Getting Good?

[BrianSB]

Surfing is a ton of fun, probably THE funnest + most exciting thing I do.

I also look at is as a skill, and one that you can improve in.

I'd consider myself at a low intermediate level.

Seeing as I've started my adventure later than others (never too late to start surfing tho!) at the age of 17 (I'm now 18) I feel like I'm slacking behind a bit.

So I guess I have a few questions to ask of the more experienced guys and girls on this forum, and any sort of advice is appreciated.

Should I expect to naturally get the knack of how to do certain moves? I've seen a website with step by step guides on what to do + written description. It was interesting to see it broken down like that, but I don't think you can be riding a wave and at the same time thinking, "okay, move my weight to this foot, then use my hand as the center of gravity, then shift my weight..." etc etc. When I try to do something like a snap back or top carve or some permutation of the two I sometimes end up losing balance and especially on the snap I tend to not 're-enter' the wave so to speak, lose speed and the wave passes me.

The solution seems to just keep plugging away at it, and that it just takes a lot of trial and error. I think it should come naturally after or while. Or did you learn it by doing a step by step process?

So far I've come to the conclusion that it's good to bottom turn + you need a decent face and some speed.

Also trying to figure out how to do a cutback.

Another problem I encounter is that on larger or steeper waves, I tend to get a bit scarred. Even though I conciously understand that my hesitance to pop up quickly is the main contributing factor to actually whiping out. As I've experienced, just an extra second on your stomach can totally change the ride (usually for the worse). This is probably another thing that I'll just have to get over - do you have confidence (lack of fear) or do you have courage (presence of fear but do it anyways)? Maybe I'm mixing up fear vs excitement.

Probably a little more information. I ride a 6'6 shortboard, I'm thinking about graduating to a 6'4 soon, maybe smaller.

And duck diving? I've been trying, and think I've pulled it off a few times by just luck, but still not quite getting it. Is my board just too big?

Thanks for the help!

[Goletagirl]

I've only been at it for over a year, so I don't really have advice for anyone, but I have some insights from my own experiences.
People have given me valuable pointers. I've read some information in books. At first, none of it sinks in. It's like reading Greek without knowing its alphabet. I keep on plugging away. I get out as often as I can. I fall down over and over and then something clicks. In Psychology class they called it an "Aha!" moment. This is how it works for me anyway. I'll be feeling like I'm not progressing when I do something (usually purely by accident) that I realize is what I've been trying to force all along. It's a move that someone explained or I read somewhere before and it just happens. Then, I practice it to death until it comes naturally.
If not for the valuable pointers and advice, I would have progressed much slower than I have, but I think it's the practice that is essential. I keep pushing beyond where I'm comfortable and eventually I get it. Sometimes it's painfully slow, but that's because I'm not really a natural at surfing. I love it so much that I don't get discouraged, though.
I'm 34 years old. I was 33 when I started to learn to surf. I guess the pros start when they're still in grade school, but to me 17 is not so late in life ;).
There will always be someone farther along than you, but trust me, there plenty of us who are just happy to be standing up on our logs.

PS I've seen people duckdive their longboards. I can't, but it can be done with practice.

[finn]

About staying on your stomach too long--this is something that I worried about a lot when I started learning (and believe me, I'm still learning!). But I talked with some other surfers, who all said the same thing--the more you do it, the more you'll be comfortable with standing up sooner on steeper waves--and if you're on your stomach for a second or two longer, that's okay! You're still out in the water having fun. So now I try not to beat myself up if there's a wave that I've got to hang on to before getting up (it happened again this morning :)--and I noticed that I get up faster on waves that used to freak me out.

[shamgod]

Surfing is a ton of fun, probably THE funnest + most exciting thing I do.

I also look at is as a skill, and one that you can improve in.



Probably a little more information. I ride a 6'6 shortboard, I'm thinking about graduating to a 6'4 soon, maybe smaller.

And duck diving? I've been trying, and think I've pulled it off a few times by just luck, but still not quite getting it. Is my board just too big?

Thanks for the help!

the key to a cut back and most maneuvers is speed. SPEED! You'll learn to pump your board, once you do that, you'll start getting ahead of the wave's critical point and a cut back will be necessary to stay on the wave. it will come with time. Board design also factors in. Note: this applies to short boards, I don't know anything about longboading. I learned in the 70's when almost no one longboarded.

Fear versus confidence? depends. There's a wave size/experience matrix. Also, you'll reach a point where typically your biggest "Fear" will be missing a wave or getting snaked. Don't forget, it's just water. Most California breaks aren't really that heavy (the Wedge being a notable exception) compared to some tropical reef breaks. I surfed Black's in La Jolla for years and compared to Bali or Fiji it's not that bad, it breaks in deep water, the bottom is sandy, it's just water.

Lastly, paddle hard after waves, and sometimes take a few extra strokes to make sure you've caught it.