Learning to surf is one of those things that feels as though it’s on the bucket list of half the world – or at least in Australia it is. But though so many wish they could surf and romanticise the idea of being able to, the number who actually follow through and pursue the greatest pastime in the world is relatively low.
And fair enough, too. Don’t get me wrong, surfing is – objectively – one of the best activities in the world. But learning to do it…not so easy. It takes time, it takes commitment, and it takes a hell of a lot of frustration. Once you get there though, it could hardly be more worth it. Though some surfers would prefer no one else to be in the water, I think the more people who surf, the better the world is, because getting out there as often as possible can have a big impact on wellbeing.
So with that in mind, let’s offer some encouragement. People who are considering learning to surf, or who have started to, invariably have a lot of the same questions burning away in the back of their mind, so in this article we’re going to answer some of the most common questions people have about learning to surf.
How long does it take to learn how to surf?
There’s no sugar coating the fact that learning to surf is not easy. It can take quite a long time to even get half-decent at it, and as cliché as it may sound, the reality is that you never really stop learning. Exactly how long it takes, however, depends on a number of different factors.
For starters – and it might sound obvious but you’d be surprised how many people don’t really think about it – it depends a huge amount on how often you get out into the water. You don’t improve at surfing simply based on how much time has passed since you began learning – you improve based on, shock horror, how much time you’ve actually spent practising. If you go out once every few months then, sorry to be blunt, you’ll be learning for a hell of a long time. In contrast, if you’re able to get out in the water and consistently commit a good amount of time to it, it’ll be a lot quicker.
So what about actual timelines, you might be wondering. There’s no hard and fast rules, but if you’re getting out in the water multiple times a week then there’s no reason that you can’t be out the back surfing the proper waves within a few months. That doesn’t mean you’ll be the best one out there – probably far from it – but you’ll hopefully be able to confidently stand up and surf the face of the wave. Of course, there are other factors which influence, one of which is simply natural ability, but as a general rule if you’re practising consistently you should bear some fruits for your labour within a few months.
The quality of your practice also counts for a lot. If you get lessons, then that will at least give you a foundation and grasp of the basics from which to start. If not – and we’ll discuss that step a bit more in the next section – it doesn’t mean you won’t be able to learn, but you’ll need to have some understanding of what you’re doing. If you’re thrashing around spending half the time trying not to drown, unsurprisingly you won’t get a whole lot better at the actual art of surfing. If you’re sitting in the right spots and learning how to actually ride a wave, however, you’ll improve a lot more quickly.
A few other more personal factors can also have an impact. Age is one of them – and again this is something we’ll discuss a bit more later in this article. If you’re older, that absolutely does not mean you can’t learn to surf. Like anything though, kids are the ones who put us adults to shame when it comes to learning how to do something new, so the younger the better as far as learning to surf. Being fit also helps, purely because you’ll be able to get to more waves if you’re not fatigued, while your balance will clearly play a major role in things too.
How do you learn to surf without any lessons?
Choosing to get lessons is a path that many go down when learning to surf, and there’s plenty of good reasons to do that. Having someone who knows how to surf and is trained to teach others to do the same can, as you may expect, help to make the process that little bit easier, but it’s not an absolute must. There are plenty of people who choose not to get lessons for a number of reasons – maybe they’re intimidated, maybe they don’t want to or can’t pay for them, maybe they just think they can do it themselves. Whatever the reason, choosing not to get surf lessons doesn’t mean you’ll never learn to surf – I never had them – but there are certain tips that can help you along the way.
The first of these, and in my view the most important, is to have somebody who does know how to surf help you out, or at least give you a bit of guidance. Yes, I realise this sounds a lot like getting lessons, but it doesn’t have to be nearly as hands on. You don’t necessarily need somebody holding your hand every step of the way, but if you do have somebody with a bit of knowledge about local conditions where you’re surfing, where to position yourself, and who can give you a few tips, it can be massively beneficial. Of course, not everybody has someone at their disposal to provide this guidance – if that’s you, don’t stress, you can still learn. If you do have such an option available to you though, use it.
