You've Been Surfing for Years, and You're Still Making the Same Mistakes?
Most of the technical habits holding you back right now are the same ones that were holding you back five years ago. You've just gotten better at surfing around them.
We see it constantly. Someone who can surf well but has bad habits that stop them from improving or performing a maneuver properly. Either nobody's told them, or someone has, and it hasn't stuck. That's because at this level, after this many years, you actually need to see yourself surf. Seeing it is what starts the change.
But footage alone doesn't fix anything…
A systematic review in the German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research looked at over 2,000 studies on video feedback for learning a skill, and only eleven held up to scrutiny. The finding was consistent: video beats verbal coaching, but only when someone breaks the footage down with you. On its own, it barely helps. A clip of your bad habit doesn't fix the habit. You need someone who knows what they're looking at to point at the frame and say, "There, that's it."
Most surfers already film themselves, or get a mate to grab a clip from the beach. Almost none of them get someone to sit down and actually break it down. That gap is the real difference. The biomechanics backs this up. A scoping review in the journal Biomechanics looked at 26 studies and about 500 surfers. Paddling makes up half your time in the water, and elite surfers have better coordination between chest and hips through the stroke. That's why they're faster for the same effort. If your paddling technique is off, you're not just missing waves. You're working harder for every wave you do catch. Same with the bottom turn and cutback. Experienced surfers show a clearly bigger range of motion through the turn than intermediate surfers. If your bottom turn has been stuck for years, it might not be talent or your board. It might be a pattern nobody's ever shown you on film.
That's what our Next Level Program is built for. It's not remedial, and it's not for beginners; it's for surfers who've got the fundamentals and want the plateau gone. Weekly filmed sessions, broken down properly, the way the research says actually works. Levelling up rarely comes down to more sessions or a new board. It comes down to actually seeing what your body is doing out there, with someone who knows what they're looking at. Ten years is a long time to go without that.
Get in touch or check the website for current program availability.
Sources
- Video-based visual feedback to enhance motor learning in physical education, a systematic review (German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research): https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12662-021-00782-y
- Biomechanical Perspectives on Surfing Performance: A Scoping Review (Biomechanics, MDPI): https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7078/6/2/36
