How to Pass the Break on a Longboard | How to Surf

Paddling out on a longboard can feel harder than on a smaller board. Big boards float more, their buoyancy makes them more impacted by crashing waves. Without the right techniques to get past the waves on a big surfboard, you're more likely to lose progress every time you get hit by a wave, which often results in frustration and a loss of energy. Some surf spots offer a channel that makes it easier for surfers to paddle back around the That being said, learning the proper techniques to pass the break with a longboard will help you pass any break in a reasonable amount of time and save energy to catch waves. The goal is to limit how much we get pushed back by each wave by using the most appropriate technique. Let's break it down to the three most common techniques to pass the break on a longboard and explain when you should be using each of them. The push through technique. Usually the first waves you have to go over will be small white water waves or small unbroken waves. The push through technique is the easiest and most efficient way to go over these waves. Paddle towards the wave at 90 degree angle with good speed. One to two meters before the wave, grab your rails and push up using your arms and your toes. The idea is to move your weight back a bit and let water pass between you and the surfboard. On bigger waves you can kick one leg in the air and bring more weight towards the upper body, which consequently brings extra weight over the front part of your surfboard. This helps you prevent getting knocked back off your surfboard when the white water waves are more powerful. The big advantage of this technique is that it takes very limited time to come back from the push-up position to the paddling position, which helps you cover more distance faster, therefore using less energy. Surfers often underestimate their capacity to push through powerful white water waves. Keep in mind that you should be able to push through decent sized white water waves with good momentum. Learning to do so will help you pass the break more efficiently. The turtle roll technique. When the wave feels too big for the push through technique, we recommend using the turtle roll technique. About six feet two meters before a white water wave gets to you, grab the rails beside your pectoral and turn yourself and the board upside down. Don't forget to take a good breath before flipping under. Underwater, leave some space between your body and the board and ensure that the nose is sunk in the water. Your arms should have a slight bend to them, your head should not be close to the board and your board should be sealed to the water, with no space in between the surface of the water and your surfboard. Just relax and wait for the wave to pass over you. Your surfboard should be 100% perpendicular to the wave, 90 degrees. Just a slight angle can ruin your turtle roll. The white water will hit the side of your surfboard and throw it out of your hands. Flipping the board and getting back onto it should be done in one motion. You want to flip the board on its edge first and sink it under by pushing the rail towards the tail. This is the easiest way to sink the board back under you. You can frog kick to help you get back up. This technique usually feels harder for novice surfers who are not used to manipulating their boards in crashing waves. It can feel physically demanding, especially if it's not done correctly. Just a small mistake can ruin your turtle roll and getting caught by the wave once upside down can mean a lot of effort and precious time wasted to come back up. Try to understand why things are going wrong and focus on fixing them. After some practice you should get a hold of it. The dive under technique. Sometimes it might feel like the wave is too big or too powerful for the turtle roll technique. Often this happens because of bad timing. A wave is most powerful when it's about to break or is just broken. If you happen to be there right at that moment it can feel impossible to attempt any of the previously mentioned techniques, including the turtle roll. This is when the dive under comes into play. As the big wave approaches you, get off your surfboard and hold onto it on your side. Relax and prepare to take a big breath. When the white water is about a meter or two away from you, take a big breath and dive deep under the water. Stay under water long enough so that the wave has completely passed over you. Be prepared for your board to pull on your leg as it gets hit by the wave. When your board resurfaces, reach out for your leg rope and pull on it until your board gets back to you. Get back onto your board quickly in your sweet spot position and start paddling back out. The disadvantages of this technique are that A. The board will get taken by the wave and may pull you back, making you lose some distance. B. It will take you more time to get your board back, jump on it and get into the efficient paddling position compared to any of the other two techniques. That being said, sometimes the dive under technique is still the only option. More experienced longboarders will try to prevent using this technique by timing their paddle outs. If they see an approaching wave that has a potential to break on them or close to them, they will purposely slow down their paddling or even stop for a moment in order for the wave to break before them. The idea is to let the wave lose energy before it reaches them. That way, depending on how small it gets, they can use one of the first two techniques, the push through or the turtle roll. Keep in mind that you're getting rid of your board with this technique. This means that your board could hit someone behind you. On top of the push back force from the wave, if your board is 2.5m and your leash is 2m, someone less than 5m to 6m from you could get hit by your board. For that reason, it is important to try to limit having to do this technique, especially in crowded spots. Look behind you to see if anyone's there. If someone is there, you could try to paddle to your right or to your left before diving underwater. This would prevent your board from being in danger to other surfers who might not know what you're planning on doing by letting your board go. Here are two key elements to keep in mind for all techniques. Number one, limit the transition time. Focus on getting back into the paddling position. One of the most important aspects to understand is the importance of limiting time between doing the technique itself and getting back paddling towards the horizon. Try to limit the number of times you need to wipe the water out of your eyes or place your hair back. Number two, get into your sweet spot. Once you're getting back to your paddling position, make sure that you're getting onto your sweet spot on the board before starting to paddle again. This is a habit you will need to build to glide efficiently and paddle to your full potential. To learn more about minimising resistance and maximising propulsion, you may be interested in checking out our full course on how to paddle on our online coaching platform. Look for the link in the description below. Finally, here are a few extra tips on how to pass the break efficiently on a longboard. Look for currents or channels. Some spots offer channels. Channels are area of the beach or the spot where the water moves out to the ocean. When possible, you want to use the channels to help you paddle out more easily while saving energy. In some spots like reef breaks or point breaks, this can mean paddling to the side first to reach the channel and then aiming at the Try to time yourself. Waves usually come in sets. If you've just caught a wave, there's a good chance that you're in a set. It's usually a good idea to wait for the set to be over before trying to pass the break again. It will be much easier to paddle out in between sets than during a set of waves. Do not follow everyone's rhythm. Go at your own pace. The more experienced surfers around you may have more endurance than you do. They also may have smaller surfboards, allowing them to go through the waves more easily. Wait halfway there for an opportunity. You don't need to paddle out in one go. You can paddle out. If there's a big set that comes, wait there for a moment until you can see an opportunity. Once you feel like the time is right, use the energy you've just saved to complete your paddle out. If you want to learn more about learning to surf more efficiently, make sure you subscribe to our channel and consider joining our mailing list for exclusive information from us. At Barefoot Surf, we coach surfers one-on-one on our surf coaching retreats around the world, and we help surfers kickstart their surf progression journey through our online coaching platform and community. If you want to learn more about how to accelerate your surf progression, connect with a community of like-minded surfers, and solidify your knowledge on the foundations of surf technique, visit tutorials.barefoot.surf.