Beginner technique questions

I surf a 6'8" performance egg, which is quite tossable. My problem is that work gets in the way of my surfing all the time. If I were out there 5 days a week, my skill would rapidly improve. I just bought a 9'2" log so I can start going out when there is minimal swell. SC is lacking in the consistency department.

 

Adults are in better shape and have more free time now. That is my guess.

 

Unless they're not. Lots of fat people out there these days. Hold on to your fried chicken bro.

 

Most of the fatties stick to SUPs around here. And they are fun to watch, since they constantly fall off.

 

Oh man there were no fatties in Rhodey last night. This one petitely athletic wahine on a SB came screaming down the line sporting a bright orange top that didn't cover the midsection. Talk about wanting to drop in.

 

I don't remember there being any adult beginners back in the 70s and 80s. Not sure why there are so many today. I think the availability of surf reports, cams etc make it much easier to be a casual surfer nowadays than it ever was in the past. Had an adult beginner paddled out into the middle of me and my friends back then we would have looked at each other confused and a bit amused. Our reaction would have been no different than if a 60 year old showed up at the local skate bowl decked out in pads and a helmet and was attempting to drop in, it just doesn't fit. It's funny today I was out, was one of the older guys (I'm 48) among a group of local kids. Then some truly older beginners paddled out on long boards, they sat in a cluster and hooted each other into waves. I don't think any of them got an open line but they seemed to be having fun. All it usually takes is one good wave and they won't even think of paddling if they see me show interest. I would rather surf in that situation with those people then a bunch of guys at my skill level or better, that gets exhausting.

 

what i've learned (and it's a lot so i'll probably forget some here):

1.) get out...A LOT
2.) be a good swimmer and use that to offset any surfing deficiencies you may have
3.) never be afraid of conditions (either go out with determined confidence or find somewhere else smaller to go out)
4.) fall...A LOT and have as much fun with the fall as the wave (no matter if it's a failed attempt, mid line, or at the end of the line)
5.) trust your board, love your board (and find its sweet spot as you said you have...then exploit it)
6.) watch videos of badasses
7.) workout & then workout some more when you are finding something you are deficient at (this mixing up can get workout evolving and changing which ensures they don't get too stale)
8.) go out A LOT in any condition, especially crappy/blown out...surfing only the easy, clean-lines, medium period a.) spoils you b.) limits your adaptability to conditions and your willingness to adjust (for example, Arthur, and the break I was at, forced me to go right...I'm goofy...but I had some of the best rights i've ever had - that felt great)
9.) off-shores can be a beyatch to paddles against. ESPECIALLY a.) depending on how your break works b.) where the tide is at your break and how it works. i remember one session in particular i was out in feb or mar... off shores were 20ish mph, tide was working in (and was half way) and the waves were overhead...had a very difficult time catching anything, 'cause a.) winds b.) tides c.) heart rate was amped d.) overhead was a ton of moving water to catch up with and i was extremely reluctant to attempt a late drop
10.) tides, your spot, swell direction, and wind direction are everything
11.) see the wave, identify/predict the wave, time the wave, go for the wave
12.) know how the waves tend to break where you go...ie, watch for channels and make sure you aren't trying to catch a wave that you constantly get hung up on the shoulder because you are too far away from the heart of the wave
13.) just when you feel you have it, take another paddle or two...unless you're going late drop
14.) don't think about it too much...quote that comes to mind, "i don't have to think. i only have to do it."

that's about all i have for now...there's much, much more though

 

Hey Jake you may need to look and watch the wave to judge when to paddle hard and go for the pop. Watch others from the beach and you will see it curl then crest. You should be up as it turns to white water. Feel free to contact me with any questions. Aloha Ed @ alohanycsurfschool.com

 

its the cialis commercials, all these old guys can get boners and surf, very inspirational.

and for the OP: paddle out to just past where the waves are breaking and inch your way forward into the sweet spot, you'll sometimes just catch the wave without even paddling.

 

Complaining about adults learning to surf and stretching out on a beach...talk about your first world problems.

I guess when the OP gets old he'll give up surfing rather than be forced to stretch out.

 

We're also a much more mobile species now. Back then it wasn't as easy to make a major move from middle America to the coast in order to follow dreams or careers. Now a few hrs. of web research and you can have all the info you need and then some. If you wanted an addreess of a CA company you had to go to the library and look it up or just get a phone # then call long distance for the info. Now 20 min typing and hit submit to spray your resume to 100 companies.

 

I do five minutes of tai chi on the beach and sometimes some Zen Buddhist chanting right before paddling out.

 

I do the kata from Karate Kid followed by no less than 12 crane kicks. If I fall, I start over.

No wayz brah! Spicoli runs straight to the peelers to start a sesh!

 

I think it helps produce a bit more drive without having to be so far back on the tail. Puts your back foot a little closer to right on the fin. Now when you improve move it further and further back to lock you in better on nose rides.

And in my opinion NEVER put those side bites back in again. Longboards have no need for them.

And i forgot, when paddling the top of the board logo is (in general) right about where you want your head.

 

Bro, true dat. The catharsis of every winter sesh yields a bevy of stoke in every summah sesh. Never before have I seen/felt such mildness from the ocean as each duck dive these warmer months. Perhaps it was because I charged really hard all winter, perhaps it was feeling more of its wrath from being aware of its wrath. Either way, we feel differently in trunks than anyone else who wasn't rubbered to the gills in March or earlier.

To da OP - every, I mean every day you step into liquid for is capable of advancing your surf game miles. That's if you're open to its gifts and benefit. The 7-9' closeouts in heavy offshores in late May/early June gave me unreal practice on nailing takeoffs and drops getting down the line on screamers. I swear that without those reps, my bottom turns in chest to shoulder on Wednesday in Rhodey would not have been solid enough to get me back vertical to the lip to wapahhh and that's the page I'm on now. Every step is fundamental to the next. If you spend a sesh fighting like hell in one foot mush to get takeoffs them that's a sesh focused on foot placement. The next waist to chest sesh you paddle out for will be much, much more kind and enjoyable to you as a result.

Even the sessions I strap 5 mils of rubber to the back to trudge out in 42F water in 28F air with 22mph offshores in where I barely get two closeout takeoffs, I learned much from it. If it's nothing more than how to spare myself 10% less wrath the next paddle out, I grew stronger and smarter that day.

OP Bro, listen to the cagey vets of SI and grow in frothy wisdom. Whether it's the perf tide to charge Blackie's from zach or LBCrew learning you on inner rail foil of the swallow tail or capecodcdog on how to be more thankful for your daily bread or leetymike on the deeper pleasures of the single fin or metard on the deeper pleasures of the single syllable post - sit back, relax and take notes.

Anyone else on the coast sitting on a hammock under this full moon and clear sky? Spunky and spirited wahine retired for the eve an hour ago and I sent the braddahs home to theirs. But schitt man, my life is in 3D HD right now. Let's give it up to the natural world and all its greatness. Boom.

 

I think surfing closeouts is the best practice u can get in nj.ur making super late takeoffs and have no chance of making the wave,but if u can atleast stand up and make it to the bottom before u get sucked off then u did good for the day.making drops on closeouts will help in every hollow wave in the world.its all about commitment and just going.as fletcher once said,if u made it out the barrel u weren't deep enough

 

Hey mate , i think it's all about time and some extra strength may be in your arms..
have a look at the surf simply video tutorials , they are quite good for beginners

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVyatMUYwZw&list=PL2DC78AB6A6D3F635&index=10
http://surfedukators.com/learn-to-surf-faster/