Fear in surfing is common from the first day beginner to professionals.
What is Fear in Surfing
For beginners, the ocean is intimidating. Its one thing to go in for a swim and body surf some waves and another to use a surf board that can toss you unexpectedly.
In my Oceanside surf lessons, one boy student I had was trembling on the beach during the dry land lesson. I thought he wouldn’t last after the first wave he paddled. Pretty soon he noticed the beginner foam waves just going by him without ill effects. Then he became fearless and rode waves.
One of the most important aspects for new surfers is to be comfortable in the ocean. Most students not only get comfortable, they learn to love being in the water.
As beginners progress and want to ride real waves, it seems the only way to learn is the hard way. It takes get worked to learn what to do and not to do. Even the pros look back and say they were fearful each bigger wave level they attempted.
Surfers don’t lose fear, they learn to manage it.
What is Your Own Level of Fear Tolerance?
Everyone has a different tolerance for fear often depending on what they have tried before. When I teach Surf Lessons in Oceanside, we begin riding foam waves that are never above chest level. Any deeper and I can’t push people into the waves.
Yet, a big obstacle is often getting people to stand up on the moving board on the count of four. Students have all sorts of hold backs because they are afraid to fall of the surf board. Sometimes they put a knee on the board first instead of popping up on both feet. They often, don’t want to pop up and let go of the security of the board.
Faith in the system I teach, courage in the face of falling off the board, and a willingness to abandon thinking in following the process are each important. The processes taught in the dry land lesson will lead to muscle memory of all steps.
Once students have learned in foam waves, they can proceed to paddle out to bigger foam waves and real waves. Fear is a constant companion in surfing. Professionals have fear. One said that the size of waves can be measured in increments of fear. We learn to manage fear in surfing which may be one of the more valuable attributes.
You can really get worked by waves as you progress, but if you have unmanageable fear, you won’t progress nor even like the sport.
*
For surf lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page
See my Youtube Pop Up Video for beginner instructions