Seriously the worst aspect of teaching surfing is "you will get it with experience" instead of breaking skills down to formulas, your explainations are clear, organized and easy to follow and remember, thanks a ton for these videos man!
I agree 100% . I have Had Like 5-10 different Surf teachers in the Last 10 years and none had given me a proper explanation for this so far. Thank you for this knowledge Mr Hydro Mind!
Surfing 101. The most important skill in surfing is reading the ocean. I like the simplicity of your explanation. There is a reason surfers spend hours studying the lineups. Best lesson for beginners is to take the time to watch the waves; where and how often they break, where surfers are catching them and how they ride them.
Also, KNOW THE STRUCTURE OF THE SETS. Most swells have sets with very little difference from one wave to the next. If the first one is crap, don't lose energy paddling for the others and conversely, if you missed a good wave react quickly to get another in the same set.
I’m just an older lady that watched to get a good about the waves while I’m in the ocean. Since a kid swam in ocean off Long Island ny… always felt strong and able to see the waves accurately Now old and getting intimidated by the ocean… I’m studying rips and thus came on my feed. Thanks for the lesson!
Nice one. Next level is to realize that all of that is caused by the shape of the ocean floor. Specially in sand breaks is important to look and understand how the ocean floor is distributed. Identify the point breaks which will correspond to the more shallow places and the channels around. I tend to make a mental map of the ocean floor by looking at how the waves are raising and breaking. This is very helpful to detect false point breaks and to use the currents to your advantage.
Totally agree. Identifying a peak too early on an irregular ocean floor without observing the common breaking behaviour means you end up paddling for peaks that disappear only for a new peak to form somewhere else that you aren’t. Even worse when you combine with changing wind and wave heights that may make a false peak break if it’s big enough
One thing I notice ALOT of surfers don’t do at beach breaks is taking time identifying sandbars from the beach before paddling out. Sit on the beach for 2-3 sets and determine where the sand bars are. Find a landmark or something to line up the sandbars on the beach so when you’re in the water you can stay in the right spot using the landmarks.
One thing I’ll say that REALLY helped me is simply watching a spot for a good 20-30 minutes. Just take note where waves break. Which way they’re going. Get familiar with the effects of the tide and wind and swell direction. Take note of the swell and the “lines”. You can always see if it’s pushing straight to shore. Or maybe the peak travel a bit left or right.
You are a great teacher! I'm a teacher so I SEE YOU! Your faster pop up by staggering your hands really improved my surfing. Tomorrow I look forward to using this new info!!!
Very helpful tips for a beginner starting at over 50 years old, I am an accomplished water skier and am trying to learn surfing, it is much harder than I thought it would be! 💪😎👍
One of these days you should make your way to a SoCal reef break like malibu or trestles. those "short shouldered" waves are some of the best wave formations to ride. you have the theory down, and unfortunately you are surfing in 0.5-1 foot surf. however once it gets to around 3 ft and up, some of those short shouldered waves will continue to curl while keeping immense amounts of energy in the pocket. its where u start to see massive airs and some of the craziest rail digging of all time because all that energy is compressed into such a small pocket on bigger days and at better breaks that can hold the formation. TLDR: find some availability to surf at better spots and you might have a change of heart on what is bad and what is good, however your theory is pretty spot on and understandable for beginners.
Yep, I've had a LOT of great waves with those "short shouldered" on my short board... Lucky enough it crosses a rip and becomes a rip bowl and offers a shore break section on the inside :+)
Simple and fantastic explanation. Thank you. Looking back on my past, missed waves, instantly, I knew you were correct. How did I not realize the value of shadow/reflection, all of these years. I’ll use this technique with position locating.
Thanks for this breakdown! I’m a relative beginner and once I got the basics down this is what I’ve struggled a lot with is reading which wave is worth paddling for, this helped a lot in distinguishing a close out from a good wave! I surf mostly Malibu and South Bay so this is really helpful
Nice video. You touch on 2 important points that are related; load management, and wave selection/positioning. The 1st, is directly dependent on the 2nd. Some days it's easier than others, at a beach break. At the points, it's naving the crowd, as much as anything.
