So you’ve mastered paddling into whitewash waves and popping up. The next step is to move out to the actual break and start catching open faced or green waves – essentially waves that haven’t broken yet. This is where it starts to get really fun, but also really challenging.

So the first thing we have to cover is where to actually sit when you are trying to catch open faced waves. Paddle out towards the waves, but keep an eye on where the waves are actually breaking. From there, you want to paddle out further and and sit maybe 10-15 feet beyond the break so that you can catch it as it’s breaking. If you sit where the waves are breaking, it’ll break on your back as you are paddling. Most likely you’ll be at a beach with other people, so look where they are sitting and go sit at that same distance. Find the guy who’s catching a lot of waves and study where he’s sitting relative to where the wave is breaking, that’s a good indication of where to be.

There is one fundamental difference between catching whitewash and actual waves. I believe knowing this difference is the key to really grasping how to catch waves. So if you are not having success, come back, and really think about this concept.

When you are catching small broken waves close to shore, you are letting the wave push you, you are using that forward power to get yourself moving.

Now with an unbroken wave, you are actually using gravity to get down the face of the wave.

As the wave approaches, you must match the speed of the wave with your paddling or it’s going to pass right under you.

The nose of your board must be lower than the tail of your board.

Now here’s another key thing to remember, once you feel that board start to pick up, really give it an extra paddle or two so you know you’re really in it, keep your chest/head low and close to the board, then pop up.

Paddling into waves should tire you out, these should be sprint paddles. And by sprint paddles I’m just talking about really paddling your butt off. When you’re paddling out to the break you can take slower strokes, but time them right so you are getting over whitewash correctly and so you aren’t taking breaking waves on the head, but paddling into a wave should be you going all out.

So again, we’re taking advantage of gravity, we need to match the speed of the wave with our paddles, and once we feel that wave pick us up, give it an extra one or two insurance paddles and then do your pop up.

Now figuring out what wave to catch is going to take some time, and you’ll get better as you spend more time in the water learning how to read the ocean.

If you’re attempting to paddle too early, the wave will not be completely formed yet, so there won’t be enough power there to get you moving.

If you’re too late, the wave will already be crashing or already broke and then you are just in the whitewash.

You want to find that in between where the wave is standing up and just starting to curl.

Here are a few things you can look to adjust as you start trying to catch open faced waves:

Be more forward on your board then you would be when paddling into whitewash – not so forward that your nose is dipping into the water, but you want to be a little more forward so you are planing correctly and paddling at maximum speed.

Make sure to keep that back arched and keep those arms back when you’re starting to pop up, don’t put them out forward to stop yourself. If you start to feel like you are going to nose dive, get those arms back, and arch your back and pop up or just get to your knees and you should be able to save yourself from nose diving.

You are going to nose dive (or “pearl”), it’s part of the learning process, and there are a couple reasons for it. Either you aren’t paddling fast enough, you stood up too slow, your nose dipped into the water, or your weight is too far forward. Now you may think if I’m nose diving I’m too far forward, well probably not. If you move back when you’re paddling, there’s a good chance you’ll just keep missing waves. Remember what we talked about earlier, you must get the nose of your board lower than the tail of your board.

Don’t wait too long to pop up, if you wait until you’re at the bottom of the wave you’ll miss it and lose all your speed. Feel that wave pick you up, give it an extra paddle or two, and explode into your pop up.

Look behind you as you are paddling so you can adjust speed as necessary. The only way to learn is to see what you are doing and what you are actually paddling into. You may think you are paddling at the right time, but if you aren’t checking on the wave and adjusting, there is a good chance you are misjudging how and where the wave is breaking.

Don’t angle your take-off when you are first starting out, just paddle straight towards the beach, focus on catching that wave and popping up. You can advance to angling your pop-up later on.

If you are really having a hard time, take a boogie board out or just surf on your stomach with your board. Sometimes all it takes is riding a few waves on your stomach to figure out what it feels like when you catch a wave correctly. Once you get that feeling ingrained, you’ll have more energy to focus on your pop-up and actually surfing.

I guarantee this is going to be the most challenging part of surfing for awhile, so don’t lose hope if it’s taking you quite a few sessions to catch waves in the line up. If you need help, tips, or feedback on problems you’re having, feel free to leave a comment on my YouTube video or shoot me an email. In the next article we’ll quickly go over surf etiquette so you stay safe and don’t immediately create enemies in the water.

We finally made it to the good stuff! In this article we’ll go over how to catch broken waves, also known as whitewater or whitewash. Your life will be a lot easier if you’ve read through the first 6 articles and really practiced those 3 key fundamentals. Now let’s get to surfing yewwwwwwwwwwwwww!

