How To Surf Small Waves | And Why You Should Do It More!

Many people don't realize that the majority of a surfer's career is spent surfing smaller than ideal waves. Which means that it is something we need to become adept at if we are to progress with our surfing abilities. Now today I'm going to chat about some really important lessons when it comes to surfing small waves well. Let's jump into it now. Oh and if you're new here make sure you subscribe to the channel because this is Lesson of the Week, a show where we release a new surf tip twice per week. And if you're interested here's a really quick one. We're hosting a surf retreat this year at Whale Beach in Sydney in July and would love to have you there. It's nearly sold out but you can still apply over at kaelbrock.com.au forward slash how to rip or just follow me on Instagram for the announcement. Although small waves in surfing are generally considered a hindrance to progression I actually think it's quite the opposite. Surfing small waves can make you a better all-around surfer. In fact this is proven multiple times in the surfing world with the rise of particular surfers who grew up surfing small waves. The best example Kelly Slater. Kelly grew up in Cocoa Beach in Florida which is renowned for having small waves and yet Kelly is the greatest surfer of all time. We also have guys like Philippe Toledo, Kolohe Andino and Julian Wilson who fit into this category. Growing up in small waves and yet becoming some of the greatest surfers in the world even in big waves too. So what is it about surfing small waves really well that tends to carry over into someone's overall surfing? Well I think it starts with that topic that we've been speaking about a lot lately. The ability to read waves. In my last video I spoke about how to position yourself to catch more waves every session. I think someone's ability in this area, the ability to read waves really well, is much easier to learn and refine in smaller waves. This is because there is generally much less risk in surfing small waves and much less stimuli. Surfers are able to focus on what a one foot wave looks like and breaks like much easier than trying to focus on a six foot wave as it marches toward you, threatening to dump you onto a sharp reef. The general lack of fear while surfing small waves helps one focus and hone in on what is actually happening with each individual wave and I think that's where good wave knowledge comes from. You can use this to your advantage by maintaining a relaxed composure out in the surf and making a very conscious effort to watch what each individual wave does. Surfing small waves well, although as we've established can be really good for your surfing, it's also sometimes a little difficult to achieve. By the end of this video I really want you guys to be able to identify and recognize what good surfers do to surf small waves well and to be able to apply that in your own surfing. This is me surfing at a local reef break around where I grew up. It's a nicely shaped wave but it's still somewhat weak and lackluster so surfing it can be a challenge. However this vision shows that it looks like I'm not having much trouble generating speed and performing turns. I think that the most important factor allowing me to do this is my choice of surfboard. This fish-shaped board is my go-to and it's perfect for surfing waves from around one to two foot like this all the way up to four foot waves like this. This particular board is a 5'6 by 19 5'8 and 2 5'16 and it sits around 27.2 litres. It's nice and flat, the rocker is really flat and this enables me to go fast in small waves because there's less resistance being offered up against the surface of the water. Now in contrast to that if you had a really steep rocker on your surfboard there's more resistance as you're moving along the water. That can be great for big waves because it offers more control however in smaller waves it can be a little bit difficult. Remember that the smaller a wave is the less power it offers. The less power a wave has the less speed you will able to harness from it. This is why it is critical that you ride an appropriate surfboard for small waves. Something flat and fishy is generally what we recommend here at How to Rip. The volume of the surfboard is something very important to consider as well because it determines the buoyancy of the board itself. Volume is dependent on your weight and skill level. For example an 80 kilogram beginner would probably need a 30 to 32 litre surfboard for small waves. An intermediate 80 kilogram surfer may need a 28 to 30 litre board for small waves while an advanced surfer might be more suited to a 26 to 28 litre board. But of course the board being ridden doesn't matter if the surfer riding it doesn't have the ability to generate speed and that's our next factor. Surfing small waves forces you to become good at generating speed. As we've spoken about extensively in previous videos generating speed is a whole body process which comes as a result of identifying sections on a wave, rotating and lifting the upper body, engaging the hips, rotating and lifting the lower body and then doing the reverse. In small waves it is imperative that a surfer does this well because the natural power of the wave often isn't enough to deliver the speed required to perform big manoeuvres like this. The speed must be coerced and encouraged out of the wave with good speed generation technique. I thought for this part of the lesson I'd hop on the Smoothstar once again just to give you guys a more controlled explanation of what's happening and to potentially give you guys a tool to go off and practice repeatedly on. I love the Smoothstar because it really helps me break down technique, isolate things for a surfer if I need to and repeat, repeat, repeat. Now watch how my body works during this movement and notice the undulating rolling movement of energy from the upper body to the lower body and then back again. G Cormac calls this here the scoop and clap technique, an overemphasized practice movement to really activate surfer's body rotation in order to help them generate speed. It's a great exercise to open up the shoulders and offers good carryover once you get back into the water. The last lesson that I want to cover today comes back to the idea surrounding speed points and spending those speed points wisely. Each wave is only going to offer a certain amount of power which a surfer can harness to generate speed and perform turns. Small waves, as we've established, offer less opportunity than big waves. So this means that a surfer, in order to flow smoothly along the wave and complete it from start to finish, needs to find a balance of spending his speed points on big turns and generating speed points throughout the ride. Let's give you an example. Let's say this small wave here offered me seven speed points in power at the start of the wave. On the first turn I decide to spend about five of those speed points, leaving me only two to work with. However, I was able to draw from the wave another three speed points by using my speed generation technique. Now I have five speed points to spend on the final turn of the wave. On this wave here I spent all my speed points in one maneuver on the wave. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but sometimes in really small waves it can take away your flow when you're hunting sections chasing down one big turn. A really smart and somewhat surprising way to practice this principle is to surf a board that doesn't allow you to tear the wave to pieces. Now I've always maintained that surfing something like a fish or even a Malibu is a really good way to actually fix your surfing, if you will, because it forces one to actually fit in with what the wave is doing and find a certain degree of flow. If you've enjoyed this video guys make sure you subscribe to the channel, hit the like button below and let me know in the comments what else you want to see on the show. Don't forget that Ryan and I are hosting a surf retreat this year so if you want these lessons in person come to Whale Beach in Sydney in July and for that just head to www.calebrock.com.au or just follow me on Instagram for the next announcement. If you want to come behind the scenes or check out some other surf clips from me jump over on Instagram or hit my YouTube channel just up here. See you guys!