Advanced surfers

To be an advanced surfer you must have mastered the functional stance and have caught enough waves to have worked out where you need to be on the board. You also know that a good top turn comes from a good bottom turn. Please watch the videos we have made, which advanced surfers like you may already know.

Frontside top turn

To do a good top turn you need first to do a good bottom turn. This video was shot at Uluwatu and breaks the manoeuvre down step by step: drive through the bottom turn with your weight compressed low, keep looking to the lip as you climb the face, then swing your trailing arm to lead your head, shoulders and hips through the rotation before shifting your weight forward to drop back down with speed and control. As a general rule, the closer to the breaking lip you make the turn, the more powerful it will be.

Pumping a surfboard

The waves in Bali are particularly fast, especially the Racetrack section of Uluwatu where Scotty learned his craft. This video shows Scotty pumping some fast sections at Balangan. Pumping is how you generate your own speed — a rhythmic up-and-down weighting of the board along the face — and it is the skill that lets you make the fast, hollow sections that would otherwise leave you behind. It is an essential tool for any advanced surfer on Bali’s quick reef breaks.

Paddling

Do you want to paddle like Kelly Slater? Efficient paddling is about far more than your arms — it comes from engaging your back and lats, lying in the right spot on the board for trim, and reaching long with a high elbow to pull cleanly through the water. Better technique means you catch more waves with less effort and reach the line-up fresh. This video is for both intermediate and advanced surfers.

Equipment

Having the right board and fin set-up can make a huge difference to your surfing. We asked Mega Semadhi — a two-time Rip Curl Cup winner and Bingin local — for expert advice on the boards and fins he rides at Padang Padang and Bingin, and on when he chooses a quad over a thruster (tri-fin) set-up for the fast, hollow Uluwatu-area reefs.

If you are an intermediate surfer and you are looking to take your skills to the next level, we invite you to join our surf school at Uluwatu’s top surf camp, where we will teach you how to stand on the board correctly and how to steer and turn the surfboard. Our land-based coaching is the best in Bali. Most days at the surf camp we provide a photo or video review.

If you are an advanced surfer, then we offer barrel riding coaching and other skills such as pumping the board to make the fast sections of the wave. For a deeper dive into technique, equipment and waves, read our 20 essential questions about technique, equipment and waves.