Thank you so much for this explanation! I’m nearsighted so really struggle to pick waves but now I know to look for darker/lighter colour in waves I might make better selections! Excited to try this tomorrow 😀
I look at the horizon for imperfections that give me the sense that what I’m seeing is closer than the horizon should be. Sometimes doing some lizard style pushups while looking can help with noticing the depth perception. Those are usually far off sets that will arrive in a min or two. That gives you time to paddle toward an outside set. After doing this for twenty years now, my “spidey sense” just knows when the waves are coming. Also notice if the peaks of the waves tend to go straight in to shore or not. A lot of the time the peak will kind of shift to one side as the wave develops. If you anticipate that you can put yourself in the right place to intercept it. Totally agree with everything said in this video. I’d also add count the waves in each set. Maybe there are three waves in a set and the first wave is small. Or there are two wave sets and the second one is extra big. Sometimes you’ll notice waves that sort of have another wave diagonally in them. That out of phase wave will tend to be more catchable inside of the acute angle of the two waves. …it’s so hard to explain this in words. But the out of phase part of the wave will move sideways across the wave and you can often catch the peak that’s just next to the out of phase part, but these waves tend to not have much shoulder to ride. Another good exercise is looking at waves and thinking to yourself “that waves is going to break over there.” Picture an imaginary surfer in the right spot to paddle for each wave. Look at the foam left behind by previous waves as a road map to how the next waves might break. This works better for spots that have some consistency.
Tx man. Great stuff ! Could you do something on surf etiquette ? Line ups are getting more crowded and people often don't know or respect etiquette. Tx again :)
I really enjoyed watching. please can i add something to this? A older surfer gave me some advice a long time ago. He said look at the head land for the white water hitting. The bigger the white water on the head land, the bigger the set.
Thanks for the video man - really useful tips and delivered in a very clear fashion. I'll be taking the time to look at things in a new way every time I sit on a beach from now on so that I can get a better feel for what to go for when I'm in the sea👍
Reading waves is a skill that can boost your surf to another level. And this is so helpful on crowded spots. Sometimes I see the signs of some really big waves coming, and go deep straight. So, you get nuts, while everyone else is duckdiving lol
Big close outs are often left to go through by the better surfers. They often reform into surfable waves and you can catch them on the inside because the bigger sets have more energy and power.
Thank you very much for the video, I'm at the stage that took waves but it's still hard for me to select the best ones. I will try to apply these concepts in my next session. if you have more examples for the do took🙌🏽
I've never had issues reading wedgey peaky waves, I'm pretty good at taking off in positions. It's long stretching beach breaks I struggle with cuz I think it's gonna close out so I let it go and next min it peels perfect then I go or the next n it closes out lol (edit) I always tell other surfers where ever I am stay a few meters either side and your guaranteed a good ride lol
I know exactly what you mean. The line between close out and “peeler to the beach” is very slim! Sometimes you just gotta surf the same break for a long time
I know not everyone can or will. But if you get into foiling, you will become an absolute expert on reading waves and energy. You can feel it through the wing and have a better understanding of the energy in the ocean and where to be. Best perk of foils: I take off on close out. I actually prefer it some days. Surfers aren’t gonna go for it. They paddle for the horizon. I’ll turn and go and then pump my way past surfers to go find some clean swell.
@hydromind If I may say, you really understand the concepts and principles of reading the wave which is how you are able to break it down and actually explain it to us, making it very easy to understand. For this I cannot thank you enough! I have watched multiple videos trying to get a nice and simple explanation and THIS is the ONE! Wave reading GOLD! I feel you have just helped me level up as I have only been surfing for about a year and comprehending and reading the wave to know which to go after, which to leave and most importantly where to position myself was about the last part I did not have a full grasp of, UNTIL NOW! Now I'm ready for Saturday and I think I also understand better why people tend to group when out on the water. It's because there are finite positions on the wave that are the best spots to place yourself to successfully catch the wave! So strange how you can talk to someone who's been surfing for years, yet they cannot explain this concept. You have one more fan and subscriber! Mahalo!
Thank you for breaking it down to a system...to catch the wave are you at the base of the wave which then pushes you up the wave face before you start sliding back down? I seem to always be a little too far out...thanks
In addition to those three things…That poster on the wall. That wave has the streaks in it. My best guesses that ride well often have those to some degree, too.
Awesome... is there usually a particular wave in a set that's consistently the high one? (1st, last, etc) I wish I had this video when I started. I wasted SOOOOOOOOO much energy.
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
Seriously the worst aspect of teaching surfing is "you will get it with experience" instead of breaking skills down to formulas, your explainations are clear, organized and easy to follow and remember, thanks a ton for these videos man!
It's comments like these that keep me going! Thanks for taking to time to message me! Its much appreciated!
I agree 100% . I have Had Like 5-10 different Surf teachers in the Last 10 years and none had given me a proper explanation for this so far. Thank you for this knowledge Mr Hydro Mind!
