Surf Skate Bowl Training for Intermediate Surfers
Surf skate training is not an optional add-on, it is an integral part of the coaching itself, included as part of your stay alongside video review, land training, and pool drills. You can read more about how it all fits together on our surf coaching and video analysis page.
Our new surf skate bowl has a curved, wave-shaped surface designed to replicate the compression, extension, and rotation movements needed to ride a real wave, in a way flat ground cannot match. For intermediate surfers, any single wave only gives a few seconds of actual riding time to practise those movements and develop the feeling. The bowl removes that limit, letting you repeat the same compression, extension, and rotation as many times as you want, without waiting for a set of waves to come through. Advanced surfers, who have already developed the feeling, get something slightly different out of it, covered further down.
Start flat, then move to the bowl
If you are new to surf skating, learn the basics on flat ground first: stance, balance, and simple pumping, without a curved surface adding another variable on top. We cover why in our post on video analysis and surf skate training, which also explains how the two stages fit together.
The bowl gives intermediate surfers the feeling of a wave
Once the basics are solid, the bowl is where surf skating starts to feel like surfing. Its curved, wave-shaped surface lets you actually compress and extend the way you would coming off a bottom turn, and rotate through a cutback the same way you would on a wave, rather than simply balancing on a flat surface. Repeating that motion in the bowl builds the muscle memory an intermediate surfer needs to carry it into the water, along with a genuine feel for what riding a wave is actually like, which is difficult to get anywhere else on land.
One of our guests, Jodie, an intermediate surfer, described exactly what clicked for her after a session in the bowl.
Using your arms and finding your line
Jodie realised she had been skating flat-footed, almost like a pencil, without using her arms to generate speed, and that lifting one arm through a turn on the curved surface changed everything. The bigger lesson was learning to look ahead and plan a line through the bowl before dropping in, something she said she never consciously did while surfing, and recognised immediately as directly transferable.
Training the movements behind pumping a surfboard
Pumping a surfboard comes down to three things working together: engaging the rail, compressing and extending your body, and shifting weight between your front and back foot. Those are difficult to feel out for the first time on a fast moving wave, but the bowl lets you isolate the movements. Riding up towards the lip and pumping back down mirrors the same rail engagement and weight shift you need to generate speed through the fast sections at spots like Balangan or Uluwatu’s racetrack. Our guide to pumping a surfboard breaks the technique down step by step, and practising it on a surf skate first is one of the fastest ways to make it click.
What changes once you already have that feeling: advantages for advanced surfers
An advanced surfer already knows what riding a wave feels like, so the bowl does a different job. Riding it consistently builds leg strength for more powerful turns, works the core in a way that adds real athleticism to your surfing, and sharpens the finer feeling in your ankles that increases control and turning power. Stronger legs gives more drive and lift to the board which gets you higher up the wave. Higher up the wave gives you more speed, and that speed creates more opportunities on the wave, and means you can make very fast sections.
Who this suits
Whether you an intermediate surfer working on getting the feel of a wave – when to compress and extend, raise or lower your arms, or an advanced surfer adding raw strength and precision to surfing you already have, our surf skate bowl and pump track sessions are built around exactly this. It fits naturally alongside intermediate lessons for surfers building that feeling, and alongside advanced guiding for surfers refining strength and precision in turns they can already do.
Frequently asked questions
Should beginners start in the surf skate bowl?
No. Beginners are better off learning stance, balance, and basic pumping on flat ground first, before adding the curved surface of the bowl into the mix.
What is the main benefit of the bowl for intermediate surfers?
The main benefit is feeling. The bowl is shaped to replicate the compression, extension, and rotation of a real wave, so an intermediate surfer builds both the muscle memory and the genuine feel of riding a wave, away from the pressure of the ocean.
What does an advanced surfer get from the bowl that they do not already have?
Mostly conditioning rather than a new feeling. Riding the bowl consistently builds leg strength for more powerful turns, works the core for greater overall athleticism, and sharpens the finer feeling in the ankles that shows up as more controlled, precise turns in the water. Can also use the bowl to work on any aspect of your suring that needs to be improved such as cut backs, bottom turns or top turns.
Do I need experience before using the bowl?
Some comfort on a surf skate on flat ground first is recommended. From there, coaches will guide you into the bowl at a pace that suits your level. The lower level of the bowl has a very slight gradient which is suitable to ride when you are comfortable on a flat surface.
If you want to build the feeling of a wave, or add strength and precision to surfing you already have, our surf skate bowl and pump track sessions are included as part of every stay.
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