Surf Reference Guide

Learning to surf down line just ahead of a breaking wave requires 4 main elements: #1 The Pop Up/Stance, #2 Padding, #3 Catching the Wave, and finally #4 Surfing Down the Line. The following guide is not intended to be a “how to surf 101” rather it will surf as a reference to your in water sessions. Think of it like an abridged textbook to accompany your surfing journey.

1. Surf Stance/The Pop Up

Stance

More important than the pop up itself, every good surfer starts  with a good stance: 

Hips rotated forward to face the nose of the board.

Feet angled ~ 30 deg in the back and ~45 in the front. Feet spaced about shoulder width apart or what ever feels most comfortable.

Knees flexed, Body stays upright. Head stays up.

Head over front foot. You will be down the face of the wave so your weight needs to be forward. Imagine dropping into a skateboard ramp.

Note the rotation of the hips and feet as well as the upright position of the chest and head.
This picture shows the board traveling down the wave. Note the postion of the head over the front foot.

The Pop Up

The goal of the pop up is to move from the prone position (lying on stomach) of paddling into the surf stance. The pop up can be broken down into 5  steps:

  1. Head up: Lift your head and place your hands flat on the deck of the board just under your armpits.

2. Cobra: Push off your hands, lifting your chest and head like a cobra ready to strike.

3. Set Back Foot: Lift your hips to create space. Move your back foot up on the board about 2 feet. 

4. Front Knee to Chest: Rotate your hips as you bring your front knee up to your chest.

5. Stand up Slow: Once both  feet are set stand up nice and slow.

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE POP UP IS KEEPING YOUR HEAD AND EYES UP. DO NOT LOOK AT YOUR BOARD.

This video shows a beginner surfer going through all 5 steps of the pop up. You will notice that it might not be graceful or fast at first. Focus on going through the steps!! Everything will build off of that.

This video shows the pop up of much more advanced surfers. There still going through all 5 steps it’s just happening much faster and smoother. Take special notice of the consistent head up position through out the pop up.

2. Positioning and Paddling

Paddling 101

Overall paddling ability is the most overlooked surfing skill. While it can be broken down further, It mainly comes down to 3 key concepts:

1. Find the sweet spot. You want to be positioned on board so are not sinking the nose or tail. This the just right spot (technically called glide point).

2. Lift chest and head

3. Keep Feet together

Take note of the 3 key concepts as you enjoy this video from Brian of the Longboard Sessions YouTube channel:

Note the "sweet spot" position as well as being too far back and too far forward.
A common beginner mistake is keep your shoulders and head low to the board.

Paddling Out

Paddling out to the line up often involves padding through breaking waves. 

For Small Waves: you can simply do a mini push up or cobra on the board to create some space for the wave to pass between you and the board. This will also keep your head out of harms way.

For larger Waves: you will need to learn something called the turtle roll:

A surfer pushing up her head and chest to paddle through a wave about to break.
A good rule is if the surf looks to challenging to paddle out through, its too big/rough for you to surf.

3. Catching Waves (coming soon)

4. Riding Down the Line (coming soon)