Me too. This was super helpful!
Well, one will get surfing from experience. 😂 Can’t surf a wave for someone! These tips are for intermediates and above. C’mon man.
I'm the titty governor.
I’ve never seen it explained this clearly before.
Wow thanks! That makes me really happy 😃
Seriously! I was thinking the same thing. He’s a really good teacher.
Especially the shoulder width bit. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone even talk about the width of the shoulder before!
For real man wtf
Crazy how much this random dude on the internet has helped my surfing over the years!
Surfing 101. The most important skill in surfing is reading the ocean. I like the simplicity of your explanation. There is a reason surfers spend hours studying the lineups. Best lesson for beginners is to take the time to watch the waves; where and how often they break, where surfers are catching them and how they ride them.
Also, KNOW THE STRUCTURE OF THE SETS. Most swells have sets with very little difference from one wave to the next. If the first one is crap, don't lose energy paddling for the others and conversely, if you missed a good wave react quickly to get another in the same set.
Awesome advice!! Thanks!!!
I’m just an older lady that watched to get a good about the waves while I’m in the ocean.
Since a kid swam in ocean off Long Island ny… always felt strong and able to see the waves accurately
Now old and getting intimidated by the ocean… I’m studying rips and thus came on my feed.
Thanks for the lesson!
Nice clear explanation, and he naturally talks at 1.5 speed so no need to speed this one up ;) Thanks Prof!
Nice one. Next level is to realize that all of that is caused by the shape of the ocean floor. Specially in sand breaks is important to look and understand how the ocean floor is distributed. Identify the point breaks which will correspond to the more shallow places and the channels around. I tend to make a mental map of the ocean floor by looking at how the waves are raising and breaking.
This is very helpful to detect false point breaks and to use the currents to your advantage.
Very well said! I'll have to make a video about this soon
Totally agree. Identifying a peak too early on an irregular ocean floor without observing the common breaking behaviour means you end up paddling for peaks that disappear only for a new peak to form somewhere else that you aren’t. Even worse when you combine with changing wind and wave heights that may make a false peak break if it’s big enough
One thing I notice ALOT of surfers don’t do at beach breaks is taking time identifying sandbars from the beach before paddling out. Sit on the beach for 2-3 sets and determine where the sand bars are. Find a landmark or something to line up the sandbars on the beach so when you’re in the water you can stay in the right spot using the landmarks.
One thing I’ll say that REALLY helped me is simply watching a spot for a good 20-30 minutes. Just take note where waves break. Which way they’re going. Get familiar with the effects of the tide and wind and swell direction.
Take note of the swell and the “lines”. You can always see if it’s pushing straight to shore. Or maybe the peak travel a bit left or right.
You’re awesome for this. 27yo and picking up surfing now and love it.
Lines indicating wave geometry, are everything! 2:36 right in time for a surf week. This video lesson is 24K Gold. Thank you!!
You are a great teacher! I'm a teacher so I SEE YOU! Your faster pop up by staggering your hands really improved my surfing. Tomorrow I look forward to using this new info!!!
Very helpful tips for a beginner starting at over 50 years old, I am an accomplished water skier and am trying to learn surfing, it is much harder than I thought it would be! 💪😎👍
choosing the right, Waves is one of the hardest things for me and I really appreciate this video!
One of these days you should make your way to a SoCal reef break like malibu or trestles. those "short shouldered" waves are some of the best wave formations to ride. you have the theory down, and unfortunately you are surfing in 0.5-1 foot surf. however once it gets to around 3 ft and up, some of those short shouldered waves will continue to curl while keeping immense amounts of energy in the pocket. its where u start to see massive airs and some of the craziest rail digging of all time because all that energy is compressed into such a small pocket on bigger days and at better breaks that can hold the formation. TLDR: find some availability to surf at better spots and you might have a change of heart on what is bad and what is good, however your theory is pretty spot on and understandable for beginners.
Yep, I've had a LOT of great waves with those "short shouldered" on my short board... Lucky enough it crosses a rip and becomes a rip bowl and offers a shore break section on the inside :+)
God i am so glad to discover this channel! This is possibly the simplest wave explanation I found online. Thank you
Thank you! Your tips help so many of us know what to look for, be more proactive, and not just hope for the best! 💪
No one ever explains this and I don't know why. They just say things like "look for the peak" without saying how. Thank you soooo much
Simple and fantastic explanation. Thank you. Looking back on my past, missed waves, instantly, I knew you were correct. How did I not realize the value of shadow/reflection, all of these years. I’ll use this technique with position locating.
