They say only a surfer knows the feeling, and beyond stoke, one emotion is omnipresent for all surfers at some point their journey: FEAR. Surfing big waves is relative. What feels like big waves for some surfers is small for others.
It might have been the day that the reports said three foot that turned out to six. Maybe you are afraid of sharks. Hold downs. Your board bashing you on the head. Gnarly wipeouts. The reef? No matter how your aquatic worst-case scenario unfolds, nearly all surfers (except for the really, really crazy ones – think Flea) feel fear in the water at some point.
If you look at pictures of Paige Alms or Mark Healy out at Jaws, or this video of Maya Gabeira’s 73 foot wave, it may appear to the untrained eye that some people just have a higher threshold for fear. Yes, some evidence that certain people are more genetically disposed to be risk takers exists, but the untold truth is the majority of these big wave surfers’ bravado comes from years of preparation.
So, here you are paddling out through the impact zone at your local break. Suddenly, you look to the horizon and see a monstrous set looming down on you. You paddle as fast as you humanly can toward the safety zone, but you are too late. The gigantic wave is bearing down on you and you know you will not escape its impact. You can feel your fight-or-flight reflex kicking in; your heart rate increases, vision narrows, judgment gets thrown out the window.
How do you survive this situation without incident or mental anguish? You train. You prepare your body. You prepare your mind. Then get out in the water and you test your training. This is our Waterwomen’s Workshops in a nutshell: we’ll train and prepare to push your boundaries in the surf and in life. Read on to learn how to overcome a fear of surfing big waves, regardless of whether big for you is 3 foot or 30 foot.
What is considered A big wave?
Like I said, before this is all relative. There was a time in my life where I was scared of anything over 2-3 foot, however today, I started to get excited around 5-6 foot but it really depends on the conditions. That is why this article and it’s tips are applicable to surfers at any level. Surfing big waves is whatever it means to you. It is the next surfing challenge you want to tackle be it surfing 3 foot waves at your local beach or going to Indonesia to surf 6 foot waves over shallow reef. Fear affects every surfer. Prepare yourself and you’ll be able to achieve your personal surf goals with style and grace.
4 Steps to Overcoming surf fears
So, first we are going to define our fears while surfing and then create a plan of action to handle them. You can download the very chart we’re going to use during the Waterwomen’s Workshop to to do this down below.
The four step process is:
- Define Your Surfing Fear: Give anything and everything that is holding you back from surfing big waves, at different breaks, on different boards (or pretty much anything you want to do in life) a name (see the section on “name to tame” below).
- Try to do some detective work and find out the source of this surfing fear. Can you think back to a specific memory or experience that caused this fear? Fleshing this out will allow you to replace this negative memory with a positive one down the track.
- List ways you can train for or Prevent it: If the fear is preventable (not all are), what can you do to prevent it from happening?
- List ways you can Respond in a positive way or Repair the situation when it happens: Ask yourself, if the worst happens, how can i fix it or respond in a way to minimize harm?
Training is the only way to override your fight-or-flight instinct, allow you to clam down, and eventually excel in stressful situations. Further, the more you train under actual or artificial stress, the better you will get with dealing with these situations. That’s what’s so cool about these trips. We are going to prepare before and during the trip and actually be able to use these skills in the water in Lombok.
This process also helps you LET GO of things you cannot control. If you cannot think of anyway you can control a certain fear, you can try to diffuse it. Take shark attacks for example. Admittedly, no one control sharks in the open ocean. But what you can do is learn everything you can about the docile nature of sharks. You could even do a cage dive with sharks.
But beyond diffusing, you’ll have to eventually scratch shark attacks off your list. You can’t control the sharks. To quote the all-wise The Dalai Lama, “If you have fear of some pain or suffering, you should examine whether there is anything you can do about it. If you can, there is no need to worry about it; if you cannot do anything, then there is also no need to worry.”
You turn, what scares the sh#$ out of you in the surf?
Bonus Fear Conquering Technique: “Name to Tame”
If you look all the way back from ancient philosophers to modern business moguls, you’ll find a practice for dealing with fear that basically amounts to describing what you’re so worried about, facing your fears, and then figuring out a systematic way to deal with each one.
To start, rather than writing down our surfing goals, we are going to list out our fears. I know this may seem like a downer or a negative outlook but the fact is that our minds innately highlight bad experiences and downplay good ones. Psychologists call this the “negativity bias.” Back in the cavewomen days, our brains were engineered this way to help us survive.
