Content you will get!
- Surf Knowledge
- Physical preparation
- Surf Trainer practice
- Surf Coaching
- Surf equipment
Intro:
In this article I will give you the knowledge, the steps and options to improve your surfing!
There are many options to improve your surfing and many areas where you could work on. Overall I will discuss what you have to do for instant progress in your surfing.
Do you think it is possible only by reading? YES!
Knowledge is power, and that brings us to our first Topic…
TIP NUMBER 1
SURF KNOWLEDGE
If you want to improve your surfing you should know how the “thing” ( example: take-off, maneuvers, surf strategies…) you want to improve is properly performed.
You can adapt this quote to almost everything in life:
“The more you know, the better you are!”
So, knowledge is king. If you want to improve your “take-off” in surfing, for example, you FIRST have to know how a “take-off” is performed correctly.
When I started surfing I only trusted the Surf coaches which I met on my travels. I thought, yes they are the right people who you can trust. It turned out that meeting a lot of different coaches made me realize that a few of them took their knowledge from their own conclusions.
I don’t want to insult anyone, but I kind of missed the “RED LINE”, the overall surf knowledge which everyone should rely on.
It took me years to find good surf knowledge and coaches to show me all proper skills in surfing: for example which steps you need for a cutback, re-entry or turtle role.
Maybe you also had the experience that there is such a big variety of surf knowledge out there.
Tipp Number one:
Get yourself proper surf knowledge!
Where do you find “the right” surf knowledge?
- A licensed Surf Coach ( for example ISA / DWV standard )
- Surf Camps
- Internet BLOGS (like this one)
- Youtube
- Books ( example Surf Companion )
TIP NUMBER 2 PHYSICAL PREPERATION
One of the things you have control over as a surfer is your own fitness. Your endurance, strength and flexibility. Since surfing is a full body sport, the rule is:
“The fitter you are, the more fun you will have!”
If you’re sitting in the line-up and you miss the set because you just can’t paddle anymore because you haven’t been active all year, frustration can set in quickly.
Now to fix the problem, I’ll give you my personal best ways to get or stay fit:
Train your…
1. your general fitness:
with the help of
-Endurance sports (jogging, cycling, swimming etc.),
-Strength sports (freeletics, weights training, crossfit etc.)
– Flexibility ( yoga, stretching etc. )
&
2. Specific fitness:
-best sports for the shoulder parts are swimming ( lane swimming ) and boxing.
-Functional training with the help of stretch bands.
– surf board paddling on a river or lake
-paddle drills
-take-off training
In general fitness, as the name suggests, there are many sports you can do to keep fit. My tip is to choose one or more sports that you enjoy and that motivate you.
The basic idea is to train your endurance, strength and flexibility.
With specific surf fitness, you should focus more on specific surf-related workouts. For example, paddling your surfboard on a lake or river, swimming laps in the pool or doing take-offs at your gym. All workouts or drills should be more specific. Fortunately, there are more and more videos and platforms that offer this.
Remember even pro surfers train their flexibility, strength and endurance out of the water and they are surfing every day, so let’s follow the pros.
Tip Number 3 Surfskate practice
The best on land practice to improve your surfing is to practice with a surf skate or also called surf trainer.
With the help of the surf skate you can divide the maneuvers into steps and repeat them very often. You can film yourself with your smartphone and practice it when there are no waves.
Therefore a must-do if you want to improve your surfing.
If you want to learn more, check out the first Surfskate Basic video:
TIP NUMBER 4 Surf Coaching
If you want to learn golf then you book a…golf instructor.
If you want to learn to swim then you get a….swimming instructor, that’s right.
And if you want to improve your surfing then:
You guessed it right , you should look for a qualified surfing instructor.
The pro surfers themselves have coaches with whom they work, so it will definitely help your surfing if you get a surf instructor.
Depending on your level of surfing it might not be necessary to book a whole week. Maybe you can already surf green waves without any problems and you need more video coaching. All this is possible in the surf coaching world.
So here’s our tip: get a coach who will improve your surfing instead of doing the same thing you always do in your surfing every session.
Remember:
“If you want to achieve something you don’t have, you have to do things you haven’t done yet.”
Tip number 5 Equipment
What will improve your surfing immediately is if you choose the right equipment for your surf sessions. If you use your semi-gun surfboard in hip high waves then you will not have fun. Likewise if you try to surf heavy overhead barrels with your longboard.
You have control over your equipment. This is important to know so you should choose your equipment well and adapt to the waves, the conditions of the day.
If you follow all 5 tips and work on them, I guarantee that your surfing will take to the next level.
If you want to know more about surfing come to our website and see how we can improve your surfing together.
Author Daniel, Co-Founder Surf Companions Gbr.