There’s a lot of RUclips surf lessons with little substance, but this was one was phenomenal. Thanks for the video
Thanks for this breakdown! I’m a relative beginner and once I got the basics down this is what I’ve struggled a lot with is reading which wave is worth paddling for, this helped a lot in distinguishing a close out from a good wave! I surf mostly Malibu and South Bay so this is really helpful
I hope you get a lot more likes I think you have good educational videos that are not too long and informative
Wow that means a lot to me! Thanks for your support!
Very very informative. I’m a beginner surfer, and wanted to understand how to choose waves, this video did perfectly that!
Thank you :)
I think about this video everytime I surf now and its helped A LOT. Thank you so much.
Good information, thanks brother. Just moved to the coast so I'm balls to the wall excited to try your theories
Man, that was all so well put. What a great teacher you are. Thank you, brother.
Right ON! this is gone save me so much frustration !! I know practice give experience but tips like this are very helpful. Thanks man🤙
That was brilliant. I've been surfing for 3 years, and never heard this before. Thank you!
🤯 the simplicity of this skill is just amazing! ty
Great video, the light reflection tip helped structure the mental map!
Perfection. Straightforward, fun to watch and learn simultaneously, great advice at the end. Now I'm excited to return to the surf!
This is such an awesome, clear explanation how to pick the best waves. Can't thx u enough 🙏
It's my pleasure to help you! Thanks for saying that!
I appreciate you and the information that you offer here! Thank you!
Nice video. You touch on 2 important points that are related; load management, and wave selection/positioning. The 1st, is directly dependent on the 2nd. Some days it's easier than others, at a beach break. At the points, it's naving the crowd, as much as anything.
That’s really well said. I have a lot to say about positioning. Stay tuned. Thanks for the comment 🤙🏽
@@HydroMind You post good stuff, Kyle, (Kiel)? Very useful exercises for common problems. I look forward to them. Jim
Really really your lesson are so precious and very very clear and I appreciate too much .. Thanks 🙏
using the light is such a good idea. past couple sessions I have wanted to quit surfing all together. Thanks for waht you do.
So helpful, clear and concise. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for this explanation! I’m nearsighted so really struggle to pick waves but now I know to look for darker/lighter colour in waves I might make better selections! Excited to try this tomorrow 😀
thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! You broke this down the way that makes sense to me.
Great explanation and teacher. Your videos hold so much precious informations. Thanks alot
love all your content!! thanks for sharing
You are so welcome!
This is such an awesome, clear explanation how to pick the best waves. Can't thx u enough
Thank you so much!
Now i'm able to surf properley🎉 thank you
you rock im pumped listening to you talk about waves!
Best video I’ve seen on reading waves Thank you!
Merci beaucoup pour ta générosité d'information.
Ta vidéo est magnifique comme d'habitude et le sujet est intéressant.
Adding to Favorites thanks for the great videos
I appreciate you!
good lesson, very clear, thank you.
I look at the horizon for imperfections that give me the sense that what I’m seeing is closer than the horizon should be. Sometimes doing some lizard style pushups while looking can help with noticing the depth perception. Those are usually far off sets that will arrive in a min or two. That gives you time to paddle toward an outside set. After doing this for twenty years now, my “spidey sense” just knows when the waves are coming. Also notice if the peaks of the waves tend to go straight in to shore or not. A lot of the time the peak will kind of shift to one side as the wave develops. If you anticipate that you can put yourself in the right place to intercept it.
Totally agree with everything said in this video. I’d also add count the waves in each set. Maybe there are three waves in a set and the first wave is small. Or there are two wave sets and the second one is extra big.
Sometimes you’ll notice waves that sort of have another wave diagonally in them. That out of phase wave will tend to be more catchable inside of the acute angle of the two waves. …it’s so hard to explain this in words. But the out of phase part of the wave will move sideways across the wave and you can often catch the peak that’s just next to the out of phase part, but these waves tend to not have much shoulder to ride.
Another good exercise is looking at waves and thinking to yourself “that waves is going to break over there.” Picture an imaginary surfer in the right spot to paddle for each wave.
Look at the foam left behind by previous waves as a road map to how the next waves might break. This works better for spots that have some consistency.
Thanks for the video! I've watched many about the topic, but never so clear!
Short and straight to the point! I love it.
great value! saved me alot thank you
Absolutely wonderful explanation, thank you so much ❤
Tx man. Great stuff ! Could you do something on surf etiquette ? Line ups are getting more crowded and people often don't know or respect etiquette. Tx again :)
Really useful information and very well structured. Thanks!
