The right way to teach surfing is ........

[waikikikichan]

So what's the right way to teach surfing ? What makes a good surf school / instructor ? What's the proper approach ?
Easy, there is no ONE way, there is no CORRECT way to teach a newbie to surf. But Wisdom beats Knowledge any day.
I always feel bad when OMS says his opinion won't matter.

I am also not a surf instructor and just have an interest in the physics of surfing as opposed to all the incredible practical knowledge that Waikikichan has in teaching surfing. I never taught anyone to surf and no one ever taught me to surf other than pushing me into a couple waves so I am somewhat clueless to the problems others have learning to surf so maybe don't listen to me

OMS learned to surf at the school of Hard Knocks.
1) There was no Longboard or soft sponge Costco Wavestorms for him to learn on.
2) Probably back then, there wasn't any leashes, so you had to be tough to swim in to retrieve your board after wiping out.
3) No Youtube or Surf forums to learn from or ask questions.
I respect OMS's comments and advice so so much, because his knowledge come from EXPERIENCE. From taking the dirty lickens and getting back up and going back out. He's from the "Old School", no helmet, no pads, no participation trophies, no whining. You want it, you had to earn it. He surfs waves I'll won't even consider leaving the safety of the air conditioned car. He is for most part Self Taught, and sometimes that the only way people learn is when they learn it by going through it themselves. He is kind enough to share that wisdom with you all.
I for one look forward to seeing OMS's input daily. How about you guys ?

[oldmansurfer]

I appreciate this waikikichan but seriously I didn't have much of the problems it seems most surfers have. For one I never tried to ride whitewater and went straight to green waves. I learned on a shortboard also so did the most common mistake we see here too small of a board however it was a couple feet longer than my paipo board so I never felt it was small. In two weeks I was riding down the line and making the turns needed to stay in the power of the wave and in a years time I was getting tubed on double overhead waves., I just wonder if anything i say can be helpful for most here. But if this is a clue for me to quit discounting my advice I will try to stop that now

[jaffa1949]

No discounting, you offer good advice , always interesting.
So much is learned just by the notion from the Ocean,

[waikikikichan]

That's the point, you didn't learn the common or usual way like nowadays. Your view comes from a different and unique angle, which is needed when everything seems the same.
I wonder how less crowded the surf breaks would be if everyone had to learn on a shortboard and on Hawaiian reefs and power, like you did. Not standing on the sandy bottom, jumping on their boards and riding the whitewater in straight.

[dtc]

I always respect my elders. Unfortunately there aren’t many people who fall into the ‘else ‘ category any more...

I agree, for something as free form and unstructured like surfing, there just isn’t the ‘one way’ to learn or improve. People learn different ways, different tips will resonate, different approaches offer the ability to choose the one that works best in the moment for that person.

Although living next to the beach in Hawaii is a bit of an unfair advantage....

[Oldie]

If I may -- I enjoy OMS contributions a lot. But to me, it is a bit like a fairy tale. I started the "modern" way (whitewhater, push in, Softbord) at a very old age and I am landlocked with no real ocean in driving distance. So while I enjoy reading them, I have difficulties to relate to them as a way of teaching, and it is a learning approach I cannot adopt. Please keep them coming, but be patient with me

Although living next to the beach in Hawaii is a bit of an unfair advantage....

No. I am not envious of that. No. Never. Really Not.....

[jaffa1949]

[quote="Oldie"]
No. I am not envious of that. No. Never. Really Not.....[/[quote]
And you are saying this in the middle of a Düsseldorf winter , yeah right!

[jaffa1949]

Sadly time , holidays and distant lands far removed from surf zones and people wishing to have the “ beautiful free natural etc. experience “ of surfing in two days of beach time leads to the Pushkin method of teaching, many go home with the happy thought that a white water straight ride is surfing but in the middle of some far remove continent it is!
I had the serendipitous opportunity to jump into surfing, even beaches up the east coast of Australia were unpopulated , other surfers were seen as brothers . Almost peace love and everything else, all good!

[BoMan]

I always enjoy reading OMS's posts about body surfing. There's so much to learn about waves from that perspective. I also get a lot out of his posts on "Latest Surfs."

[Silvery]

If I may -- I enjoy OMS contributions a lot. But to me, it is a bit like a fairy tale. I started the "modern" way (whitewhater, push in, Softbord) at a very old age and I am landlocked with no real ocean in driving distance. So while I enjoy reading them, I have difficulties to relate to them as a way of teaching, and it is a learning approach I cannot adopt. Please keep them coming, but be patient with me

Although living next to the beach in Hawaii is a bit of an unfair advantage....

