A surfing trait that developing surfer should consider is whether they ride their waves for their full functional length. That is, riding a wave so that the full manoeuvre potential of a wave is achieved. This may be just performing a re-entry finish on a closeout wave for example, or 3-4 manoeuvres on a quality down-the-line wave.

What many surfers display is a hesitancy to fully complete a ride if it doesn’t match their expectation of what the wave offers them, or they kick-out because of frequent past errors when faced with a particular section of a wave or finishing manoeuvre. Often it’s out of frustration or a fear of failure that causes these early kick-outs.

For example, a surfer will kickout early if they enter a flat section on a wave after performing a number of manoeuvres, frustrated by what the wave presents to them. In these situations, surfers could often surf through these flat sections to finish the wave in the shore break. Or, because of regular errors when finishing, surfers will simply not try to finish their waves because of their learned experience that says – “Don’t even try to finish, you won’t make it”

These two examples highlight negative situations [and there are others] that if performed often enough act as barriers to improved performance.

Instead of kicking-out early, the flat section kick-out surfer could challenge themselves to surf rail-to-rail through the flat section, so that they hit the final manoeuvre with speed and power. While the finishing kickout surfer could learn the different finishing techniques required to finish in any and all surfing situations.

Riding waves for their full functional length teaches surfers to push through surfing situations that aren’t necessary enjoyable, so they learn the valuable surfing traits of perseverance and “going for it”, thus breaking performance barriers in the process.

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1. If a wave goes flat, surfers should decisively drive back to the foam to allow the wave to rebuild into a steeper wall.
2. They should drive back far enough so that the next setup bottom turn is performed under the foam ball or breaking lip. This creates “depth” in a surfing performance, which allows surfers to perform more critical and risky manoeuvres off the top.
3. And then any manoeuvre off the top should be performed high and tight, no more than one metre from the foam.

Changing Gears

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Good positioning on the peak at take-off is a skill that all surfers should proactively learn. Where a surfer takes off on their waves has a huge bearing on the quality of the first manoeuvre performed and for the risk and commitment displayed by a surfer.

Surfers can take-off:

• on the shoulder of a wave,
• on the peak,
• behind the peak,
• from a too-deep position,
• on closeouts,
• or simply they can take-off too late.

All take-off positions can create outcomes that can either be good or bad for a surfer’s performance. Making sensible decisions on where a surfer takes-off on their waves will contribute to the ultimate success they achieve. It is highly recommended that surfers should only take-off on the peak or behind the peak, and say “NO” to all other take-off decisions.

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All surfers want to surf better and besides lots of ocean experience, there are a number of key principles that all surfers should follow. One of the main ones is for the surfer to surf tight whenever possible. Surfing “tight” for a wave’s duration is where a surfer performs there manoeuvres off the top of their waves right next to the foam . When a surfer surfs “tight”, they perform their turns in the most critical part of their waves, effectively accessing the maximum power available from the wave’s they ride.

A surfer wishing to surf tight, can create it at takeoff by positioning themself on the peak or behind the peak. This deep positioning will setup a tight 1^st manoeuvre, by positioning the surfer’s first bottom turn under the breaking part of the wave.

For competitive surfers – surfing performances where there are combinations of tight manoeuvres fit the judging criteria precisely, maximizing scores awarded by the judges. It is a big step forward for many developing competitive surfers to constantly be looking to surf tight in all sections faced.

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Many surfers could improve their performances simply by making better decisions when paddling for waves and at takeoff. Positioning themselves where a wave initially breaks is the first step in a well-surfed wave. Understanding that there are different takeoff options is also important so that the surfer can challenge themselves by positioning as deep as possible and still perform a quality first manoeuvre of a ride.

Surfers can position themselves at takeoff in a number of ways:

Shoulder takeoffs are where surfers takeoff on the side of where a wave initially breaks. It usually results in a flat and less committed first manoeuvre, unless….. the surfer fades back on takeoff to create a deeper entry into their first manoeuvre.

Surfers can takeoff on the peak, or from where a wave initially breaks. Taking-off on the peak usually allows the surfer to perform a quality first manoeuvre.

Taking-off behind the peak, or behind the initial section of a wave is the most challenging takeoff option for surfers. This places the surfer in a deep position from which they can perform a critical first manoeuvre. Often surfers will have to drive horizontally across the wave initially to make the section before dropping down to perform a deep set-up bottom turn leading to their 1^st manouvre of the ride.

