Many surf schools conduct the very first surf lessons on the sand, before they get in the surf. Surf schools teach beginners how to stand up, commonly referred to the “pop-up stance”. Once they complete the task they must maintain their body position: knees bent, back straight and head looking forward. Many surf school students can master this task pretty quickly.

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Improving your surf posture

SmoothStar is the perfect surf skateboard for learning how to surf, it helps improve key elements of surfing technique. Once you master basics on SmoothStar, you will find your surfing much easier once you enter the water, better balance, longer rider and more fun. SmoothStar is excellent for beginners as it offers more stability than a surfboard, yet it still helps you learn the core elements of surf balance and body position. The SmoothStar Thruster, under the front truck provides beginners the right stability for learning how to surf.

Improving your surf balance?

When a beginner first stands on a surfboard, one of the hardest things to do is ride on a wave without falling off. Keeping knees bent and heading in the one direction is essential and SmoothStar helps this. Quite often, a beginner will fall off the surfboard numerous times to the point of exhaustion. Due to the Thruster, SmoothStar mimics the feel and instability of a surfboard. The feeling underfoot on SmoothStar is perfect for beginners to learn and practice balance. Beginners are encouraged to bend their knees, lowering their centre of gravity, thus provides beginners more stability and balance when they go surfing. Once they master the basic stance, they can progress to riding down a small hill and maintain control and balance.

Maintaining the correct stance whilst the surfboard is propelling forward in the water is much harder.

This is where SmoothStar is excellent, as you can maintain the correct stance while propelling forward. This is not possible to practice on the sand. Practicing the surfing balance and correct position can now be learnt on land. We can further examine all the important body position.

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The Correct Surf Stance & Posture

Distance of Feet

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The correct distance between the feet should be a little bit wider than the width of the surfers shoulders.

Knees Bent

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The knees should be bent and kept bent whilst standing up. A surfer should almost never straighten their legs as this will cause the beginner to lose balance and fall of.

Hips

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The hips should point in the same direction as the surfboard stringer. The back should not be bent over. Keep back as straight as possible. This position encourages the surfer to use their “core” muscles balance and fall off.

Body Weight

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Weight should be evenly distributed between the surfers two feet. If weight is too far on the back foot, the surfboard will “bog” slow down, and the surfer will possibly fall off the back. If your weight is too much on the front foot, the surfer will nose dive and fall head first!

Arms & Shoulders

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Your front facing arm (closest to the nose of the board) should be pointing straight. The trailing arm should be slightly bent and horizontal.

Eyes & Head

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Both head and eyes should be looking straight and in the travelling direction.

Performing all these elements on SmoothStar will help the beginners position without possibly getting wet and cold in the water. SmoothStar provides beginners the ultimate tool to practise over and over again so they are more prepared before they go surfing.

tutorials-tips

Important Tip: Use your mobile phone camera To ensure you have the correct positioning and stance, put your SmoothStar on carpet in front of the mirror. Look at your stance to ensure it looks right. You can also put your mobile smart phone on timer and take a “selfie”. Take photos from the front, side and back.