An excellent alternative to the above, and something which can help to complement a bit of guidance from someone you know, is to read a bit of content about the specifics of learning to surf. There’s plenty of this around – we’ve provided plenty of surf tips ourselves – and these can help you to understand a little bit about what to do in the water to give yourself the best chance of catching a wave.
Another thing to consider which is absolutely pivotal is to get the right board. This is a mistake which so many people make – beginners and otherwise – and can have a way bigger impact on your ability to learn to surf. When you’re starting, you’ll want a board with a fair bit of volume, because there’s not a person in the history of surfing who’s learnt to surf on a shortboard. As you progress you can get different boards, but don’t make the mistake of trying to surf something which is going to make your life harder purely for the sake of pride. I myself have made this mistake – as I was learning and beginning to feel more comfortable I wanted to get an increasingly shorter board, if only to prove that I could surf. All it served to do was prove how far I still had to go, and completely stunt my progression. You won’t get better by surfing a board which is beyond your capabilities – you’ll simply be unable to surf properly and won’t progress at all, so stick to a board which is within your limits.
Speaking of staying within your limits, the same applies to the conditions in which you surf. As you’re no doubt aware, the ocean conditions can change pretty drastically from day to day and even hour to hour. When you’re learning to surf, it’s key that you surf in conditions which enable you to properly practice. Don’t overestimate what you’re capable of and try to go out in conditions which you can’t surf – rather than getting the sickest wave of your life and taking two steps forward in a day, you’ll end up paddling around for an hour, before finally giving and returning to shore with a much smaller ego than wat you had when you began.
Is it worth getting surfing lessons if I’m older?
This is a question which a lot of people have about surfing, and is a factor which can legitimately prevent people from learning to surf. And as mentioned earlier in the article, there’s no denying the fact that if you’re ten years old, you’ll probably find learning to surf a little easier than if you’re 30, who in turn will find it easier than a 50-year-old, who will find it easier than a 70-year-old…and you get the point.
BUT, these added hurdles absolutely do not mean that you can’t learn to surf. Whether you’re ten years old or 50 years old or whatever you are, surfing can add a whole lot to your life, and it’s absolutely worth pursuing if it’s something that appeals to you.
If you’re learning to surf when you’re older, surfing lessons can be a great way to help you jump over a few of those added hurdles. This doesn’t mean that you have to and if you choose to go down the solo route, then all the advice provided in the above section still applies. But surfing lessons for older lessons can help in a number of ways.
For starters, while getting lessons might feel intimidating, they can actually help to reduce the fear associated with surfing. The first time you head out for a lesson might be a little anxiety-inducing, but if you do it in a group lesson you’ll meet others likely in a similar position to you, which will invariably help to put your fears at ease.
Even if you don’t opt for a group lesson, there are plenty of benefits to having a teacher by your side. They’ll be able to provide you with the tips that you need to advance to a stage where you’re comfortable being in the water, and they’ll also likely make you feel a lot more comfortable in the water. This is in terms of the actual techniques associated with surfing – how to read conditions, how to position yourself on a board, how to paddle for a wave and so on. Further than that, they’ll be able to teach you a few of the basics about surfing etiquette. That might not sound super important to a layperson, but knowing how to avoid pissing off the locals can make going out for a surf when you’re just learning a whole lot less intimidating.
Surfing is awesome. Ask anyone who surfs, and they’ll no doubt tell you the same. If you’re one of the large number of people who want to learn how to surf but don’t know whether it’s worth pursuing, let me tell you that it well and truly is. It can be a long and at times frustrating process, but it’s well and truly worth it. Whether you’re old, young, live by the beach or in a city, know people who surf or don’t – whatever your situation, learning to surf can potentially change your life significantly for the better, so in the words of our old friend Nike, just do it.
