February 2019 - Page 5 of 5 - Surf Lessons in Oceanside

The Timing for Surfing Waves

The timing for surfing waves is a skill surfers need from beginning through catching the biggest waves on the planet. It is learned through practice.

The beginner catches foam waves which is good practice for real (green) waves. The idea for both is to anticipate when the wave will arrive to push the board, get momentum, paddle into it, and then pop up on it.

The foam wave has the biggest lead time for it can be seen approaching and the only requirement is to get in front of it, paddle for momentum, and then patience to paddle a few more times to get in front before popping up. (beginners lack patience to paddle in front of the wave)

In a real wave, you want the wave to arc lifting the board and when the board is at the top of the wave, the surfer paddles hard and maybe kicks to get the nose facing down. Once the board starts to slide down the wave, the surfer pops up smoothly.

The timing issue new intermediate surfers have with real waves is it takes courage to let the wave arc behind and over your head before paddling down the face. Most beginners feel more comfortable letting the wave pass and then catching it. Big mistake. A late entry usually means crashing down the face or losing the wave pocket and just riding foam.

Watch the timing of other surfers. When you know what to look for it becomes obvious. Notice that they line up where the waves arc. Then when they spot a wave they start paddling for momentum and position. They may have to compete with others in a line up, but in friendly line ups, surfers rotate.

Then as the wave approaches and the surfer is moving, never taking his eyes off the wave as he paddles, he patiently lets it rise under him, paddles hard three times and once it starts pushing, pops up.

A great trick for getting into the pocket is to push the nose of the board after catching the wave and before popping up into the direction of the pocket. This saves the need to drop down the face and bottom turn. If the wave is too big or is closing too fast, you may need to drop down the face first and then carve a bottom turn.

For surf lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page

For a good video on catching real waves

Beginner Surfers Learn to Carve

Beginner surfers learn to carve in both foam and real waves. The techniques are the same and the most fun aspect of surfing.

Surfers can learn to carve even as beginners in foam waves. The technique for foam and real wave begins the same. While riding straight on the board, the surfer rotates his upper body beginning with the eyes.

The eye lead carves in surfing. The eyes then turn the head and the shoulders arms and trunk should turn together in initiating the carve. When riding a foam wave, surfers can pump a few times to be sure they are in front of the wave and then look in the direction they want to carve (turn).

On real waves, surfers drop down the face and begin their run in the pocket with carving a bottom turn. The bottom turn takes the surfer into the pocket. On a short board, the surfer will accelerate by pushing the nose up and down the wave with his front foot.

On a long board, most surfers are going to drive the wave meaning run straight in the pocket. For carves on a long board, most surfers will move to the tail of the board putting the weight on their back foot, lifting the nose of the board and then swinging it in the direction of the turn.

On a short board, after accelerating for speed, the first turn might be up the face by once again initiating a bottom turn. In a bottom turn, the surfer initiates as above, then rides up the face. Once near the top, he decides on ripping the lip, getting air, or another trick like a 360.

For steep carves like up the face of a wave, the surfer will get a low center of gravity and usually drag their inside hand in the water. Its still a bottom turn and requires the surfer to look up the wave and rotate their upper body.

For surf lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page.

Learn Surfing with Big Boards and Foam Waves

Learn surfing with foam waves and big boards to make a difficult sport to learn easier. I was included among most new students who say surfing is the most difficult sport they have encountered.

Why is it difficult? There are several elements. It tests your physical abilities in flexibility, strength and stamina. The surf board is designed for the right technique and posture. Timing is extremely important in the techniques. There is little tolerance by the board or the sea for error.

The proper physical preparation, learning the right techniques and using a high volume board to execute the techniques makes the process easier. First you should have the flexibility to touch your fingers to the floor. You need to be loose in your hamstrings, buttocks and lower back.

Doing push ups is a good test and practice for executing the pop up. The pop up is like a burpee where you push up, bring your knees under your chest and then pop to a stance. Like yoga in the down dog position, practice bringing your knees under your chest to reach your arms.

The Surf Board

Higher volume boards like 8′ or 9′ soft tops wont hurt you if they hit you, paddle easier to catch waves, and are more stable for pop ups and riding. You could ride an 8′ Wave Storm for a long time and in real waves as well.

The process of getting shorter should be 6″ at a time while maintaining width and thickness of the bigger boards. Moving to longer boards is easy. The first good hard board would be a 7’6″ fun board that is 21″+ and at least 2 3/4″ thick.

The Waves

Foam waves are real waves that have broken and are rushing to shore. They are easier to catch because there is a big window between spotting the wave and paddling before it hits the surfboard. Then the board goes level to the beach.

A real wave has only a few seconds of opening when you can catch it and the board is going down hill first. Timing has to be perfect and then you have to avoid pearling. To ride the wave, you need a bottom turn to get into the pocket or beginners can just let the wave crash and ride the wave.

The Techniques

There are three main aspects to riding a foam wave. Anticipate the wave and paddle in front of it toward the beach to get momentum. A few seconds before it hits the board and for at least three strokes afterward, paddle hard to get in front of the wave. Do not pop up on impact.

The best pop up for beginners is placing the hands on the board in a man’s push up position after paddling to the front of the wave. Place the back foot on the board, then raise the hands and torso to make the front foot more weightless and place it in the Middle of the board close enough to the front to keep the nose down while riding.

When you rise to the feet, have both hands in front of you and shoulders and hips squared to the front. If your butt is over one of the sides (rails) you will fall off the back. If your head is over one rail, you will pitch off on that side.

If your posture and foot position are correct on the board, the board will go straight without much work.

A good demo of dry land and water techniques are in this video.

For a Surf Lesson in Oceanside, see the Home Page