This is Dan Mori, founder of Fulcrum Surf School with the Surf Tip of the Week

INTRO:

 Before you start, make sure your surfboard or foam surfboard floats you correctly. The correct position on the board is to to arch your chest and let your upper rib cage be the first part to be touching the surfboard. This is what we call “Paddle one”, which is the “set-up paddle”. When you are paddling (one arm paddling at a time), the nose of the surfboard should be skimming on the surface of the water. Its okay to have the nose of the surfboard sometimes dip barely under as you paddle. That is the optimum Fulcrum point of the surfboard.  

WAVE SELECTION:

When you are sitting on your board, most beginners sit and wait for the waves to come to them. They usually don’t account for other surfers who are in the hunt for the wave. When you see experienced surfers paddling early and going towards the direction of the swell, you might say to yourself, “How does he know there’s a wave coming?”. Well the answer is, we don’t know for sure, but here’s a little secret. When I sit and wait for the waves and as i go over the pinnacle point of the swell i try to look at the horizon and see if there are any bumps out in the horizon. If i see a dark line or any bumps, IMMEDIATELY start paddling towards that direction. Whether its out to the deep ocean or directly north or south. Sometimes it’s nothing and that’s okay. If there is a wave, you are first to act and get first choice. People will see that you saw it first and if you are serious about that wave and you project it, others will move aside and let you go for it!

If other surfers are in position, assume that they have it and just let that wave go and get in position for the second or third wave. You will now notice that 90 percent of  surfers go for the first wave. That is not the way to go! The second and third waves are usually better anyway! More water has drained out making the following waves a little better shape!

CATCHING WAVES:

PADDLE ONE: SET UP PADDLE

The correct position on the board is to to arch your chest and let your upper rib cage be the first part to be touching the surfboard. This is what we call “Paddle one”, which is the “set-up paddle”. When you are paddling (one arm paddling at a time), the nose of the surfboard should be skimming on the surface of the water. Its okay to have the nose of the surfboard sometimes dip barely under as you paddle. That is the optimum Fulcrum point of the surfboard.  The reason why many beginners are too far back is because they have pearled (nose dive and fly face first into the water) on their board and never want to have that happen to them again. The reason why you pearl is because of 3 reasons: 1. You are too far forward on the surfboard. 2. You paddled too far in (close to the shore) and the wave is too steep. 3. You are not arching your chest off the board high enough. That means your chest is laying on the board too heavily

The Amazing tip:

When you choose your wave, make sure it is still in the development stage. Most beginners go for waves that are already well matured and ready to break. You can argue that those are the only waves that will carry you and have power to push you. NOT ANY MORE!! The paddle one position positions you a little bit forward so that your board will catch waves easier..I PROMISE!

PADDLE TWO: EXECUTE PADDLE

So you spotted your wave early (maybe being farther out in the line up) and you are in your PADDLE ONE position and paddling. As soon as the BASE of the wave reaches your thighs and starts to carry you, you switch to PADDLE TWO! PADDLE TWO is the opposite of PADDLE ONE. As the wave approaches your thigh level and creeping up to you mid section, you are now going to slowly lift your mid section of the body off the board. Sounds confusing but its looks like you’re doing the worm dance! The only part touching your board is your knee caps, and drop your chest onto the board carefully AS YOU PADDLE. Your but is slightly up in the air. If you push your chest down to fast, you will pearl. If you push it too slow, you will miss the wave. The correct pressure depends on how steep the wave is. If it’s rolling and now much vert, then push chest slower and you will have to paddle longer. If the wave is steeper, then you will push the chest down a little faster and will get up earlier than a mushy wave. The good thing is that it takes a few sessions to get this down but at least you now know that you are doing it correctly and it’s your perseverance to stick to it which will take to the next level…which is to catch any way you want on a whim.

PS: When you do your pop ups, do the following Five things

1) Get you hands directly under your arm pits, hands NOT gripping the rails (sides of the board) of the board

2) Keep your head up…NEVER looking down

3) Push the board down with your arms instead of pulling your body away from the board. Let the board fall under your body

4) Bring your front foot directly under your chest…..LEAVE the back foot by the tail (above the fins) of the surfboard

5) BE confident!!

Good luck! Hope this helps! If you need any clarifications, please call us at 858.397.4491. or email info@fulcrumsurf.com

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