Surfers can also takeoff too-deep which negatively results in them missing the first manoeuvre of the ride because they get caught behind the first section. Although they may eventually get onto the open face, missing the first manoeuvre opportunity of a ride diminishes the value a wave offers a surfer.

Taking-off on a closeout wave is a common problem – especially in crowded surf situations. Closeout takeoffs result in limited manoeuvre opportunities, reducing the enjoyment of the ride.

Sometimes surfers takeoff on a wave too-late. That is they attempt to takeoff under the lip, with the lip breaking on their back as they attempt to drop down the wave face. Although surfers sometimes can make the drop, often when they do, their bottom turn is compromised and a lessor first manoeuvre is displayed.

Surfers should try be trying to takeoff on the peak or behind-the-peak only, and say “no” to all other takeoff options. Becoming decisive in this critical area will enhance the confidence of a surfer and improve all other areas of performance in the process.

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You know, when a surfer finishes their ride and they reflect on what just occurred, they usually think about the moves just performed but also the overall “feel” for that wave. A major component of this “feeling”, is the flow that the surfer maintained for the wave’s duration.

Flow in surfing terms is when a surfer rides a wave from start to finish without hesitations or stoppages. Where a surfer performs a series of manoeuvres with speed during and between the manoeuvres attempted. It’s also a major component of really great surfers, and can be the point of difference in scoring terms when they compete. Think of the Kelly’s and Steph’s in the world. Not only can they perform great moves, but they look beautiful at the same time because of the flow they display.

It’s a great frustration for many surfers when they perform a manoeuvre and get a stoppage as they come out of the move. This stoppage is usually followed by a bouncing action to regain their speed as they move into the next manoeuvre of the ride. Sound familiar? It should. As all surfers deal with this situation as they develop their skills.

 These stoppages are caused by two main reasons:

• A surfer chooses the wrong move for the section entered

or

• their technique isn’t sufficiently honed enough when performing some manoeuvres

When a surfer chooses the wrong move for example, that move might be performed technically well, but simply doesn’t fit the shape of the wave at that moment . For example, many surfers perform snap manoeuvres in cutback sections. When this occurs, the surfer applies their power too early in the cutback section, causing the surfer to crop the turn and lose speed, instead of drawing a longer arc to rebound off the foam and maintain their speed throughout.

Technique errors in backhand snap sections for example also cause many surfers to have stoppages. They perform their snaps by looking down the line, instead of looking back to the bottom of the foam. When a surfer looks down the line in these situations, they generally lose their speed, compromising their flow, especially if the wave is fattening-out.

The issue for most surfers with flow problems is that they usually don’t know why they have stoppages, and if they do, they simply don’t know what they can do to fix them. Having their performances evaluated by a knowledgeable surf coach would be a good place to start the improvement process.

So a big area of performance improvement for many surfers is for them to focus on maintaining their flow for a wave’s duration. By choosing the right move for the section entered and by understanding and developing their surfing technique, surfers of all standards will get better results, more success, and with that – have more fun.

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Another way to think about catching good waves is to understand that some waves just weren’t meant to be ridden. That’s right, the wind or storm that created them, coupled with the bottom contour of the beach where they eventually break, didn’t give them the combined characteristics to make them worth riding. They break and surfers ride them, but not with much enjoyment.

And here’s the thing – a big part of consistently catching and riding good waves is learning to say “NO” to bad waves. That is, letting inferior waves pass you by and letting others ride those waves while you wait for the good ones.

Have you ever noticed that the best surfers in the water are usually catching and riding the best waves. This is not always about respect for their surfing ability from the other surfers, but more about those surfers knowing what waves they should paddle for, and what waves to say “No” to as waves approach them in the lineup. They just combine their surfing and selection abilities to maximize their free surfs on a daily basis.

So when you are waiting in the lineup for your waves, consider whether the waves approaching have “been made to be ridden”. You can tell this by a wave’s shape, size, and manoeuvre potential a wave offers the surfer. If it looks like it will closeout, is too small, or will not allow the surfer to perform a number of moves, then maybe it is better to let it go by un-ridden, as usually the wave behind is the wave that you can catch and ride to make the surfing experience that day worthwhile.

Martin Dunn can help surfers understand their surfing decisions and how to improve them through his website. Why not check it out today at www.martindunn.com.au

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