So for your first few times out, you’ll want to focus on surfing in the whitewash. These are waves that have already broken, so they will be a little more gentle and a lot easier to catch. You’re looking for the small breaking waves that you can basically walk out to.

Alright so get your leash on your back foot, if you are a regular footed surfer that’s your right foot and for goofy stance it’s your left foot. The leash should be on the outside of your ankle.

Now when you’re walking out, just guide the board along with you, right on your side, use your arm to push down on the tail when whitewash is about to hit you, this will help get the board over the broken wave. As you are walking out, keep an eye out for other surfers and other people around you. Always have full control over you board, never ditch that board. Nobody wants to get hit with it!

If it’s your first time out, it might help to just jump on and start paddling around so you can practice and get a feel for it. Really focus on getting situated in the right spot, get those feet out of the water, toes on the end of the board, head up, back arched. If you are paddling out and whitewash is coming at you, you can get over the whitewash by pushing up with your hands and arching your back.

Once you’ve gotten the hang of paddling around, find a spot in the whitewash where you can stand. Place your board on your side, nose facing the beach, keeping an eye on what’s coming in. When you see one that’s not too big (but still big enough to push you), hop on and get in your paddle position, start paddling and as the wave starts to push you do your pop up. That’s it!

Now, there is no magical number to how many times this should take before you get it. Some people are lucky and get it their first time out, some people it takes a few sessions to pop up and ride a wave for the first time. So don’t be discouraged, surfing is one of the hardest sports to learn, especially as an adult!

Here are some things to look out for in case you aren’t having any luck.

If you are nosediving, try moving a bit further back on the board, sometimes the whitewash is too powerful and it will force your board down. Make sure your back is arched, this will also help prevent nosedives.

Try not to catch the wave while it’s still breaking, make sure it’s broken already and you are just focusing on the whitewash right now. You can move on to open faced waves (or green waves) once you master surfing in the whitewash.

If the wave is passing you by, try moving a bit forward on the board, you may be pushing too much water (so the nose out of the water too much).

Try paddling earlier and faster so that you have more speed, keep paddling until you know for sure the wave has you. You should be able to feel the whitewash pushing you.

If you are really having trouble getting a feel for the wave, skip the pop up and focus on just catching the wave on your stomach. Really get a good feeling of what it’s like to have the wave take you. Once you are comfortable with that, add in your pop up and start surfing.

Some surf spots are better than others for learning in the whitewash, and some days are better than others. So do your best, but don’t be surprised if you don’t get it your first time out. In between surf sessions, go back home and study the fundamentals we covered, practice your pop-ups, and get prepared for your next session.

If you need help or tips with catching whitewash, feel free to leave a comment on my YouTube video or shoot me an email. In the next article, we’ll take this a step further and get you out to the actual break where you can start catching open faced waves.

So you’ve figure out how to pop up, but now what? Just stand there and shred right?Surf stance is a tricky thing because it goes against how your body naturally wants to react to things. A proper surf stance also goes against what you learn in most other sports. So if you’re getting into surfing later in life, you may already be at a disadvantage because you’ll have to break muscle memory.

Once you pop up, your knees should stay bent. Don’t go stiff or stand up straight – you’ll just lose balance and speed. Make sure you are bending at the knees, not at the waist!. Don’t lean too far forward or lean too far back. Your feet should be in the center of your board, just like how they were when you were practicing pop ups.

Keep a narrow width stance, maybe a little less than shoulder width, and don’t point your knees apart. You don’t want to look like you’re taking a poop out there (poo stance). Keep those knees forward, almost pointed together. This is going to help with moving your weight around so you can turn and go where you want to go. Being able to move your hips properly will let you really throw your butt into a turn. Or it will allow you to get your weight back fast enough so that your nose doesn’t dip on a steep drop in. You want those hips loose and in a good position so you can react.

Now onto your arms. Don’t drag your arms, but don’t flail them up high either. Keep your arms outside of the correct rails. Match your front foot with your leading hand. So I’m regular footed, which means my left foot is forward, which means my left hand should be outside my left rail and my right hand should be outside my right rail. An easier way to remember is to look at where your hands are on the board when you pop up, your hands actually stay on the same side as they were during your pop up. Having your arms on one side of the board is going to make it really hard to balance.

Open up your chest, don’t have your arms all stiff and tight together, and look where you want to go. As simple as it sounds, this is something that often gets overlooked. Your body will follow your head, so look where you want to go.

A good stance will take some time to perfect, but knowing what NOT to do will help make sure you don’t have to break bad habits down the road. So again, knees bent, knees pointing forward/almost in, arms outside your rails, and look where you want to go.

If you need help, tips, or feedback on your stance, feel free to leave a comment on my YouTube video or shoot me an email. We’re finally ready to surf, in the next article we’ll get out in the water and go over how to catch waves.