Want to improve your surfing? Who does not. We have put together a series of surfing tutorial videos that will help improve your surfing, whatever your level.

Beginner Day 1 videos

These videos are designed for you if you have never surfed before, have surfed a little bit and need a refresher, or have never had professional surf instruction.

Equipment

A run-down of all the parts of the surfboard — the nose, tail, deck, rails, stringer and fins. It is necessary to know these names before you enter the water so that your instructor can give you clear, quick directions, and so you understand how a board’s size and volume affect its stability.

Lie on the board

This video explains how to get onto the surfboard and find the right place to lie. Position yourself too far forward and the nose digs in; too far back and the board is slow and hard to paddle. Finding that sweet spot is the first step to catching waves with ease.

Pop up perfectly

This video explains how to get from lying on the board to standing up in one smooth movement, known as a pop-up. Place your hands flat beneath your chest, push your upper body up, and bring your feet underneath you in a single motion, landing in a balanced stance with your eyes up and looking ahead.

Pop up easy way

This video explains an alternative pop-up method. If you have strength or flexibility issues, this is the next best way to get to your feet — a simpler, staged technique that almost anyone can do, while still finishing in a solid surfing stance.

Stand on the board

This video explains how to stand on the surfboard. It explains the functional stance, named such because it is the only way to stand on the board where it functions correctly — feet across the stringer about shoulder-width apart, knees bent, weight centred and head held up.

Novice surfers

These videos are designed for you if you have never surfed before or have some experience and want to learn more to progress.

Equipment

How to connect the leash string to the surfboard correctly. Many people get this wrong because they do not realise the rail saver needs to sit against the rail of the board rather than the string. Doing it the right way protects the rail from damage and stops the string wearing through and snapping.

4 tips

This video, taken at Baby Padang, gives four very useful tips to improve your surfing: look where you want to go, keep your chest facing forward, bend at the knees rather than the waist, and keep your arms out to either side for balance and control.

Functional stance

This video is an in-depth explanation of how to stand on the surfboard correctly. It is designed for both beginner and intermediate surfers who want to improve, and it shows the common stance mistakes — feet too close together, hunching over, and looking down at the board — that hold most surfers back.

If you are a beginner or 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.

For more videos that will help improve your surfing, check out our tips for beginner and intermediate surfers.

For more information on the correct way to surf and how to improve your technique, check out our surfing tutorial videos for intermediate surfers, or read our 20 essential questions about technique, equipment and waves.