Mark, Author at Surf Lessons in Oceanside

When to Start Surfing a Short Board

Surfing the Short Board

New students often want to surf the short board, but in Oceanside Surf Lessons they start with 8′ or 9′ soft tops. These have high volume in length, width, and thickness. Many new surfers dream of the day they can start riding shorter boards.

One should be careful what you wish for. The only thing that is promised with shorter boards is more difficulty paddling, catching waves, and standing up. It is best to move slowly. This begins with mastering techniques on the soft top.

You can ride certainly up to a 7′ wave on a soft top as I see it every year in Oceanside. The advanced surfers also rip the lip, do aerials, and 360s.

So what is the advantage of surfing the short board? The first two are duck diving if you are on a sand bar beach and less pearling on steeper waves. Oceanside is a sand bar beach and has lots of steep waves. A reef would have less of both issues. In order to minimize the disadvantages of a short board, it is smart to drop 6″ inches of length at a time and maintain width and thickness.

If you are in the water a few times a week, you should be able to hit the technical short board size of 6’10” within six months to a year. Now, surfers are riding high volume short boards (big width and thickness) in the form of the fish and many other shapes. I see older surfers that have been surfing all their lives keep the short boards but add width and thickness because of the age factor and also because they may be week end warriors or just a few times a month warriors.

The idea is to maintain the fun, not just to reach the status that goes with owning a short board.

Learn to surf with Oceanside Surf Lessons

This is a great tutorial on catching real waves https://youtu.be/N7KopjbzxjE

Paddling a Crucial Skill for Surfers

Surf Paddling is a Core Technique for Surf Progress

When I teach Surf Lessons in Oceanside USA, I get students of every physical condition. Even the extremely fit find surf paddling tiring. For one, it uses specific muscles that doesn’t quite replicate the swimming experience. Those who infrequently exercise their upper bodies, find paddling is the first thing that goes.

The thing is, students don’t realize that the paddling what is hurting their pop ups. I spot it right away. Paddling creates a fatigue that results in total body fatigue. I often know my session is over when I miss an easy pop up. I know it is paddling fatigue. Work at the gym can help. I do a lot of cable work where I pull the cables toward my body.

We need our upper body for doing pop ups as well. Push ups help and so do bench presses. Practicing pop ups is the best.

The third thing surfers need for surf paddling is stamina or recovery. Any aerobics makes you better.

It goes without saying, that in most sports we need to be stretched. The pop up requires flexibility to touch the ground with the palms of your hands without bending your knees. Stretching your upper body might prevent tweaks after falling.

Learn how to surf with Oceanside Surf Lessons

Dry land and water demonstration of basic techniques.

Surfing Difficult without Lessons

The Value of Surf Lessons

I teach Surf Lessons in Oceanside USA and not to toot my own horn, but most of my students are happy they took lessons before starting out on this venture. Lots of people who say they were going to try on their own say they are glad they didn’t. Many who tried and found it frustrating to learn, decided they better begin with a few instructions.

Surfing is more technical than people realize. It looks easy the way experts pop up on a wave and carve beautiful maneuvers. Anyone who watches snowboards in the half pipes might think snowboarding looks easy. Two things have to happen with both: Your techniques lead to courage, it takes years to master both where you are performing like those you see on film.

Catching Waves for Beginners

Most beginners have no idea how to catch a wave. It seems simple. The timing in leading the wave, catching it, and then timing the pop up is the first obstacle new people can’t get on their own. In surf lessons, I don’t introduce catching waves until students can paddle after me pushing them into the wave and then do a pop up and ride to the beach. This takes a half hour for most students.

Once students have learned to pop up and catch their own waves, they have a great time in their new found freedom. Now they can catch the waves and apply the techniques to their new adventure. One hour of learning how to do it can save months of trial and error or the frustration that causes people to quit.

For Surf Lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page

A good video for learning how to surf

Fear is a Part of Learning to Surf

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

2 Ways to Get into the Surfing Pocket

Getting into the Pocket of a Real Wave

When I teach new surfers in Oceanside Surf Lessons USA, we begin riding foam waves straight to the beach. The most important aspect is learning to pop up and ride balanced on the board. The board is designed to go straight when you are in the right posture and then you can learn to carve.

There are two ways to get into the pocket of a real wave where the real surfing is accomplished. If waves are not too steep, you point your board toward the pocket while catching the wave. This is often called angling for a wave.

If the wave is steep, you have to ride down the face and then bottom turn into the pocket. A bottom turn is accomplished by pressuring the toes in the direction of the turn and rotating the upper body in the same direction.

