For many surfers, surfing is simply more frustrating than fun. They paddle out, make multiple mistakes, and although they have fun with their friends, they leave the water frustrated, scratching their head thinking – “What’s going on?”

Over the decades I have witnessed thousands of surfers develop their skills, and I came to realise that everyone has a similar, recognisable  journey when learning how to surf. Even the pros, early in their surfing, had to break through what I call “surfing’s threshold”. This threshold is where a surfer can paddle out, catch waves consistently, and perform turns that resemble actual surfing manoeuvres.  If you like, its the baseline off which a surfing performance can be built.

For many surfers, standing in the way of breaking this threshold are 14 fundamental skills. Get them right, and the real joy of surfing opens up, get them wrong, and these inconsistencies will likely haunt a surfer for the life of their surfing journey. The thing is though, learning what these skills are and working on them on a regular basis,  can result in faster surfing development and more fun on a daily basis.

Of the 14, four of these skills need to be performed well before a surfer even pops-up, and are essential for the success of a surfer’s performance on a daily basis. There four are:

• preparing to surf before paddling out,
• positioning in the line-up,
• choosing when to say “yes” to approaching waves,
• and breaking “the ledge” at take-off – to enter a wave with speed and confidence.

The other 10 skills are fundamental skills centred around turning the surfboard once up and riding. Creating speed, bending, leaning, and looking where a surfers wants their surfboard to go, are all necessary to perform recognisable surfing manoeuvres, as all surfing moves are made up of different combinations of these movements as a surfer speeds down the line.

In MartinDunn.com.au’s membership area, my 4 week “Ocean Skills Challenge”  has been designed to help surfers learn these fundamental skills. Over the 4 weeks, surfers are progressively challenged to sample the various skills necessary to break surfing’s threshold. Once broken, surfers can then confidently work on perfecting all surfing’s higher order skills, knowing that they have the fundamentals for success already in place .

For those motivated surfers who want to know more, sign up for my no-obligation 7 day trial. Its absolutely free.