Kyle’s surfing progression thread!

So pretty much i want to learn how to surf and by making this thread hopefully i’ll be motivated to do it!

I literally have no more excuses not to be able to surf. I recently moved to Mona Vale, i can both skate & snowboard quite well, my friend has leant me his old board & i’m always at the beach! Therefore i’m going to learn how to surf and i shall keep all updates within this thread.

Any tips / suggestions would be greatly appreciated along the way!

So this morning i thought i’d have my first crack at it. The swell was quite small which i thought would be a good thing. Although as it turned out the spot i picked may have been too small as it was quite difficult finding waves!

There are a few questions in which i have regarding some of the problems i was having;

Where abouts on the surfboard do you want to be located whilst paddling / actually surfing?
-towards the back, in the middle or at the front??

I currently am surfing in just my boardshorts, how important is it to have a wetsuit?
-i did get a slight rash on my chest from the board in which i was planning on wearing a rashy next time!

I saw a few surfers sitting upright on their boards whilst scouting for waves, when i tried this the board immediately barrel rolled and i fell off haha
- i imagine this is just one of those balance things that over time you learn how to do, but is there any tricks to it!

The current board i am using is about 20 odd years old & i’m not quite sure what it’s called, but i shall post a picture tomorrow when i try again!!

*Goal - To be standing up riding small waves by the end of the week.

I’ll keep you guys posted! 

Well my friend you are massively in luck, I live in Newport and am also quite free of responsibilities at the moment, have a 9’6” mal in the garage amongst other boards and have been surfing for about 28 years so I might be able to help you out.  Rather than trying to help you out over the internet it’s much easier in person, PM me for my number if you’re interested mate.

Looking forward to hearing more about this. You are in good hands with NBG. I would definitely take him up on his generous offer.

Today is a brilliant day for a beginner, just smsed banana so hopefully he gets back to me and he’ll have something to add to this thread by the end of the day.

Well I got Blackbanana out for a surf yesterday, the waves and conditions were pretty decent for learning and he has a good attitude.  There’s a few things he needs to work on but first and foremost it’s time in the water and learning to read the ocean.  He did ok though, he caught most of his waves himself and stood up a couple of times as well.

As I said to you afterwards even when it’s crap, just go out there, the crap days just make it seem so much better and easier when it is good.  One thing I forgot to mention, I’m sure you’ve done burpees before, do more of them and often, practicing jumping into a surfing stance rather then facing the front.  Build the motor skill to a point where it becomes second nature.

Funny thing was I took him to where I normally surf at the next beach up from where he lives and he hadn’t even realised that beach was there ha ha!

So here’s a pic of the board my mate has given me to learn on!

From what i’ve been told it’s a ‘mini mal’ about 8 foot long which is meant to be good for learning! It says ‘Surf Factory’ on it so i’m not sure if that’s the brand of board or just the design of it.

Been out a few times throughout the week whenever i’ve had a chance. The best of which was with Mike. Learnt a whole heap of stuff which made is waaaaay easier. Managed to get up which felt pretty awesome! Although i was getting super exhausted and needed a few rests in between waves haha. (That’s what 6 months of only lower body exercise does to you!)

Cheers for all your help NBG, hopefully be heading out again soon!

*Next goal - riding the wave for longer and getting some turns in

Wheres’ the updates mate, very worried you’ve slacked right off!

Hahaha yeah i have been slacking off lately. I’ve just started my new job and been working 5-6 days a week. Hopefully be getting a wetsuit soon and then getting back into it!