Learning all the beginner surf skills in the right way is important to kickstart your surfing journey. And learning the different techniques of turning your surfboard is one of them.
There are several moments when you want to turn your surfboard while you are in the water. When you quickly want to turn before paddling for a wave, when you are riding the wave or simply to turn your board upside down for a turtle roll. Our professional surf guides at our Surf School in Bali will teach you surfing and turning in the best way. Curious how? Check out this blog!
As a beginner surfer, you will start off with the basic surfing techniques. Things like paddling, the pop-up and finding the balance on your surfboard. Once you are comfortable with those, the next step is learning how to turn your board in the water and reading the waves. Meaning you are getting ready for the waves that are coming your way, because waves don’t wait for surfers!
So imagine you are waiting in the line-up with your friends and a wave is approaching. What would you do? One of the most common reactions is using your hands as a paddle to pivot their boards or to even lay on the board and paddle around to turn. But this takes a lot of time and what we said before, the waves are not taking your schedule into account.
So what else to do? Here’s a quick step by step guide:
It’s a technique you should practice once you are in the water. By repeating and practicing this twirling leg exercise, you will gain muscle memory.
Now you know how to turn your board swiftly before catching a wave. It’s time to learn how to turn your board once you ride the wave. First of all it’s important to use the right surfer stance. Keep your feet around shoulder width apart, with your knees a little bent and your weight aligned over the board. This position gives you the balance and flexibility needed for smooth turns.
There are two sides of turning, turning to your frontside and toward your backside. It doesn’t matter if you are regular (left foot in front) or goofy (right foot in front), the techniques are the same.
Turning Frontside
Turning Back Side
When you are turning on a wave, you are actually doing one of two techniques: trimming or carving. Both important skills that you’ll need when you are surfing bigger waves.
As a beginner surfer, you will be mostly working on trimming. Think of it as small, subtle moves on your front side. It’s what helps you keep the speed steady and stay in the good part of the wave face.
Carving is a bit more spectacular. It’s a back-footed change of direction. Since you are shifting your weight back, the nose is lifting. Allowing the board to pivot at the tail where the fins are. It’s often used to set up your next move or to ride bigger waves.
So, for beginners in Bali, easy front and back foot turns and trimming are the best way to start!
Some waves are too big to easily pass as you are paddling out to the lineup. This is where the “turtle roll” aka the “eskimo roll” comes in. A great technique to get past bigger white water waves that are too powerful. This technique is a great way for you to stay in control of your board and not get wiped out or pushed back too much by the white water.
The most important thing to remember is to relax when you are practising this technique. Paddling out on a beginner surf board offers a lot of buoyancy, which is great for learning. But they make it almost impossible to sink your board underwater to do a duck dive.
To execute a turtle roll make sure you paddle with power towards the wave, creating enough energy and momentum to complete the next steps. Then as the wave approaches (around 2 meters in front of you), grab the rails of your surfboard, take a deep breath and turn yourself and the board upside down. Make sure you leave a bit of space between you and the board and just wait for the wave to pass over you. Then flip your board and yourself back over on top of the water in one motion, as quickly as possible.
It sounds easier said than done, so make sure you practice enough in the ocean and in the pool.
Most beginner surfers at our surf school can get in the ocean without any fear and ride small whitewater waves. By day 3, we are moving on to learning how to turn your board. We practice on dry land first, so you can see how the board moves when you shift your weight on the board.
In the white water you will learn how to turn the board to the right side and practice trimming techniques. And our surf guides provide you with continuous feedback on how to improve, so you feel confident and can start learning those carve techniques later on!
Are you ready to level up? Join our Learn How To Surf Program and learn the basics of turning in just 5 days! Book your spot now and be ready to learn, see you soon!
