Looking for ways to improve your surfing? Nothing beats practicing in the water, but there are plenty of ways to practice your surf techniques at home. Online surf coaching has been popping up everywhere over the last few years, and even more now many of us can’t even access the surf due to COVID-19.
Luckily, we can keep the stoke alive by bringing the surf to us. Here are 5 free online surf coaching video tutorials to help you keep fit and frothing.
1 – Martin Dunn – How to Get a Positive Start on Waves
Martin Dunn is the pioneer when it comes to surf coaching. He specialises into the the more advanced to competitive surfing. Martin Dunn has over 35 years of experience coaching surfers, such as Sally Fitzgibbons and Nikki van Dijk, as well as many more WCT surfers. He has a ton of surf coaching videos available for free on his YouTube channel and on his website surfcoach.com.
Videos range from tips for beginner surfers (surfer safety, surf moves, wipeouts, how to position yourself in the ocean) to advanced surfers (how to do forehand cutback, create speed, ride tubes, surfing tight) and everything in between.
His videos focus more on theory and insights, rather than surf fitness exercises. Check out his recent video on how to get a positive start on waves.
2 – Power Surf Techniques with Rodrigo Machado
Surf coach Rodrigo Machado (Brasil) is the head coach of our surf coaching retreats for intermediate surfers. With over 20 years of experience in coaching surfers, Rodrigo has a very unique approach that consists in breaking down technical manoeuvres to the ground.
He created the Power Surf method that is inspired from movements of capoeira, ginastica natural (GN) and yoga. By choreographing surfing movements on the ground, it creates a muscle memory for the surfers’ body.
Rodrigo also demonstrates how the combination of his movements to the use of the SmoothStar surf trainers were a game changer with surfing. Here’s a 10-mins tutorials how to apply the Power Surf Techniques on SmoothStar Surf Trainers.
The rest of his videos are mainly in Portuguese and Spanish, that you can find on his Youtube channel, here.
More videos in English will be soon added to our youtube channel, here.
“Rodrigo is the best surf coach I’ve had the opportunity to meet, he’s got such a positive happy energy, always encouraging, his techniques and teachings are priceless to improve your surfing. These are simple movements that are not used elsewhere but make a huge difference in your surfing.” – Daniel Patrick, Indo Surf Crew Retreat, 2019
3 – Rob Case – At Home Paddling Technique Exercises
Surf coach Rob Case (USA) is the creator of XSWIM and the Surfing Paddling Academy, and helps surfers of all levels improve their paddling mechanics and technique, as well as their fitness. Paddling is key to surfing and he is an expert on paddling technique exercises.
Take a look at his free video tutorial At Home Paddling Technique Exercises (physioball required):
Horizontal balance advance drill: Works horizontal balance. When you don’t have balance, you miss out on power.
Horizontal balance half snow angel drill: Works lateral and horizontal balance.
Power skull drill (resistance bands required): Increases force on strokes, strengthens shoulders, arms, back and core.
Alternating superman: Improves balance, and works core plus glutes,
Back extensions: Strengthens core and back.
Physioball crunch + reach-up: Works core, hips and upper abdominals.
4 – Kales Broccoli – 5 on Land Surf Exercises to Improve Your Surfing Performance
Kales Broccoli is the YouTube channel of Kale Brock, an Australian high-performance surf coach, writer, speaker and filmmaker. If you are looking for surf fitness exercises that you can do at home, check out these 5 On Land Surf Exercises To Improve Your Surfing Performance.
The exercises are taught by Donal Carr, who is a high-level corrective exercise specialist based in Sydney. These exercises are based on surfing positions, such as lunging, squatting, bending, twisting, etc. Action starts in the center, from the core. “You have to learn how to load to explode to load to move on” so you need to be able to turn on your core to carry out a maneuver.
Multi-directional lunge: Challenges the mid-section and helps stabilize when weight is transferring across the body.
Plus reverse diagonal: Helps generate force out of the pocket or getting out of the low position (turning, moving, popping up).
Single arm/legged row & hip extension: Works glutes plus posterior chain, and strengthens arms plus back muscles.
Single legged jack-knife: Strengthens posterior, abs, quads, knees, and improves balance.
Hip extension knee flexion: Strengthens support structures of knee plus hamstrings, and helps to prevent ACL injuries.
Superman: Works on the balance and helps to keep spine, shoulders and upper shoulders to stay in position. Stabilizes neck and spine, and prevents shoulder or neck injuries.
5 – The Surf Rat – Perfect Your Pop Up
The Surf Rat is a YouTube channel run by surf coach Tom Doig (New Zealand). He offers online surf coaching on his website, but his YouTube channel is full of free surf coaching tips for beginners to intermediates. His Perfect Your Pop Up tutorial teaches beginner surfers how to make their pop up happen instinctively through these 3 principles:
Eyes up: Keeping your eyes up will not only make you see where to go next but it also automatically balances your body.
Feet underneath body: Your feet need to be underneath your weight to stay balanced.
Stand sideways: Your body and your hips need to face sideways. Getting to your feet can be tricky on a shortboard as you can’t use your toes to lift your body up. Rather than using your toes, you can use your knees to jump up and make space to bring your feet underneath you.
Stay safe and stay stoked
This was our pick from the hundreds of free surf coaching video tutorials available online, so have a look at the different channels to find what you need. Enjoy and stay safe!
Author: Jessica Scheper