Listing out our fears and working through them one by one helps us tame them in two ways:
- We can actively prepare for each one in hopes to prevent or mitigate each fear.
- We can control the story we tell ourselves about each fear and connect the emotions we feel in the right half of our brain to the logic we use in the left half
Build Your Surf Confidence: Become a Waterwoman
Is there something missing from your surfing that you just can’t put your finger on?
You love the ocean and are stoked on the sport, but you feel stuck at your level. Often you have more bad surfs than good ones, but you are not sure why.
That missing ingredient is what we are trying to cultivate on our Surfaris. For lack of a better term, I call this journey from stagnation to feeling increasingly comfortable with yourself as a surfer, “becoming a WaterWoman.”
I borrowed the term “WaterWoman” from the oft used label “Waterman.” This surf marketing colloquialism generally describes muscle-bound Hawaiians who surf monster Jaws, paddle from Moloka’i to Oahu, and spearfish giant bluefin tuna in their spare time. In a name, Laird. But as commercialized as this label has become, to me, a Water[person] is someone with a deep and enduring connection to surfing and the ocean. A better writer described the term as such in the Surfer’s Journal,
“You’ll find that you’re thinking of men and women who not only know or knew how to do certain things in the ocean with incredible skill, but men and women who knew why they were doing these things, and dedicated their lives to existing in deep harmony and accordance with that profound sense of purpose.”
– Brad Malekian
What is a WaterWoman?
That toned and tanned woman paddling past you to catch another set wave at the peak with her head held high and chest off of her board is a WaterWoman.
You might be on the shoulder, in the whitewash, or even on the beach watching her as she navigates the waves and the crowds with ease. You notice she never throws her board when a set comes or panics when another surfer is coming towards her. You can tell that surfing in a variety of waves not only is fun for her but it is a part of who she is. Her composed disposition in the water shows her understanding of the ocean and commitment and devotion to surfing.
And then there’s you. You love the ocean and you love the way surfing makes you feel but you’re afraid. You’re scared of big waves, hold downs, sharks, missing out, and failure.
The truth is that anyone who is truly devoted to the sport of surfing has been just where you’re standing. Everyone had to crawl before they could walk; every surfer had to ride the whitewash before they could shred the peak. Becoming a competent, confident surfer does not happen overnight.
On our Surfaris, I focus on teaching the core competencies that every surfer needs to know. I don’t just focus on physical skills like pop-ups, stance, and turns. Besides being a competent and confident WaterWoman, the upside to this knowledge is that it will seriously diminish your fear and anxiety. Our goal is to take you from wading in the shallows to jumping off the boat.
What is Your Surfing Level Now?
At a minimum, if you’re thinking of coming along on one of our Surfaris (that isn’t specifically a learn to surf trip) we ask that all guests have basic surf experience and an above-average fitness level.
Our definition of “basic surf experience”:
- You are a confident swimmer and are able to paddle on your surfboard.
- You can manage your surfboard on your own without being a threat to the other surfers or yourself.
- You understand the basics of surf etiquette.
- You are able to catch waves by yourself, and successfully pop-up 60-80% of the time.
- You are able to ride gentle unbroken waves across the face.
However, many surfers get well past “basic surf experience,” but feel stuck as a beginning intermediate or intermediate surfer. It is extremely common to feel you are not progressing for both physical and mental reasons. This is where a coach can help you spotlight the areas where you need work and troubleshoot how to get to the next point in your surfing journey.
I feel this is such a nuanced question because there are sub-levels within each so called levels. Plus, there’s a big difference between learning to surf and becoming a competent surfer. But as you’ll read from Nick Carroll’s description below, an advanced rider combines physical prowess with a keen ability to understand the ocean, herself, and her surroundings. Hence, a WaterWoman.
According to Nick Carroll on Surfline:
- a BEGINNER is a surfer who is yet to successfully paddle out alone and catch and ride a wave cleanly to its logical finish.
- an INTERMEDIATE rider is a surfer who can successfully paddle out alone at a familiar location and catch and ride waves to a logical finish frontside or backside, confidently using the three basic surfing turns – bottom turn, top turn and cutback.
