How to Gain Confidence in Your Surfing

Words: Aaron Bell
Images: Kita Lawrence

If you’ve participated in a Waves of Wellness (WOW) program it may have been your first experience surfing. For many it provides the spark to get back in the water as soon as possible. However, transitioning from the learning stage to a confident surfer can feel daunting.

Here are some tips on how to gain confidence in your surfing. 

Find a friend to go with

At WOW, we love hearing that people have made connections with other participants through our programs. 

Finding a mate or two to go for a surf with can be a great motivator in staying consistent with your surfing. For beginners, having the confidence to paddle out alone can often be a major barrier to getting out there again and again. 

Having a buddy to go with can motivate you to not only get out there again, but give you some reassurance that someone’s got your back when you paddle out. 

Building social connections and sharing experiences with a friend or loved one can greatly influence our wellbeing and Waves of Wellness run surf programs all over the country. 

Going with a surf buddy can also help keep you committed (especially in those colder months) when it might be easier to just stay home. Challenge yourself to stay accountable and the improvement will come!

Stay consistent! 

Work, family, friends, and just life can sometimes make it difficult to go out for a surf regularly. But surfing can provide a great physical and mental break from the day-to-day. 

Research shows the benefits of exercise extend way beyond the physical. Staying active helps reduce anxiety by counteracting the effects of our innate ‘fight or flight’ response. 

Prioritising your wellbeing means taking time for yourself, whether that’s getting up early to surf before work, or driving to a beach on the weekend. If surfing makes you happy, do it! 

It’s also important to have patience. Chances are you won’t be shredding like Mick Fanning on your first ride. Ignore those grommets getting barrelled beside you and focus on yourself and your improvement.

Find a protected break

If you are a beginner, it’s important to learn surfing etiquette and not put yourself in a situation where you are out of your depth. 

The beautiful thing about Australia is there are plenty of waves for everyone. Do your research and find a break that’s protected. It will most likely mean protection from the wind, and in some places, will mean shallow water where you can walk your board out to the breaking waves. This can help you focus on standing up on your board, and navigate other surfers and swimmers until you are ready to get ‘out the back.’

Getting out the back means paddling past the breaking waves and getting to the green, unbroken waves. Once you're out the back, you will need to learn how to navigate the line-up and give priority to surfers closest to the inside of the wave (but you can worry about that later!)

Finding a break that suits your ability will mean catching more waves and ultimately help you improve faster!

Use a bigger board 

When you begin surfing you might be tempted to try out a short board. It’s what the pros use and is easy to carry around. However, to gain confidence at the beginner stage, you will have more success using a longboard (at least 8ft in length) with lots of volume. The extra length and volume increases the stability and will be a bit more forgiving in those early stages. 

Longer boards also will make it easier to catch waves and ride for longer. Too often surfers try to use a short board and subsequently get frustrated when they can’t get up and ride the wave. 

It’s okay to learn on a big board or a foam board. You want to have fun in the water and standing up and riding waves for longer will only help your confidence in the early stages of learning to surf. 

Practice breathing - it’s okay to feel anxious in the water 

You never want to put yourself in danger when going for a surf, but feeling nervous, anxious or slightly out of your comfort zone is okay. It’s in these moments we grow our confidence and learn our limitations. 

Being mindful and exercising breath-work can help reduce stress, lower blood pressure and heart rate.

The ocean can be a powerful place, and gaining confidence in your surfing starts with gaining confidence in the water.

It’s okay to take a moment before you get out into the water to focus on your breathing and calm your mind. 

Ultimately it’s important to remember surfing is meant to be fun!