How to Surf Down the Line

If you dream of surfing down the line like this, but most of the time you either end up like this or like this, then this video is for you because we're breaking down one of the biggest breakthroughs in your surf progression. Learning to surf down the line. Getting to your feet is great, but gliding across the wave's face with speed, now that's when surfing truly starts to get addicting as you get that magical feeling of flying down the line. But before thinking about riding down the line, you'll first need to master the basics of reading waves and angling. There's lots to learn about reading waves, but one of the most fundamental skills is identifying the peak. The peak is the highest point of the wave and the first place where it will break. Look for a clear peak and a dropping shoulder. If the wave looks like a straight line, it's likely a closeout and you won't be able to surf down the line for very long. In addition to finding waves that peel and positioning yourself into them, you'll need to know how to angle your takeoff. There are two primary ways surfers trim down the line. One, angling the takeoff instead of fully dropping down the wave. This means paddling with a slight angle, positioning your surfboard towards the direction you want to go before even getting to your feet. Or two, dropping all the way down the wave and perform a bottom turn to reposition themselves back onto the face. The second method is more challenging, so novice surfers should not underestimate the importance of angling the takeoff. It's the easiest way to learn how to surf down the line. We have full online courses on angling the takeoff and reading waves on our online surf coaching platform. Check out tutorials.barefoot.surf for more information. The link is in the description. After you acquire the basics of predicting how waves will peel and angling the takeoff, the next step is getting in the proper trimming stance. When trimming, surfers usually have their front foot around the middle point of the surfboard. The fundamentals of the stance are important when learning to trim. Feet slightly more than shoulder width apart, lower body bent, hands over each rail, chest straight and looking where you want to go. Two common things that may happen as you learn to surf down the line are riding over the wave or getting stuck in the white water. A good habit to develop is to aim for your line to be in the middle of the shoulder or slightly higher. From our experience, most beginner intermediates surf lower than they think they do. You could aim to ride slightly higher than the midpoint, especially if you often can't keep up with the peeling shoulder. Once you get comfortable with that, the next step is learning to manage your speed by engaging and disengaging your inside rail. One of the most efficient ways to generate speed, especially on bigger surfboards, is to ride high on the shoulder with the inside rail engaged. To do so, surfers often slightly shift their hips forward to apply a bit more weight over their front toes or front heel. When you do this, the surfboard rail engages into the wave's face, forcing water to hit the bottom of your surfboard and get redirected backwards. Think of it like a boat propeller. The more water it redirects backwards, the faster it moves forward. By engaging your inside rail whilst being high on the face, you maximize the water getting pushed back, and the result is that you maximize your lift and forward drive. Knowing how to accelerate is great, but sometimes you need to do the exact opposite. Surfers can slow down with very gentle, subtle movements and return to a more neutral stance with equal weight on both feet. The more you want to lose speed, the more weight you must bring on the back foot by shifting your hips back, and the lower you must ride on the wave's face. At the bottom of the wave, water doesn't get redirected as much under your surfboard, so you get less acceleration. Technically, shifting weight around by moving your hips to manage your speed is not that difficult. What's often harder for surfers to know is when to do which. That's why keeping your head up is important so that you can monitor what the wave is doing. If you have a steep wall in front of you, you must stay high with weight over the inside rail. If there's a steep drop in shoulder line and the wave has a gentle slope in front of you, you'll need to disengage the inside rail and ride lower on the face. Once you get better at this, learning how to carve on your surfboard is next. To do so, you'll start moving your feet to put weight on the back of your surfboard, lift the nose, and change direction. This will improve your ability to keep up with a peeling wave even more. We will put the link to our online turning course in the description if you want to learn more. Are you looking to take your surfing to the next level? Start your seven-day free trial on our online surf coaching platform linked below. You'll gain access to structured courses featuring high-quality video tutorials, join a community of thousands of beginner and intermediate surfers, test your knowledge with quizzes, and get the tools you need to practice more efficiently. You can even receive answers and technical feedback from barefoot surf coaches anytime. If you prefer in-person coaching, consider one of our surf retreats. We offer one-on-one coaching for beginner and intermediate surfers using video analysis as some of the most consistent surf spots in the world, including Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and the Mentoires. Links are in the description below.