10 Reasons Surfing Lessons are Necessary
If you are considering joining the surfing community, a question that must have popped up to you is whether to take surfing lessons or just get a surfing board and learn the hard way. The option of learning by yourself usually seems appealing to most people since they get to save up some extra cash. While taking surfing lessons may cost you some money, they are the best route to use when venturing into the sport. RunRex highlights the following ten reasons why you surfing lessons are necessary for you.
1. Structured learning
As opposed to self-teaching that does not have structure, surf lessons are structured. Taking a lesson means you know the specific goals that to achieve within a particular timeframe and you, with the help of your instructor, work towards it until you attain the results. With the lessons, you will get the motivation to push forward even when you get tired and bored. It is unlike learning by yourself where you can decide to skip particular aspects simply because you are tired or bored.
2. Get to master the basics
There are some fundamentals of surfing, and the best way to master them is by taking lessons. A surfing class will ensure you cover all the basics involved and ensure that you learn them. Mastering the basics will help your journey to a pro level become much shorter. Lessons help you get a grip of all the basics much faster.
3. Correct mistakes early
With a surf lesson, your instructor can easily identify the mistakes you are committing early and help you correct them. This way you grow in the sport knowing what to do and what not to do when faced with particular situations. This lesson is unlike learning on your own where you can commit a mistake and not identify it soon. You will end up making the same mistake over and over. It even becomes more difficult to correct the wrong moves.
4. Easy to make friends who provide support
It is highly likely you will not be taking your surfing lessons alone. You will be with a group of other learners trying to learn. This way you get support from them which makes the learning process much easier. It also offers you an opportunity to make new friends that could become your surfing buddies.
5. Learn surfing etiquette
In as much as surfing can seem to be a random sport where people just venture into the ocean and catch waves, there is etiquette to be observed in surfing too. Following the etiquette can help you know what to do in the different scenarios. For example, if you want to get out, you have to paddle around the break. No one will tell you this nor the other etiquette to observe when surfing when you learn by yourself.
6. Practice proper safety tips
The ocean is wild and dangerous, and if you are not aware of the safety tips to observe, it might just direct its wrath at you. With surfing lessons, you get to know what gear you will need to have every time you go out to surf. You get to know the different kinds of waves and the specific places you should take care not to fall into to avoid being lost or drowning. They, also, teach you what to do in case of an emergency and how to operate when surfing so as not to endanger the lives of other surfers.
7. Finding the right board for you
One of the most common mistake surfers commit when they start surfing is riding on the wrong surfboard. You can only know the right board with the assistance of an instructor. The big surfboard is usually the ideal one for amateur surfers. If you are not working under the guidance of an instructor, you might want to get a short surfboard which will, in turn, slow down and affect your learning process negatively.
8. Proper form
Surfing is very challenging, both physically and mentally. You need to be fit first to handle the magnitude of the waves and, also, mentally prepared to venture into the ocean waters without fear. With a lesson, you get to prepare your body and your mind adequately for surfing. Having others in your surfing class can help motivate you and prepare you mentally for surfing.
9. Teaches you to be disciplined
Committing yourself to the surf lessons helps you cultivate discipline in you. If you are looking to be an elite surfer, you have to uphold high levels of discipline throughout your surfing journey. The surf lessons will help you set a good foundation for own growth in the sport.
10. Shorter learning curve
Surfing lessons help shorten the learning process significantly. Within a short period, you will be able to handle the waves quite efficiently. It is a result of some collaborative factors. When you are fit, you have mastered the right techniques and have the right motivation from your instructor and other learners; you get to learn much faster. The next process is growing your skills to become a pro – that takes months and even years of work and effort.