When You Learn How To Surf

The first techniques learned in beginning surfing are balance on the board while paddling, catching foam waves, and standing up on the board.

The real surfing begins with riding real waves and the most important technique for short boards is accelerating. This increases the speed of the board to stay ahead of the lip, do maneuvers, and to reverse direction back to the power. Acclerating is the first principal of riding the pocket on a short board.

This is accomplished by pushing the front foot on the nose up and down the face so that the board weights and unweights. Once speed is attained, the board will stay ahead of the falling lip and is set up for a maneuver.

Long boarders like to just drive the pocket by getting in the right spot on the board to maintain speed. Short boarders accelerate and then after three pumps can do a cut back or ride up the face. Once the pocket runs out of power, you can cut back to the lip to regain power or turn toward the beach and pump until the wave reforms into another wave.

For Oceanside surf lessons, see the Home Page

This is a great tutorial on catching real waves https://youtu.be/N7KopjbzxjE

Surf Lessons for Adults

Adults Learn to Surf

Surf Lessons for adults are extremely popular as young adults and seniors want to cross it off their bucket list.

When I teach Surf Lessons in Oceanside USA, most of my students in the summer are kids and in the winter are adults. Adults and kids face the same issue in flexibility. It is amazing how at any age, if you are not stretching, your body gets stiff.

The important physical requirement for surfing are flexibility or being stretched and upper body strength, like in doing push ups. So if an adult wants to prepare for lessons they should do three things. They should start stretching, doing push ups, and practicing the pop ups in their living room. (I have a video in the store on how to do popups.)

Surfing is physically demanding, but the requirements for success are sport specific. To get up on the surf board, you have to do a pop up. If you land in the right spot on the board, the surf board will go straight to the beach with minimum work required. This is my goal for students on their first day.

If you want to have long sessions, recovery gained from aerobics is important. I also suggest that if adults are not exercising daily, that one hour lessons are sufficient.

For Oceanside Surf Lessons see the Home Page

This is a great tutorial on catching real waves but it is the same principal for catching foam waves. https://youtu.be/N7KopjbzxjE

How Beginners Catch Foam Waves

Beginner Surfers Learn to Catch Foam Waves

When new students begin Surf Lessons in Oceanside USA, we start with the foam waves that break near the shore. These waves are not too big, too powerful, nor are students in deep water. The advantages are for safety, to reduce intimidation, and to allow students to become comfortable in the water with a surf board.

The first process is to walk out to where the waves are breaking into foam and turn the nose of the surf board toward the beach. When the waves are 20 feet away, the student rolls on top of the surf board and starts paddling for the sand. The student watches the wave approach and when it is 5 feet away begins paddling hard.

Timing is the Most Important Part to Catch Foam Waves

The idea is to get in front of the foam wave with easy paddling before it hits the surf board. When the wave is a few feet behind the board, the surfer paddles hard. Once the wave starts pushing the board, the surfer continues to paddle hard for three or four strokes before putting his hands on the board.

When the board is in front on a smooth plain, the surfer puts his hands on the board to do a pop up. If you watch surfers on real waves, you will notice they paddle hard before the wave arrives, then allow the wave to come underneath the board, and the paddle hard for three for four strokes to catch it.

The second process is to paddle out through the breaking foam wave and then turn around to catch the next one. This prepares students to move further out toward the real waves and bigger foam waves as they progress. When paddling through a foam wave, the student runs the nose of the board under the lip of the wave and gets into a man’s push up position to allow the wave to run under his chest.

At the beginning the student gets tossed a lot before he learns how to judge and take waves correctly.

For surf lessons in Oceanside, see the Home Page

This is a great tutorial on catching real waves but it is the same principal for catching foam waves. https://youtu.be/N7KopjbzxjE

Master Surfing on Small Waves First

Start surfing small waves to build techniques, confidence, and courage to ride bigger waves.

Start Surfing Small Waves

When I teach new students of surfing in Oceanside lessons, they dream of riding big waves. They soon understand that surfing is a steady process from small to large. Not only are bigger waves moving faster but they are heavier. Getting smashed a few times creates a respect for the ocean.

Mark Kalama, a surfing friend of Laird Hamilton’s says waves increase not in size but increments of fear. Every surf knows this is true.

The small wave teaches the timing to get in front of the wave as it comes under the board. The surfer learns to perfect the pop up which must be faultless on big waves. Getting used to the speed of riding down the face is heart pumping at the beginning and every time.

