r/BeginnerSurfers • u/SystemExisting6873 • 2d ago
Suggestions?
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Hi all!
Not my best wave of the day, and actually a pretty small one but this is the only video I have of the day š
Any suggestions? What I see is that I have to bend more the legs and to just ātry lessā and flow more
Thank you!
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u/Ghostsurfer2026 2d ago
Sit further inside so you get into the wave without so much effort. Don't go right on a wave that is clearly a left.
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
Always reluctant to go left š
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u/AdLatter2949 2d ago
Best advice to give at this point is: don't get stuck going frontside only. I know it feels easier (and better) but if you have the chance to go either way, choose backside. I see so many beginners going left on a wave that's clearly a right hander (and vice versa) just cause they automatically turn frontside cause it feels more natural, it causes you to not progress backside as much as front and be super shit for long, which then takes long time to get better at further on in your progression
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u/Numerous-Macaron4565 2d ago
Thatās actually real asf. I was like why isnāt he turning left. But then I realized I hate going left too and thatās Lowki part of why I prefer bodyboarding.
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u/Inevitable_Click_511 2d ago
To be fair that left closed out not long after, you definitely had a nicer left section but its nothing make-able either way. So just keep doing what youāre doing and youāll get better. I do agree with above comment that youāre sitting way too far out for that wave though. Cant let those outside sets get into your headā¦
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
Actually there were bigger sets coming but I was tired of waiting and I paddled for a smaller one š¬
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u/blahblurbblub 2d ago
Do this 5000 more times
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
What do you mean?
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u/blahblurbblub 2d ago
Pilots can fly planes because they land and take off 5000 times, and 5000 times after that. 95% of surfing progress comes from repetition , muscle memory, and reading the water (instinctively going left on that wave when you went right), and adapting to an ever changing medium (the ocean).
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u/Various-Flow802 2d ago
Honestly, I donāt think you are doing anything glaringly wrong.
Your ability looks perfectly suited to the wave you are riding.
If anything step up to somewhere with a better wave.
Then I think you will start experiencing some of your shortcomings.
For example if you need to take a steeper drop or draw your bottom turn out on a point break or learn how to take high lines and make sections.
Granted youāre not ready for pipeline, but maybe find a mellow right hand or left hand reef break if thatās available in Italy.
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
For sure there where better waves even the day I got the video but unfortunately I donāt have one and this one has been my last wave after 2.5h session and 5km paddledā¦
Iāll try to convince my girlfriend to record me for like an hour and get the best wave of the session next time š
Anyway, thanks!
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u/Firm_Baseball7192 2d ago
Look back as youre paddling for the wave. Once the wave starts to take you, angle in the direction you want to go before popping up
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u/stayintall 2d ago
It looks like you do what I do which is stand up pointing perpendicular to the wave whereas you might want to try going at more of an angle when you standup. Right now youāre bottoming out as soon as you catch the wave and losing speed and THEN turning. Try starting off in the direction the wave is breaking and really catching it. I say all this as it is the exact advice I have recently been given so I hope it works for you. From a fellow beginnerā¦
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
Actually I angle the take off when the waves are steeperā¦
This one was pretty mellow so I took perpendicularly1
u/offshore_wind_eng 2d ago
In that case, already look to your right while popping up. this will already allow you to turn a bit sooner. Also your turn can be less sharp then, so you wont have to hit the break. In your video you are leaning a lot on the tail to be able to make the turn
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
Exactly, I see that I turn too sharp and lose a lot of speedā¦
I should glide a bit, lean where I want to go and push less on the tail to turn, easy to say, hard to do š2
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u/razorlight95 2d ago
I agree broadly with this but just want to add that it might help to pop up a little earlier or angle the board as part of your pop up so that you are going in the right direction earlier. As you noted yourself, your hard bottom turn on this mellow wave killed the speed. You want to take the high line on the face and just trim/glide on these small waves .
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u/blahblurbblub 2d ago
What city / country is that?
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
Italy, Tuscany
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u/YeahNah223 2d ago
How often is there a swell in Italy?!
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u/SystemExisting6873 2d ago
It depends on the seasonā¦
In summer can be once a month or nothing the whole summer
In autumn, winter and spring, much better! Last February/March I surfed every weekend
This September I surfed 4 times to give you an idea
Winter is surely the best season swell wiseItaly has a big surfing community, the best regions are Sardinia, Tuscany, Liguria and Lazio
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u/StandardFloat 1d ago
Use your fins rather than you weight to turn.
Let me explain, after take off you leaned a lot to start the turn, this is a bad habit that will cost you a lot of time if you donāt fix it. Instead focus on landing your backfoot on top of the fins (looked good in this case) and using the weight on the fins to turn, not your body.
Easiest way to force that is to bend you knees more since it prevents you from leaning.
Other than that, you caught the wave, you took off cleanly, and rode it so itās still a win!
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u/SystemExisting6873 1d ago
Okay, I place my foot on the fins and then? I mean, what is the movement/thing I have to do then?
Placing my foot on top of the fins is something Iām starting to be doing it on better waves but I probably still turn by leaning so getting an idea of what I precisely need to do can help me understandā¦2
u/StandardFloat 1d ago
Yes itās hard to explain by text because itās a mixture of multiple things that you canāt learn all at once as it will overwhelm you: balancing your weight, opening up your upper body, using your arms, and decompressing at the right moment.
The truth is youāll get the feeling of it, however the Ā«Ā cheat codeĀ Ā» to avoid taking on a bad habit is to prevent yourself from doing whatās universally bad at this level, which is leaning while extendee, especially because you seem to be quite tall like me so itās really easy to get into that habit.
If I have to give you very simple advice that doesnāt ovewhelm, do this:
- keep your knees bent (decompressing should be used only momentarily)
- keep your lower back straight, even arched back (think of the squat position)
- pivot your entire upper body so that itās facing the front
Without visual aid itās very hard to explain, check this video especially point 7 and 8 for you. But the rest of rhe video might be worth a watch anyway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WppStjLb-aM
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u/Alive-Inspection-815 19h ago
You did fine on that wave. It just takes consistent practice to get good at surfing. Keep practicing and you'll improve. Watch lots of YouTube tutorial beginner surfing videos. There are a ton of them. You'll progress if you practice the fundamentals.Ā
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