No. I am not envious of that. No. Never. Really Not.....

snap

[oldmansurfer]

I grew up in the ocean. At four years old I was dog paddling in a tidepool. My parents worried that I might drown since I was so attracted to the ocean put me into Red Cross swimming lessons. I became one of the best swimmers around. Prior to surfing I was a really good bodysurfer. As a little kid I quit riding whitewater bodysurfing. We would go to the beach and people would push off the bottom and ride the whitewater in as far as they could and call that bodysurfing but once i had a taste of riding on unbroken face of the wave I immediately made a decision to never go back to that. I had been bodysurfing without fins for along time and found a pair of fins and that helped me to catch bigger and bigger waves. So prior to surfing I was regularly bodysurfing double over head waves. Then a friend asked me if I wanted to try his paipo board. I said no because I had tried paipo boards before and they were not worth the hassle of dealing with holding a piece of wood in the waves. I could go as fast and as far without them. But he convinced me to use it so I did and suddenly I am going so fast across the face of waves making waves I never would have bodysurfing. I switched over right then to paipo boarding and kept that guys board till I could make a copy of it. Then I got really into paipo boarding and guaranteed I never bothered to ride whitewater then either. The surfers really liked what I did paipo boarding and sometimes would comment how they wish they could do that and I would ask them what and they would say you know like you just did which was take off deep and get tubed and come out. During my time paipo boarding I tried out surfing 3 times. The first was my older brothers 8 foot funboard and I managed to catch at least one unbroken wave. The next time I tried my younger brothers potato chip board which was around 5'2" long at a break that I was familiar with from paipo boarding. It took me 30 minutes to figure out the difference in where I should line up to catch the wave and then I caught a wave and got tubed or covered up in the wave and came out stood up and cut out. These were maybe waist to shoulder high waves and I didn't try to catch whitewater also. The next time was with a surfboard that my parents bought me for my eighteenth birthday. I had started to ride my paipo board on my knees and was getting really into that so I thought surfing was too difficult so I just put the 6' 10" shortboard in a corner in my room and left it there after trying a couple of days for a couple hours. Don't recall how I did but it was a struggle and I was quite good at paipo boarding riding waves that were up to three time overhead. I busted my latest paipo board and it had taken me two weeks to make and I had noticed that surfing had an advantage of being able to use your entire body to shift your weight and generate speed. So I asked my surfer friends how to learn quick and they said surf as often as you can and for me that was daily been addicted ever since. You know back then shortboarding was what everyone wanted to do so if you were learning and you wanted to learn a shortboard that is what you started on. I never really considered it as being difficult never tried a longboard and never realized how different it was from others till coming to this forum. And like waikikichan said no leashes so you had to swim for your board so it was apparently really difficult for some people I guess but I never saw that. I think it might have been so difficult that people would just quit trying and I never saw them because I never went to beginner breaks. I only hung out with guys who were surfing longer than me. I was the kook newbie for a year or so. Anyway quite different experience from most of you so perhaps you just need to remember that when you hear me give advice.

[BoMan]

Old Man's first wave.

[oldmansurfer]

Well I was a little more sensible about learning to surf and stuck to waist high waves but just to make it more exciting I blindfolded myself......(just kidding)

[oldmansurfer]

When I learned it was like this. I had gotten tubed at that break that I was familiar with due to paipo boarding there but it was a shallow reef break and what I didn't mention is I dinged my brothers board at that break so I didn't want to go back there till I was better at controlling the board. I went to a sand break where I knew no one went so I wouldn't get in anyones way. I paddled for a wave and maybe caught one out of four waves I paddled for then popped up dropped down the wave and pearled at the bottom, swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out. Wave 2 dropped down and pearled at the bottom,swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 3 dropped down and pearled at the bottom swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 4 dropped down and pearled at the bottom swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 5 dropped down and pearled at the bottom swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 6 dropped down and pearled at the bottom swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 7 dropped down and pearled at the bottom swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 8 dropped down and pearled at the bottom swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 9 dropped down and pearled at the bottom swam in to retrieve the board and paddled back out, Wave 10 I was suddenly riding the wave and rode off the end of the wave due to not turning the board back into the power of the wave. I am thinking okay I got this but then repeat the same thing for the next ten waves. I think would be about one days worth of learning there. So I am thinking what is it that I am doing different on those waves where I don't pearl? The next day I repeat the same thing only maybe catch 3 waves and manage to do some small turns to try to keep from running off the end of the wave. I keep improving and by 2 weeks I am pearling maybe one wave at the bottom and making the rest of the waves and able to do some small turns as needed to go faster or slow down. So you might ask what was it that I was doing different on those waves I didn't pearl? It is difficult to explain but I could feel it. It is something like leaning forward as you go down the wave then switching to leaning back toward the wave into a bottom turn but maybe also like leaning forward then bringing the board under you at the bottom instead of leaning.

