5 Most Common Surfing Mistakes

Surfing is a great, fun and enjoyable outdoor experience. It allows you to be capable of navigating through the

waves and it makes you more appreciative of nature.

However, while learning it will be unavoidable for mistakes to be

made! Hilarious wipeouts and other mistakes while surfing are usually

the same mistakes for all beginners.

Along with tips on how to avoid falling of the board, here are 5

common mistakes that beginners make while they learn how to surf:

1) Not enough paddling power for the wave.

When learning how to surf, the very common mistake is miscalculating

the effort required for paddling when catching waves. 

What happens often is that a surfer jumps unto their surf board at the last minute and paddles 2-3 times

before they catch the wave. 

Since the surfer was unable to create enough speed and momentum

he/she will most likely miss the wave as they havent enough speed to

catch the wave.

Tip: The surfer should have enough time when approaching a wave.

Ideally, he/she needs to correctly position himself on the board and

paddle hard approximately 5 meters away from the wave.

Once the wave reaches, the surfer needs to put in an extra of 3-4

paddles to surely catch the wave; otherwise the surf board will be

pushed off the back of the wave and miss it.

2) Incorrect position on the surfboard.

A lot of beginner surfers tend to position themselves incorrectly on the surfboard. They often go too far forward on the board which causes the nose to dip under the water. In

this position, the surfers will most of the time nose dive!

Tip: Beginners should ensure that their feet slightly dangle off the end

of the board. They should pay attention on having their body

properly positioned in the center of the board over its both sides. In

doing this, 

the surfer needs to picture a line in the middle of board from its nose to

the tail and that they need to position their body in the center of

this line. This tip will help the surfer feel balanced when catching a wave

and will keep the surfboard from tilting to one side while riding the

wave.

3) Improper timing when letting go of the rails.

The MOST common mistake for all beginners involves letting go of the rails too early. Many surfers tend to

attempt to stand up on the board too early when they jump to their feet. 

Without proper assistance from the rails, this is nearly impossible to do especially for beginners. This case

often results in a wipeout because of lack of balance.

Tip: Beginner surfers should first focus on keeping one hand on either side of the rails while trying to stand up one leg at a time. Remaining on a crouched position once both feet are

up on

the board with both hands on the rails will help in completing the

balance. Once balance is completed the surfer needs to slowly start to let

go of the rails and stand up on the board.

4) Standing up too quickly.When a beginner is able to stand up on the board for the first time it is

likely for them to stand up too tall too quickly. Remember that when you stand up with straight legs on

the board you are in a very unbalanced position and will often

result in a wipeout.

Tip: When you are able to stand up on the board refrain from being too

excited, keep your focus on your balance until the end of the ride. Stay on a crouched position and keep low.

The center of your gravity on the board should be lower for you to be

more balanced.

5) Too much weight at the back of the surfboard.

Leaning on your back foot too much while riding a wave will result in too much weight placed on the back of

the surfboard. This is like putting the brakes on. 

This will result on a shorter ride because your board will surely sink

low into the water and you might fall off the back of the wave.

Tip: Surfers should attempt to step their feet further forward on the board. Keep the front foot in the

center of the board and the back foot needs to be in front of the fin plugs. Learn to focus on leaning into your front foot. It will help you maintain

your speed for a longer ride.

Avoid total wipeouts and falling off your boards by following these tips! Learn to surf in great condition and

minimize the occurrence of these mistakes to make the most of your

time while surfing.

For more detailsVisit us @

http://www.surfandsun.com.au/Or Call

1800 786 386