5 tips to improve your surf technique, as a female
Anyone who's ever learned to surf knows the feeling: you can get up on your board, but something still doesn't feel smooth. To find out what actually separates "catching a wave" from "really surfing well," I asked some pro surfers for there best tips. Here are there five most important tips.
1. Your positioning on the board determines almost everything
Many surfers focus on their arms and paddle power, while most problems actually come from incorrect positioning on the board. Too far forward, and your nose dives into the water. Too far back, and you barely move forward. According to the coaches, this is the first thing to check when something feels off, before you start tweaking your technique.
2. Look where you want to go, not at your board
A classic beginner mistake: looking down while popping up. Your body automatically follows your gaze, so if you're looking at your board, you'll often fall that way too. Instead, look at the spot on the beach or the horizon you want to surf toward.
3. Timing matters more than power
Many surfers try to "catch" a wave by paddling as hard as possible at the very last moment. The coaches see this a lot, and it almost never works. It's better to start paddling early, as soon as you feel the wave coming, with a calm, steady rhythm, that way you naturally build enough speed by the time the wave picks you up.
4. Practice your pop-up on the beach, not just in the water
Most surfers only practice their pop-up (the move from lying down to standing) in the water, under time pressure and on a moving board. They recommend practicing the movement dozens of times on dry sand first, until it becomes automatic, that way you don't have to think about it in the water and can focus fully on the wave itself.
5. Review your sessions afterward
One thing professional surfers do differently from most hobbyists: they watch footage of their own sessions back. Watching videos of yourself reveals patterns you don't notice in the moment, like consistently losing your balance at the same point. It doesn't need to be complicated: a simple clip filmed from the beach is already enough to learn from.
Want to work on your technique?
These five tips will already get you further, but nothing works as fast as personal coaching and video analysis of your own surfing. That's why we're running Surf & Yoga Retreats in Portugal: a week focused on genuinely improving your surf technique, with daily dosis of sisterhood, combined with good food, and the beautiful Portugese coastline!
Join us on a coaching trip and see how much your surfing can improve in just one week.
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