way d)getting their paddle fitness started by successfully paddling out of people's way e)patiently waiting for a wave that nobody wants so they can . . . yep (you guessed it) not get in anybody's way. With kooks it's all about wave count first and learning how the ocean works and everything else later. Yes, everyone is a kook when they get in the way (it happens to the best surfers as well as the noobs), the trick is to keep kook goofs to a minimum. You can't get yelled at a surf break, any civilized surf break, if you're not in the way.

Ok well I’m a beginner then because I def have some etiquette

[dtc]

If you want to progress beyond that to green waves, we then come on to my second gripe in my first post on this thread: most of the schools here just offer the white water sessions for beginners in groups, with expensive 1-1 tuition needed to learn green/unbroken waves. I know of only one school that have group lessons for progressing beyond that to learn green waves, duck diving, turtle rolling, etiquette etc, and they only run two or three times a year.

If you search out podcasts with Ru Hill, one of the co founders of the Surf Simply surf camp, this is precisely why he set up the camp - that surfing has lessons for absolute beginners and for the elite, and nothing in between.

This is an interesting one, and Ru touches on quite a few of your comments http://surfmastery.com/podcast/ruhill

[PunaTuna]

I say I’m a beginner at surfing by itself. I’ve been on SUP for a few years back in Florida where the surf is small and where you would need a board that long to even have a ride long enough to call it surfing. I sold it shortly after moving here as I felt it was too dangerous to be fun for my experience level. I was quickly humbled to say the least. I say you just learn at your own pace as long as it’s in a safe and courteous manner for you and those around you.

[Beginner77]

If you want to progress beyond that to green waves, we then come on to my second gripe in my first post on this thread: most of the schools here just offer the white water sessions for beginners in groups, with expensive 1-1 tuition needed to learn green/unbroken waves. I know of only one school that have group lessons for progressing beyond that to learn green waves, duck diving, turtle rolling, etiquette etc, and they only run two or three times a year.

If you search out podcasts with Ru Hill, one of the co founders of the Surf Simply surf camp, this is precisely why he set up the camp - that surfing has lessons for absolute beginners and for the elite, and nothing in between.

This is an interesting one, and Ru touches on quite a few of your comments http://surfmastery.com/podcast/ruhill

:yes: I'm a big fan of Ru's podcast. Interestingly, he also runs contrary to waikikikichan's approach of getting green waves in early; in fact he goes even further than as described for most UK schools - he steps things right back and teaches weight shift on the board (speed and turning) whilst students are still lying down (in the white water I think), which from my experience learning other sports and teaching one (as well as teaching in a classroom for a living) I think is a great idea, because it solidly baselines one thing and concentrates on bringing in one thing at a time (what I find is the most effective approach to learning).

[Beginner77]

Do you know why surfing is taught differently where you are?

Easy answer ......... RESPECT. Respect for the ocean. For example, as little children growing up in Hawaii, the very first thing we are taught is .......
" NEVER TURN YOUR BACK TO THE OCEAN ".

Could you expand on that? Why does taking complete beginners straight out into green waves teach respect for the ocean?

[waikikikichan]

Could you expand on that? Why does taking complete beginners straight out into green waves teach respect for the ocean?

Again, different break, different mentality, different approach for teaching beginners. I could try to explain it to you, but you wouldn't understand. If you came and rode the reef breaks of Waikiki, you would start to see the big difference in the smooth rollers that go on and on, compared to those wave conditions in the UK. Green waves teaches you timing, positioning and surfing the board, not just hanging on from falling or "riding" the board.
AND...... I never said "taking beginners out into green waves teaches respect for the ocean". In Hawaii, we learn early on that the white water dumping lip isn't good. We learn to search for the open face, be it on a surfboard, boogieboard, bodysurf. The ocean is our playground, we have fun in it, but we also respect it's awesome power. We learn where and where NOT to be.

[waikikikichan]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So to show you how we teach beginners and how long their rides in Waikiki are, watch this video. ( you can fast forward to the 2:22 mark ) Remember these are total newbies.

Waikiki is truly a special place. In the past 3 weeks i've been here, I logged in more wave miles than a whole year in Japan

[Beginner77]

Thank you - I'm at work now, but will watch that later.

[PunaTuna]

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So to show you how we teach beginners and how long their rides in Waikiki are, watch this video. ( you can fast forward to the 2:22 mark ) Remember these are total newbies.

I miss sand
Waikiki is truly a special place. In the past 3 weeks i've been here, I logged in more wave miles than a whole year in Japan

[dtc]

Imagine learning on those waves (at any level). Not fair

[PunaTuna]

Imagine learning on those waves (at any level). Not fair

That just blows the mind

[PunaTuna]

The Solution Surf School teaching the red coloured students all,the right things.
Lesson 1.

B2A21C1B-372B-4B7A-89F3-E9D2A346B263.jpeg

But I was referring to this