5 More Ways to Improve Your Surf Skills
Going over my list of ways to improve your surf skill, I came up with a few more ideas.
- Try new boards – Sometimes you’ll find that the board you are riding just doesn’t click with your style. I’ll never forget the day I borrowed a Becker funboard from Brandon. That day it all came together. I could do no wrong. Soon after I picked up my Spherical Revolver, and we all know how much I love that board. And my surfing has really progressed because of that board.
- Set a goal – Pick a trick or style and spend a session or two specifically focusing on it. Every time you get up on a wave spend all energy on pulling off your selected goal. Once you get it down, you can add it to your bag of trick to pull out whenever you need it.
- Try new breaks – Same as trying new boards, you may find there is a break out there tailored to your surf style. When I first started learning I went to Magnolia in Huntington Beach which is usually walls, walls, walls. But it was close to home and relatively uncrowded. Then I convinced Brandon to learn to surf with me and Newport become the convenient meeting spot for us. Newport by the pier was much more tame than Magnolia and a superior place for my skill set at the time. (However, now I love to charge the walls of Magnolia.)
- Exercise when you can’t surf – Sometime we can’t make it out to the ocean. (GASP!) When that happens, find a way to exercise your surf muscles. Swim some laps, stretch, do surfing yoga. (Oh yeah, there are plenty of yoga routines online focused on surfing.) Being fit when you head out will give you an extra edge for that extra paddle to get into a wave, extra hour in your surf sesh or extra flexibility (for the gnarlier wipeouts; no joke, being limber reduces your chances of injury when you eat it).
- Have fun – Be a little buddha out there. Sometime things can super frustrating when the surf isn’t going your way. This will only work against you. Take a moment to chill and breathe. Remember that you are out there to enjoy life and relieve stress. Think of the alternative – you could live somewhere where surfing was not an option.