I really enjoyed watching. please can i add something to this? A older surfer gave me some advice a long time ago. He said look at the head land for the white water hitting. The bigger the white water on the head land, the bigger the set.
Thanks for the video man - really useful tips and delivered in a very clear fashion. I'll be taking the time to look at things in a new way every time I sit on a beach from now on so that I can get a better feel for what to go for when I'm in the sea👍
Great info brah! Watching the WSL final right now and I'm trying to see what they are seeing.
No lies detected.. great vid!!
hey :) love your video! just wondering what size board you are on in this video? thank you
This was actually really well put
great tips, I'll try this next time, thanks!
So helpful and simple. Wish someone showed me this years ago
Great tips and explanation!
thanks, i'm a beginner and that was really helpful
Do you have any advice on the best wet suits for different water temp?
Reading waves is a skill that can boost your surf to another level. And this is so helpful on crowded spots. Sometimes I see the signs of some really big waves coming, and go deep straight. So, you get nuts, while everyone else is duckdiving lol
Big close outs are often left to go through by the better surfers. They often reform into surfable waves and you can catch them on the inside because the bigger sets have more energy and power.
Ooooh that's how it works 😮 cheers man!
So greet you share this knowledge with beginners!
Thank you very much for the video, I'm at the stage that took waves but it's still hard for me to select the best ones. I will try to apply these concepts in my next session. if you have more examples for the do took🙌🏽
Glad it found you! Let me know how it goes!
Thanks!
Very realistic information 🤙
Thanks brotha
Super useful video. Explained so concise
Excellent description.
Thanks so much . Great break down.👍👍🤙🤙🤙
I've never had issues reading wedgey peaky waves, I'm pretty good at taking off in positions. It's long stretching beach breaks I struggle with cuz I think it's gonna close out so I let it go and next min it peels perfect then I go or the next n it closes out lol (edit) I always tell other surfers where ever I am stay a few meters either side and your guaranteed a good ride lol
I know exactly what you mean. The line between close out and “peeler to the beach” is very slim! Sometimes you just gotta surf the same break for a long time
Amazing! Thank you
Excellent thanks
Excellent video thank you
Such a great explanation. Now I get it! Thank you so much 😊🏄♀️
Awesome video dude! Thank u for sharing 🤙🏼
Your awesome man. Do you have a surf Camp? And if so, where?
I know not everyone can or will. But if you get into foiling, you will become an absolute expert on reading waves and energy. You can feel it through the wing and have a better understanding of the energy in the ocean and where to be.
Best perk of foils: I take off on close out. I actually prefer it some days. Surfers aren’t gonna go for it. They paddle for the horizon. I’ll turn and go and then pump my way past surfers to go find some clean swell.
Recognize the peak. Gauge the drift in relation to the peak. Extrapolate where the wave will break. Be there when it does.
Interesting thanks for the video
Thanks for this 🙏🏼
Thank you Carl, for the video, it is very useful, I appreciate
@hydromind If I may say, you really understand the concepts and principles of reading the wave which is how you are able to break it down and actually explain it to us, making it very easy to understand. For this I cannot thank you enough! I have watched multiple videos trying to get a nice and simple explanation and THIS is the ONE! Wave reading GOLD! I feel you have just helped me level up as I have only been surfing for about a year and comprehending and reading the wave to know which to go after, which to leave and most importantly where to position myself was about the last part I did not have a full grasp of, UNTIL NOW! Now I'm ready for Saturday and I think I also understand better why people tend to group when out on the water. It's because there are finite positions on the wave that are the best spots to place yourself to successfully catch the wave! So strange how you can talk to someone who's been surfing for years, yet they cannot explain this concept. You have one more fan and subscriber! Mahalo!
very useful, thanks
Thanks for the info
Great explanation!
Thank you for breaking it down to a system...to catch the wave are you at the base of the wave which then pushes you up the wave face before you start sliding back down? I seem to always be a little too far out...thanks
Nice explanation m8. 👍
In addition to those three things…That poster on the wall. That wave has the streaks in it.
My best guesses that ride well often have those to some degree, too.
Awesome... is there usually a particular wave in a set that's consistently the high one? (1st, last, etc) I wish I had this video when I started. I wasted SOOOOOOOOO much energy.
Wow amazing thank u !!
Thanks this helped
Hello,
I am a new subscriber.
Thank you.
Awesome dude!!!