BE PATIENT (oh so very patient!)

It takes a long time to learn to surf … and even longer to master it. Surfing is flat out hard and one should not expect to be ripping waves on their first day out. If you want a basic feeling about learning to surf, it is basically an exercise in patience. If you think you’ll be successful overnight, you will be sorely disappointed. Oh, and know that you will fall – a lot – while learning to surf … but the more you do it the better you will get, because the learning comes from the falling.

THINK FAST, BE ADAPTABLE

In the vast ocean, no two waves are exactly alike … ever. Every way breaks differently and when you’re riding a wave you always need to be making split second decisions. You can’t predict how a wave will break so be ready to make decisions and adapt on the fly.

LEARN WHERE TO “BE”

In the sport of surfing, you are relying on so many elements to come together just to make a “surfable” wave. It may seem like luck at times, but good surfers know it is all about reading the ocean waves and then placing yourself just before where it will break into a powerful wave. It is not pure luck … it takes a lot of skill (and patience) to be positioned correctly to catch that good wave. Although lots of waves will come your way, it is up to you to READ the oncoming lines and be positioned as well as ready to ride.

CHOOSE WISELY

Being in the right position to catch a wave is one thing. Catching the right wave is another thing. As a surfer, you learn to read the shape of the waves as they’re coming in. If you pick the wrong wave it may close out on you and there will be no where to go except right over the falls. Do not just paddle for every wave … this is a recipe for quick exhaustion and possibly a punch in the face from other surfers. Learn to CHOOSE the good waves to ride. Learn to recognize and pick the right waves that you can ride successfully. Get on the wrong wave and you will get pounded by a force more powerful than you!

BE THE WAVE, WANT THE WAVE!

There are a lot of surfers out in the water, and they all want that same GOOD wave as you! If you don’t get focused with the first four surfing essentials mentioned above, there are a hundred other surfers in the lineup who will paddle right around you and happily catch the waves. Don’t be overly greedy or aggressive out in the line up … but remember that to get the wave, you also have to put it all together and WANT that wave … it will not always come to you.

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