Tips & Advice: Body Positioning in Surfing | Star Surf Camps (2024)

FAQs

Tips & Advice: Body Positioning in Surfing | Star Surf Camps? ›

Feet. The stance of your feet should be wider than your shoulders, however not so wide that your front leg straightens out, as this will cause you to slow down and loose the wave. Your back foot should be placed around the tail area of the board at a 90-degree angle to the centre of the surfboard.

Your weight should be over your front foot, but your back leg needs to be powerful and solid. Stay low and solid over top of your board. Your eyes should be focused on the shape of the wave, and the nose and toe-side rail of your board.

Have a slight bend in your knees, with your back knee bent forward; this will help you gain torque in your turns, and have better style. Keep As for your footing, keep your back foot facing outward, and your front food can angle slightly forward.

A thing I've heard over my surfing life is that certain body types are better for surfing than others. That is a myth, and I don't believe it to be true. Surfers with skinny legs can be super powerful, just as ones carrying a few extra pounds can be light and agile in the air.

The proper surfing stance should maintain a nice bend at the knees, but you're not going for a squat. Think forty-five degrees at the knees, not ninety. With this, you also want to bend your knees inward, not out.

The surfer with priority has the unconditional right of way to catch any wave they choose. Other surfers in the heat can paddle for, and catch, the same wave, but only if they don't obstruct or hinder the scoring potential of the surfer with priority.

It's important to keep the hips relaxed, agile and flexible. You should be able to draw a straight line from the heel of your front foot up to your front hip and then up to your leading shoulder, this line should be directly over the centre of the board for large beginner surfboards.

Once you identify a good wave approaching, reach the handplane out in front of you with one arm. Kick on your side and continue watching the wave over your shoulder. Allow the wave to pick you up, and then kick hard down the face and extend your body into the streamline position as you ride straight to the beach.

It requires balance, strength, and stamina to stay on the board, get up, and navigate through the waves. When you ride the waves, This constant use of your muscles helps to tone and sculpt your body into the lean and ripped physique that is so often associated with surfers.

How to improve surf posture? ›

The key to good surfing paddling posture is to properly position your arms along the rails of the surfboard by keeping your elbows nice and high. With your elbows high, you are utilising the simultaneous strength of your arms, chest, and shoulders to the greatest extent.

Here are the basics of the surf stance: Stand in a spring-like forward-facing stance so you can easily move in all directions, up, down, and rotationally. It's an athletic stance, almost like a boxer being light on their toes, and springing through the hips and knees.

The main advantage of sitting inside is that you could catch a lot more waves there, as surfers positioned outside or closer to the peak aren't positioned to paddle for them. This option is often the best one to catch more waves.

Observe Right of Way

Furthest out: the surfer that is furthest out or that has been waiting longest. Furthest inside: the closest surfer to the peak of the breaking wave. First to feet: the first to feet or first onto the wave. Communication: the call of "Left!" or "Right!" if the wave is dual-peaking.