What you wish you knew when you started

don't buy a board just because it has a lightning bolt on it and don't go left at pink rocks

The cool guy/girl in the surfshop may not actually surf that good and often will sell you equipment that is completely wrong for you.

Wear more sunscreen and don't wear a fluro pink and pastel blue wetsuit.

1. Spend time learning to read the ocean, and synoptic charts.
2. Watch the older dudes.
3. Learn to duck dive properly.
4. Don't trust anything you're told on web forums.

Turtle-'when the wave breaks here, [makes a curling shape with his hand] don't be there.'

'or you are gonna get drilled'

surfing sucks!it will consume your life,u will become a wave junkie!!dont try it.just walk away.......

Yeah, Zen re' sunscreen.... Skin cancer sucks.....

I wish that I'd known about the variations of conditions from beach to beach .

As a young fella I spent too much time at the wrong places till some more experienced surfers clued me in.

Just because it's onshore and closing out here doesn't mean it will be there.

Do more road trips. You learn a lot more by surfing a couple of times a day for several days in a row rather than 1 session/week on a Saturday morning.

Too true Maddog.

Travel, travel, travel.

Surf with better surfers than yourself.

Find the joy in the poundings.

Following on from chook and mike, if you want to improve/progress quickly and have fun at the same time do not try to learn on or buy anything but a longboard or mini-mal

If you live somewhere cold, look after your ears. Surfers ear is easily preventable.

Get a surfing buddy that you can surf with often. You'll both drive each other to get better and have more fun.

I wish I'd known years ago that armpit hair was a disgrace. I've had to physically alter literally albums full of photographs that show me naively airing my disgraceful pit hair for the whole world to see.

In some photos the shame is compounded because not only are hairs visible on my chest , but I'm neither pouting or framing my eye with my fingers in a horizontal peace sign.

I hate myself so bad right now.

Don't touch me. I feel so dirty.

Joel Eugene Slater-Burrows wrote:

Following on from chook and mike, if you want to improve/progress quickly and have fun at the same time do not try to learn on or buy anything but a longboard or mini-mal

Like I said ...

Surf shitty waves; It makes medium quality waves seem awesome.

Also, there is no such thing as a bad surf.

Too right ACB, that is the best tip, surf in anything and if you can perform competently in junky stuff, you'll be good to go once the surf pumps.

And no matter how bad it looks, you'll nearly always get one way that makes it worth it, even if it's just one turn.

This one's a little more advanced, but once your up and pumping on the face and trying to do turns, one of the best tips I was given is turn to the beach and then aim up for the lip/face.

So once you've got all that speed and are starting to escape the pocket, don't try a flat horizontal turn right there and then, you'll just bog a rail and fall backwards.

Instead go down the face by turning to the beach, opening up the turn and then bottom turn up and into the wave face. It'll all make sense and open you up to another whole world of surfing as you'll be completing/sticking carves and snaps instead of falling.

Practice getting barreled in shorey closeouts.

1) it's fun
2) you'll learn how to position yourself when you get a good one.

For the big guys in small waves - Think "light" and you'll be "light"..... ;)

Pay attention to all the different ways to take off on a wave. Learn as many as you can and in your head I've noticed you have to be sharp and ready to swing around and go at any time. In your head don't let the voice "no" tell you too much. Listen to "go" more.
Some say you're either born a charger or not, I disagree. A charger can learn to become a pussy as much as a pussy can learn to charge.
Get a visual idea of techniques of things in your head before attempting.
Watch your favourite surfers in slow mo for body positions, weighting, body torque etc.
Pump more.
Slow down more.
Claw your feet into your wax in a tube if it seems like its going to pinch shut.
Start with boxy rail longer mal type boards and fishes, progress to knifey railed shorter boards.
More rocker harder to paddle. Flat stable and quick, nose dive easier.
Late drops land on rail not flat.
You will make more drops and moves by going for it rather than half assed.