Know How: Small Wave Surfing

By Jenny Boggis

It’s finally the weekend and you’re amped to get into the water for a hard earned surf. You rock up to your local break only to find that only 1-2ft waves are on offer! What would your reaction be? Disappointment perhaps?

Most of us would cringe at the thought of this scenario but surfing small waves shouldn’t be associated with negativity or disappointment. In fact, learning to surf small waves well, can be a lot of fun and helps create a surfing style that is energetic and fast and appreciated by all those who watch your surfing. Surfing small conditions can help you develop and improve all aspects of your surfing performances.

The reason for this is that in order to surf small waves well, the surfer needs to create speed and acceleration. This is done by correctly moving their body, source the limited power from the waves caught by making correct manoeuvre decisions and reacting quicker than may be necessary in larger surf conditions. These three skills; correct body movements, correct manoeuvre decisions, and faster reaction times are all skills that will enhance performance in all other surfing situations.

When surfing small waves we must create speed and maintain that speed for the wave’s duration.

Here are five simple strategies that can help you achieve this aim:

1. Attack the takeoff: When you decide to paddle for a wave, paddle fast and kick your feet to create maximum entry speed onto the wave. Too often surfers paddle for small waves at the same intensity as they would for a larger wave. This is a mistake as small wave surfing requires a different approach into the entry of the wave. Full commitment is the go!

2. Lift your arms at takeoff: As maximum horizontal speed is required to set up the first major manoeuvre of the wave, you should forcefully lift both arms forward as you takeoff. This lifting motion takes weight off the board and allows the board to accelerate more rapidly. Once the speed has been created, it is important to follow through with step 3.

3. Perform speed moves: Choose manoeuvres that will maintain the speed that you have created at takeoff, e.g. floaters, head turn snaps and cutbacks where there is a rebound off the foam are all manoeuvres that maintain speed. Poor manoeuvre options include half cutbacks with no rebound, layback snaps, no head turn snaps. These manoeuvres cause the surfer to stop at the end of the manoeuvre creating a stop start style of surfing where there is little flow occurring between manoeuvres.

4. Surf rail to rail: When surfing through flat sections on waves, maintain your speed by surfing rail to rail. This approach is more efficient and looks so much better than the commonly used approach of bouncing or hopping through sections. Bouncing through flat sections should be the last approach used – never the first.

5. Hit the lip hard: When hitting the lip or foam, which also enables maximum control. Your goal should be to hit the lip or foam with enough speed and height so that your front foot reaches above the ‘lip line’ or top of the wave. Simply having the intension to hit the section hard improves a surfer’s commitment and success.

In addition to these strategies you can enhance your small wave performances by having a positive and focused mindset. Set goals or targets before entering the ocean like seeing how vertical you can get while surfing along the wave or see how many manoeuvres you are able to perform. Try to surf the waves you catch for the full functional length and maintain speed for the waves duration.

Achieving the goals that you set will help you improve at a faster rate. Approach surfing small waves using the above strategies and you will be blown away with the way your overall surfing will improve. You’ll find that these approaches will transfer to other parts of your surfing performances and make you keen to go surfing no matter what the size of the surf. So next time you find only small waves on offer, get out there and have fun!!