[Beginner77]

I'm a beginner who's had lessons at 3 different schools and I think most teach really well. Almost everyone has fun and wants to come back for more. As with any sport or academic subject, fewer in a class is always better as teaching can be tailored.

The problem, as far as I can see, is not learning, it's what happens afterwards:

1) Attitude. I do a lot of different sports and none of them has a derogatory word for beginners like surfing has. None of them have forums where people talk in critical and derogatory ways about beginners and the way they learn, as we see on here and on other surfing forums (and You Tube comments - has anyone here read any?!! - shocking). On the contrary, in those other sports experienced people welcome beginners and are excited to share their passion with them. This attitude problem with many experienced surfers is really off putting.

2) Improver lessons. These are really thin on the ground and usually only available as an expensive 1-1. Beginner lessons are easy to come by; almost every beach with waves has at least one school offering those. If you want to step on from that though, there's not really very much around. The closest I've come is one school a two hour drive from me that has a weekend improvers course running a handful of times a year. I can only assume that there isn't the demand, so whilst loads of people try surfing in the white water as a beginner, not many want to take it further - does anyone know a ratio for that?

[oldmansurfer]

Other sports don't have beginners playing in the same field at the same time as advanced players. Other sports have specific rules and specific goals with which to measure your improvement. Surfing has a little but goals vary widely. Other sports are mostly about competition whereas surfing is mostly not about competition. Don't know the ratio of surfers who never go past riding whitewater. Imagine a downhill skier who has to deal with beginners messing around on the slope. Or a professional basketball game where non professional kids run across the court and shoot balls at the net during the game or in practice sessions.

[RinkyDink]

Another reason I surf is because I get to play on some of the craziest ledges, vertical positions, and trampoline-like surfaces that somehow, through the magic of the surboard, feel normal to be floating along and even, dare I say it, somewhat safe.

[waikikikichan]

On the contrary, in those other sports experienced people welcome beginners and are excited to share their passion with them. This attitude problem with many experienced surfers is really off putting.

1) If a beginner gets on the field/court of a soccer, basketball, football he will literally get blown by. He's not in the way.
2) If a beginner cyclist, runner or triathlete starts a race with other more advance racers it won't matter, he'll get left in the dust.
3) How many of those "other" sports can you DROWN ? Can a beginner swimmer block/hinder a advance swimmer ( will maybe if there's no buoy lane markers )
4) If a beginner bowler lets go the ball backwards, golfer let go his club, archer releases his arrow straight up, do you think they'll be welcomed.

Beginner77, I AM HERE on this forum to help. Help beginners become better surfers. My slogan is "the best way to get rid of a kook, is teach him the correct way to surf". I have compassion. But when it comes to my safety, my life ( and those of my friends and loved ones ) I will tell beginners that they don't belong at the certain break for their safety and mine.

Your view is understandable for the time you've been surfing. But will you have that same attitude when you change your name to Intermediate77 or Advanced77 ? When you get to the level to charge waves of consequence, and some beginner blocks you, paddles the wrong way, dings your board, or breaks your leg ( it happen to me ) then will feel the same when the shoe is on the other foot ? We will never know until that time when you are not a beginner anymore.

[jaffa1949]

Waikikichan covers it well and when that level “ surfer” tells you they are entitled, the ocean is free zone and assorted newbie comments, while being in harms way or causing havoc. Explanations of traffic rules are needed, if it escalates , then things are bad.
Often clear advice is ignored!
The Volkswagen (Beetle) putter out of the pits onto a formula 1 track on race day!

On the other foot the respectful beginner encountering the i want every wave DHead!, doesn’t advance surfing either!

[Beginner77]

I can understand your points, however I've not seen this with other sports and some of them are of similar risk to surfing and often much higher risk. The sport I've done for the longest is much higher risk than surfing (the lower risk is the main reason I'm doing less of that and trying to do more surfing) and we welcome beginners.

Perhaps it's the nature of surfing that means lots of people are competing for very few waves? Unlike windsurfing (another sport I do), surfers can't choose to go somewhere else until they're experienced.

Nevertheless, even if the negative attitude is justified, it's there and yes, it puts people off. I don't wish to contest it, just to mention that it exists.