Surf Like a Girl
When I was learning to surf in my twenties, it was the first time I had consciously became aware of, experienced mindfulness, through an action oriented sport. Even though I was involved in many sports prior. There was something about the ocean's constant sway, the feel of the sand and water all around me, that made all my senses wake up. And in those moments I knew surfing would always be a part of my life. It was ethereal. It was sublime and serene and not at all what I had imagined watching on YouTube , or with people surfing in movies. I had yet to come across the myriad of documentaries made about it.
Just like the boys I had seen in lineups on the t.v screen, as bloodied and bruised as I became, I wasn’t easily swayed to give it up. These tumbles and minor setbacks included a smashed clavicle, nail in the foot, torn ligament, and being bit by a sand shark, among many others and yet I just couldn’t stop myself from suiting up, waxing up and zincing up before heading out.
Even for a short stint in life, to make some easy cash, I became a surf instructor for all ages and levels and noticed after watching different tutorials to recommend to students and working with other male surf instructors, that there was an underlying current of linear direction that left out the intuitive aspects of surfing, I so loved.
So here it goes. On to lesson one…
Lesson 1 - Mindset, stretching and warmup. Don’t be afraid to look stupid on and off the beach. As with anything in life. We have to begin somewhere and in the case of surfing even after twenty years in the ocean I am still humbled. You will crawl before you walk. And using that analogy you could use the same one for surfing. Quite literally you should be crawling around on the sand on your hands and knees practicing your pop up stretching and warming up! Loosen up your hips especially and a few girly pushups will do! Trust me those muscles and joints you haven’t used in awhile will be on fire if you don’t.
Lesson 2 - Know the goal! If you aren’t already and avid ocean dweller get used to the waves and board alongside you first. The goal in your first few lessons isn’t to stand up. The goal is to read the waves in order to facilitate the movement you Need to stand up. Just like riding a bike. The momentum gives you stability. Safety tip - never let the board turn horizontally in front of you. You will be tossed around like your pajamas in a washer machine and if you’re not ‘stoked’ on surfing yet. This might turn you off!
Lesson 3 - If you’ve gotten to the point where you are confidently out in the ocean with your beginner foam board perpendicular next to you. Swaying with the lull of the ocean, Thịs is where observation comes in. Is the current pulling you in a certain direction? How large are the sets coming in. How often? Safety tip - Notice these things so you can pinpoint a land item to adhere to while out there. Keep shifting to stay in the same place you started or close to it. Trust me on this. You do not want to end up a mile down the beach with no parking entrance in sight. Because yoh forgot to tether yourself to where you started.
Lesson 4 - Feeling balanced in movement, while kneeling or laying after you get comfortable side hopping onto the board. practicing the side hop. Figure out which side is easier to hop onto your board laying down a couple of times between waves. Make sure you’re not too far forward or too far back and this all depends on wave size. The bigger the wave. The farther back you want to be so as to not plummet forward. Adjust your body instinctually while craning your neck to see the wave behind you. When you’ve hopped on. When you see the whitewash it’s time to either move up or down on the board shifting your weight forward or back in order to move with the wave! This is key. This is part of reading the wave. Standing up before you have full momentum will leave you lifeless behind the wave wondering what happened. Jsut feel this one out while laying down or kneeling first. Safety tip - If you do end up plummeting forward into the wave because you were too far forward, always remember to put your hands up, if submerged, because guess what. If you have properly strapped your bored to your ankle it’s coming for ya!
Story time - after a long surf session where I should have called it, I forgot to put my arms up to protect myself from a boomerang surfboard that nailed me in the face. Luckily I kept all my teeth but I had to explain to my family in depth why I had a bloody and fat lip for the rest of the week. Don’t be me! Arms up!
Lesson 4 - the dance! So you’ve gone from crawling to kneeling while side hopping onto your board and timing it just right to pick up momentum and give it a few strikes. There is a general area you want to be when the wave starts to move you forward. Your timing is spot on. You’re figuring out when to move and inch or two forward or backwards while laying or kneeling. You’re feeling the momentum and you have gotten to your feet! And the dance begins. Just like if you’re balancing on a tightrope. You’ll be ever moving and shifting in order to accommodate the board on the wave. And it will feel. Like your dancing with nature! Standing and swaying and shifting your feet while keeping your gaze to the right or left down the line of the wave.
Lesson 5 - This is one of the second biggest lessons behind reading waves, it’s the movement you’ll constantly provide while on the board in a flat position and also to keep yourself dancing and upright! It’s an intuition. No surf instructor will be able to tell you exactly where you need to be on the board on every wave unless they are on the wave with you! Which some will do! But most surf instructors are going to be behind you giving you that extra shove for momentum so you can tell people you stood up instead of learning the basic roots and beauty of surfing in the first place.
If you’re interested in traversing the beautiful life lessons surfing can bring to the table please don’t hesitate to reach out for a lesson or even just a surf buddy!
