5 TIPS FOR INTERMEDIATE SURFERS
No surfer is ever done with learning. Even our top surfing instructors at our Sri Lanka surf and yoga camp, who you can find surfing Weligama best waves each day before and after lessons, still have a lot to learn.
If you’re an intermediate surfer, who has mastered the surf basics of popping up and turning down the line, then a visit to our The Surfer Weligama surf school at our camp is sure to improve your surfing.
Unlike most of the surf and yoga retreats in Sri Lanka, our surf camp The Surfer Sri Lanka does not just cater to beginners, but also to experienced surfers, who are looking to improve and master a few complicated maneuvers.
Whether you’re surfing in Weligama, somewhere else in Sri Lanka, or at your home break, the world best instructors at our surf camp has put together a list of 5 Tips for Intermediate Surfers that are sure to help take your surfing to the next level.
1. Surf the right board for your skill level
If you’re surfing at our Sri Lanka surf camp, the top rated instructors of The Surfer Weligama will make sure you’re doing your surf lessons with the right equipment for your skill level. All surfers should start on a longboard and work their way up to shorter boards, only after mastering the fundamentals of catching and riding waves on a longboard.
If you’re surfing in Weligama, you’ll find plenty of longboard friendly waves right in front of our surf and yoga camp The Surfer SriLanka, where
you can perfect the fundamentals of surfing before downsizing to a mid-length or a shortboard.
2. Take off at the peak of the wave
Photo credits goes to original owner
To make the most out of your surfing and to
ensure the wave doesn’t roll under you,
take off at the peak of the wave. As our surfing
instructors at our Sri Lanka surf camp will tell you, the peak of the wave is the highest point of an incoming swell, where the wave first begins breaking.
3. Look down the line
Photo credits goes to original owner
Each surfer coming on Sri Lanka surf trip wants to catch as many waves as he possibly can at the surf sessions. And how frustrating it can be – while being positioned perfectly and able to pop-up well for that perfect wave – miss it due to the next mistake.
Many intermediate surfers struggle with
riding down the open face of a wave. This
problem is exacerbated when surfers are
riding backside. To ensure you’re riding
down the line and not towards the beach
in the flats, the instructors at our surf camp Sri Lanka will tell you to look down the line. Simply pointing your head and shoulders in the direction you wish to go will allow your hips and board to follow.
4. Lead your turns
Photo credits goes to original owner
If you’ve mastered the pop-up and riding
cleanly down the line, you’re probably
working on executing turns and cutbacks.
Many surfers struggle to perform well-
rounded carves, but the instructors at our intermediate surf school of The Surfer
surf and yoga camp in Sri Lanka have the
solution – lead your turns. Leading your
turns means beginning your turn by turning your head the direction you wish to turn then follow with your front hand, shoulders, and then finally hips. Leading your turn with your gaze and front hand allows your body and board to follow in
line.
5. Generate Speed with your whole body
If you’re at the point in your surfing progression, where you’re beginning to turn, then you must learn to generate speed to set up your turns. On
shortboard, this involves pumping. As our
instructors at The Surfer surf and yoga camp Sri Lanka will tell you, successfully pumping down the line is a whole-body process. To begin to pump, you need to rise up the wave’s face. Do this by leaning into the wave and extending your body upwards. As your rise, start to compress your body by bending at the knees, this will lower your center of gravity and move you down the waves face, allowing you to gain speed.
