New surfers often feel stuck until they understand that this sport demands consistency. By attending regular lessons, they are able to build ocean awareness, confidence, and strength. Muscle memory makes surfing second nature as bad habits are broken and a solid foundation is put in place to grow. All of your surfing skills will level up. This is where the transformation happens.
New surfers reach out to us quite often, frustrated at their slow progress—and we get it. It can be tough when your pop-up doesn’t feel smooth, your balance is wavering, or you just can’t seem to catch a wave. If you have ever asked yourself whether or not you should give up surfing, you aren’t alone.
Here’s the thing—it is easy to view surfing as a hobby, but it is a sport. And, just like any other, it requires patience and consistent practice to improve. Having a surf lesson sporadically is not going to increase your ability. This gap in between can keep your mind and body from fully transforming you into the surfer you have always wanted to be.
Regular surf lessons will improve everything, from your timing and flow to your level of confidence in the water. Stick with it and watch how fast your surf game takes on new heights. Here’s how that happens.
Grow a Bond with the Ocean
While a baseball field and a tennis court always remain the same, surfing is always changing. The waves are different from morning to night and from day to day. The more time you spend in the ocean, the greater the chance you will learn how to read it and its waves. You will notice patterns and understand how you need to approach the water.
But when you are only making random appearances, paddling out into the ocean can feel like starting all over every time.
With consistency and regular lessons, you will be able to look out at the horizon and know exactly when to paddle, when to pause, and when a perfect set is rolling in. We have watched plenty of dedicated students build a bond with the ocean that only time spent together can create.
Gain Confidence in Skill Building
As a new surfer, you have likely felt sore muscles after spending some time on the water. This happens because it’s a sport that works your arms, legs, and core—essentially your whole body. Building up your strength, balance, and flexibility with consistent practice can grant you endurance so that you can enjoy your sport for more than a few minutes.
Think showing up for lessons now and then will help you to feel ready and prepared for the full enjoyment of this lifestyle? Think again. Repetition and consistent practice are required. It’s the only thing that will hone what has been dubbed your surf muscles.
Regular lessons can improve surf skills, allowing your pop-up transitions to get faster, your balance to feel natural and less stiff, and your paddling to become straighter, faster, longer, and with less effort. What else can you ask for?
Blend in with the Local Surfers
Have you heard the quote by Craig Groeschel that says, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future?” If you want to be a surfer and embrace the surfer lifestyle, you need to surround yourself with those in that community.
When you consistently attend surf lessons, you will gain insights and instincts you never otherwise would have. You will catch on to where the experienced surfers hang out. You will also overcome the imposter feeling that so many casual surfers feel.
Engaging with expert instructors and other surfers, as well as the water, you will begin to notice which waves you should chase, how to spot rip currents, and understand why certain peaks break better than others.
There is so much to learn about surfing. Skills can be taught, but there is so much more to learn by consistently showing up and building your confidence.
Increase Muscle Memory
While there are a lot of ins and outs of surfing, the sport itself involves a lot of muscle memory. This will reduce the choppy, rigid actions that come from those who are too tense and thinking about their next move. Instead, the skills learned will just flow, relaxed and smoothly.
When you have too much time in between lessons, how can your muscles get accustomed to the movements? How can they become second nature when they are only used every now and then? Regular surf lessons are key to building muscle memory.
Build a Solid Foundation
When it comes to learning something new, bad habits can form without regular practice. For instance, as instructors, we see so many new surfers look down instead of forward, place their feet too close together, and lean back instead of carving. Not addressing these right away may allow them to become habits that are hard to break in the future.
Consistent surf lessons can improve surf skills and posture before your future is built on a rocky foundation. Stay clean and polished from the start with routine training.
Don’t Forget Surfing is Progression-Based
Every skill you learn from your surf instructors is a stepping stone. As you move forward through your lessons, you will continuously learn new steps. And the more you do, the more your growth will become noticeable.
But what happens if you don’t show up for surf lessons regularly? Your progression will stall, and you will become the surfer you’ve been dreaming about.
Commit to your sport and watch what can happen.
Take Your Surfing to the Next Level
If you feel like your surf journey is stuck or if you aren’t happy with your rate of progress, consider how many times you practice. Many beginners struggle with moving forward until they realize just how powerful consistent progress can be to improve surf skills.
Build muscle memory, increase awareness of the ocean, strengthen techniques, and boost confidence when you are routinely working on your surf skills. This transformation may take time, but it actually happens faster than you’d imagine.
Are you ready to see what regular practice can do for you? Join us for regular surf lessons with Malibu Makos, located at Zuma Beach. Led by experienced instructors, you can trust that your best rides are right ahead.
