## Notes On [[2025-07-01]], Hannah and I took surfing lessons in Playa Remanso in [[Nicaragua]]. We had a blast and I would love to go again! I'm writing this because I want to keep track of my progress and what I learned. Focus areas include: - [[#Laying on the Board]] - [[#Getting up on the Board]] - Finding balance - Posture Minor areas that I learned include: - Steering - Pumping (for speed) - Paddling - Navigating waves - Reading waves - Feeling the waves ## Laying on the Board During the land portion, we practiced laying on a board suspended on some bungee cord to mimic how the surfboard will respond on water. It felt remarkably similar, but at this point, everything seems the same. Basically I practiced laying on the mid-line of the board, with my feet all the way back at the tail, and my chest up like in a small cobra pose in yoga. A lot of the time, I felt like I was too far from the center, either one side or the other, and it was tough to stay balanced and to adjust. ## Getting up on the Board Getting up on the board is probably the single hardest thing for me, I think. There's a lot of things to focus on, and I want to write out the steps at least. 1. Get into high cobra position, with fingers pointed forward, right behind the shoulders 2. Push up into push-up position (I actually totally forgot this) 3. Do a small mountain climber pose with right knee to my chest and foot kind of close to the tail of the board 4. Stand up straight and put left foot in a moderately wide horse stance 5. Squat down into something deeper than a quarter squat, but higher than a full squat 6. Booty should be back a little bit 7. Chest should be leaned toward the side of the board, but not too much Other cues include: - Keep eyes facing forward. Looking down will cause loss of balance - Feet should be positioned perpendicular to the mid-line of the board - Feet, hips, and shoulders should be in-line with each other - Steering arm (left arm) should be straight out towards the nose of the board - Back arm (right arm) should be bent at the elbow and close to the body ## Finding Balance This is more of a personal anecdote, but I always fell towards the right side of the board. This is probably because I was leaned too far forward in that direction, and not more vertical. My feet could also have been too close to the right edge