Practice Does Make Perfect

When I teach Surf Lessons in Oceanside, my students have starry eyes for surfing like the experts they see on the outside. It takes real diligence and consistent visits to the water to progress to bigger real waves. There is so much to learn.

What happens with consistent trips to the water is you pick up the rhythm of how waves break. This is so important and waves break differently not only on different beaches, but on different days. In Oceanside, we have a sand bar bottom as opposed to a reef and the bottom is always shifting.

The small wave is very educational. You watch where it tends to break. You watch how fast it breaks. You learn to line up your board and paddling to get in front of each different type of wave. The most important part is learning to get in front of waves so they come under the board.

Start surfing small waves because they are safer in that if you miss the timing, they don’t crash as hard with as much water weight. You learn how to angle to the pocket, make bottom turns into the pocket, do your cutbacks, and ride as many sections as you can catch.

In the meantime, you are learning how to cooperate in the line up so that you give and get your share of rides. When the waves get big, the line up can be more dangerous as surfers go and can’t compensate for people in the way or not observing etiquette.

If you want surf lessons in Oceanside, See my home page

This is a great tutorial on catching real waves but it is the same principal for catching foam waves. https://youtu.be/N7KopjbzxjE

The Surfing Bottom Turn

The surfing bottom turn is the first maneuver to learn once surfers begin riding real waves. It has many uses.

The Surfing Bottom Turn

When I teach Surf Lessons in Oceanside USA we begin by riding foam waves to the beach. The next progression is riding bigger foam waves on the outside and smaller real waves.

Once you can ride a real wave, you can start practicing the bottom turn. Coming off the face, you pressure your toes and heels whichever are on the side of the direction you are going to travel. Then you rotate your upper body as one piece in that direction. The fatter the rails of the board, the less pressure you can put on carving.

The surfing bottom turn takes the board into the pocket of the wave. You should then accelerate by pushing the nose of the board up and down the wave with your front foot. You are ready to begin a rip. You do a bottom turn up the face of the wave. Most surfers like to get a low center of gravity and drag the inside hand as they turn up the face.

At the top, you rotate your upper body back toward the bottom of the wave and pressure the toes or heels to reverse the turn. Most surfers can be seen throwing the arm that is the same as the front foot back down the wave to turn. Joel Parkinson, world champ, makes all his turns by smoothly rotating his upper body.

Use the Surfing Bottom Turn to Escape Close Out Waves

One of the most useful safety aspects of the surfing bottom turn is to get out of the pocket when a wave is closing out or heading toward a surfer coming from the opposite direction. When I was first in 10′ waves, I felt my bottom turn to escape close out waves had to be improved for safety reasons.

Sometimes the wave will close out sooner than expected and the bigger the wave, the more weight crashes on your body.

Use the Surfing Bottom Turn to Rip the Lip

The most popular technique in surfing is riding up the face and throwing the tail of the surf board over the lip and then heading down the face. This trick is initiated by accelerating in the pocket for speed and then doing a surfing bottom turn at the bottom of the face and heading up the face.

At the top, the direction is reversed by doing a cut back maneuver where the upper body is rotated and the torque leads to the feet and the surfboard. Many experts will say to throw the inside hand over the top and let it initiate the rotation. Observe surfers for real or on videos and the throw becomes more evident.

To take Oceanside Surf Lessons, see the Home Page

This instructor gives a good overall video lesson on learning to surf

The Surfing Cut Back

The surfing cut back is performed to catch the power of the wave and for style.

The Surfing Cut Back on Real Waves

When I teach new Students to Surf in Oceanside Lessons USA, our first goal is going straight to the beach on foam waves. Once you start riding real waves, you want to stay in the pocket as long as possible or catch many sections.

The first goal on real waves is to get into the pocket and accelerate for speed. Accelerating is moving your front foot on the nose up and down the board; easier on a short board than long board. Accelerating increases speed for tricks and maneuvers.

But, then sometimes the wave runs out of power in the pocket and you have to return to the lip where the foam first forms on the wave to find more power. The cut back is reversing direction. You place a little pressure on your toes or heels in the direction of the reverse and rotate the upper body beginning with the eyes and head toward the reverse direction. Speed helps smoothness.

Once you are back to the lip, you can cut back again or perhaps pump toward shore to get the wave again when it reforms. While riding the pocket, professionals often want to do a short term cut back just for style. You rip the lip, then you cut back half a turn and then resume to ride the pocket. It gives style to a routine.

For Oceanside Surf Lessons see the Home Page