- an ADVANCED rider is a surfer who can paddle out alone to a surf spot he/she has never ridden, assess the lineup, and catch and ride waves to his/her choice of finish, confidently using a full range of turns in a distinctive, effective style.
What are your surfing goals?
If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in change. Maybe you have specific goals for your surfing or maybe you’re waiting for it all to “click in.” Either way, our methodology (read more about goal setting & systems) for achieving lasting change in how we surf and how we feel is basic.
Here’s the secret: we break down our goals into simple, small, repeatable steps. We create a system of continuous small improvements that eventually culminate in a big difference.
The ultimate goal of a WaterWoman is to master the system of surfing/
The 4 Components of Skill and Knowledge Needed to Become a WaterWoman are Ocean Understanding, Self-Knowledge, Physical Ability, and Awareness.
Download WaterWoman’s Checklist and think about the areas where you feel strong and also where you feel work. Next, think about systematic habits you can create and cultivate to gain experience and skill in each area.
The skills on this checklist are your ticket to surfing bigger waves, amongst crowds, and with confidence. Naturally, the more time and experience you spend in the ocean, the easier it is to cultivate these skills. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that surf time alone will make you a master. There’s plenty of people who put in their 10,000 hours but never become Steph Gilmore or Kelly Slater. Commitment to habitual practice in and out of the water is the difference between perpetual intermediate and WaterWoman.
Key Skills for Confident Surfers
Ocean Understanding
- Gather critical intel from a surf check
- Understand the effects of wind and swell direction, and tide
- In-depth understanding of your home break AND the ability to gather critical intel from watching/surfing a new break.
- Gather surf break intel: identifies the peak, channel, impact zone, hazards (like rips, rocks, reef). Able to judge bottom type and power of wave.
- Ability correctly chose where to position yourself relative to the beach both in terms of distance from the shore + place along the break.
- Judge, select, and catch waves that offer the best potential for surfing (Ie not closeouts).
- Navigate crowds and breaking waves by duck diving at proper time, in proper place (behind the surfer).
Self-Knowledge
- Appreciate personal level of fear tolerance.
- Rehearse potential situations that would cause panic.
- Cultivate composure by learning how to calm herself through breathing, awareness, cue words, movement etc.
- Prepare your brain outside of the water by using meditation, visualization, breathing to keep the mind clear.
- Train yourself to have a positive mindset.
- Know your limits – never paddle out when in doubt of your ability to get back in safely
Physical Ability
- Paddle fitness
- Mobility
- Ability to Pop-up Consistency and Effectively
- Correct Surf Stance
- Ability to ride the wave/stay in the pocket
Awareness
- Ability to read a crowd and use it to your advantage.
- Use the best surfers as indicators of where to sit and where to catch the wave.
- Identify risks such as incompetent, dangerous, or aggressive surfers and avoids them.
- Appreciate the “tone” or “vibe” in the water.
- Trust your intuition and get out of the water when you feels uncomfortable.
- Correctly analyze Risk vs. Reward.
- Deep respect for the power of the ocean.
Struggling with fear and a lack of confidence in the water way back in 2015 was how this blog started. After having my first baby, I developed an irrational fear surfing waves over 2 foot. My journey isn’t just about surfing bigger waves, it is more about feeling comfortable with myself in the ocean.
If you want fast-track your journey to feeling confident AF and stamping out your surf fears one by one, Download our WaterWoman’s Guide. This guide is 40+ pages of everything you need to know about overcoming fear and becoming a better surfer including 30 day work out plan and a mindset improvement program.
You might also be interested in these posts from the Sea Hearts blog:
- HOW TO GET BETTER AT SURFING: Goals, Systems, Habits – for those of you looking to create your own system to improve your surfing.
- 6 Ways to Build a Surfer’s Mindset for Surfing, COVID-19, and beyond – how culivating a surfer’s mindset can help you weather the ebb and flow of life.
- Breathwork for Surfers – breathwork and apnea training have been a large part of my journey to surfing big waves.
- Surviving Hold Downs and wipeouts in Surfing – I’ll just leave this right here in case you’re wondering about hold downs and wipeouts!
This free 18-page eBook has everything you need to prepare for your next surfing goals mentally and physically. It includes:
- A pre-surf trip training program
- The 30 Day pop-up challenge
- How to set goals for surfing
- A complete guide to dealing with surfing fears
- How to make surfing goals and achieve them
- and more…