Surf Completely – How To Turtle Roll

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If you surf a shortboard, you have the luxury of duckdiving to get under waves. If you ride a longboard, you want to turtle roll. We get a lot of Amigas who come down wanting to learn to ride a shorter board just so they can duckdive. Why sacrifice paddle power and glide just to duckdive? Learn how to Turtle Roll instead!
In this video, Jackie and Holly talk you through the best way to Turtle Roll and show a few ladies trying it out for themselves.

Surf Completely : How To Duck Dive

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It’s been a long time in the making, but it’s finally finished – the Duck Dive Tutorial! Holly Beck, pro surfer and coach at Surf With Amigas explains how to do a duck dive and analyzes footage of Amigas trying it so you can see what they’re doing wrong and how to fix it.

Surf Completely – Learn to Generate Speed on a Surfboard by Practicing on a Skateboard

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After catching a wave and standing up, learning how to generate your own speed is the most important skill in learning to surf. The success of every turn relies on having enough speed. Unfortunately, it can be tricky to learn how to pump, but practicing on land on a skateboard is a great way to learn!

Having the right skateboard for the lesson is important. A longboard skateboard is key, and I prefer a Sector9 Sidewinder series skateboard. Check out the video for tips on how to improve your pumping by playing around on a skateboard.

Want to get your own Sector 9 Skateboard with the Sidewinder trucks? Click here!
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Overcoming Fear and Feeling Safe with Surf With Amigas

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Continuing our theme of highlighting ladies who overcome fear, this is the story of Debbie Teng.

Debbie Teng is a classic character with a big laugh and an awesome attitude. She came on her second retreat with Surf With Amigas to El Salvador and paddled to the outside for the first time. Despite big waves and a lot of fear, she overcame and caught her first green waves which left her feeling totally empowered, like she could conquer anything! If you have a great attitude, willingness to go for it, and trust in our instructors, we will help you achieve your dreams!

5 Tips for Beginner Surfers

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Learning to surf is tricky. There’s the physical part, the mental part, and the ocean part. The physical part you can practice. The mental part you can overcome. The ocean part you can learn. But all of that takes time. It’s a process. Whether you’ve come to a retreat and learned the basics and are now testing your new skills in your home waters without the protective guidance of an Amigas instructor, or you are struggling on your own while you count down the days to your retreat, here are a few tips to get you in the water with more confidence.

Watch the waves. The hardest part of surfing is reading waves. Even if you aren’t going surfing, actively watch the waves. Imagine where you’d paddle out, where you’d take off, and in which direction you’d ride. The more you pay attention, the more you’ll see the subtleties that will help you read waves better.

Admit your skill level. As a beginner surfer, it’s intimidating to paddle out into a crowded lineup of surfers waiting to catch waves. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Pick out someone who looks like they know what they’re doing and has a smile on their face, and approach them. Compliment them on their last ride, explain that you’re a beginner and need a little help figuring out the best place to sit to catch a wave.

Be determined. Don’t give up when something goes wrong. You will feel off balance and think you’re going to fall, but…try to regain your balance and adjust your footing. If mentally you are thinking, ‘Uh-oh, I’m falling,’ you will definitely fall. If you think, ‘Stay on, stay on,’ you just might.

Ride the wave all the way in. When you are first learning to catch waves, you ride green waves, which are the unbroken part of the wave that comes before the white water. A lot of people stand up, ride for a few seconds and then jump off their board so they don’t have to deal with the hassle of paddling back out through the white water. Even if it’s just whitewash, the more time you spend actually riding a wave, the more you’ll improve, so ride it all the way to the sand.

Focus on fun. Every wave is different, which makes it really hard to practice consistently. Focus on the joy of being out in the ocean, the thrill of getting pushed by a wave. If you remember it’s all about fun, you’ll be a happier surfer, which makes you a better surfer.

Paddle Through Fear

Nikki Belcher is our gorgeous, spiritual, moon-loving, and fearless yoga teacher who recently went from nearly giving up her quest to learn to surf to absolutely charging on huge closeouts. How did she do it? She learned to deal with fear.

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Nikki has a blog in which she shares stories and philosophies on all subjects including how she dealt with fear. See below for an excerpt and to read the whole post, click here!

“the ocean is revitalizing but also quite terrifying. the depths have remained unexplored! unseen by the human eye. i know people surf lake michigan..but the pacific ocean?! it’s a little different. only the world’s LARGEST body of water. my first experience with surfing was at elcocoloco. a local friend, victor took me out. like out, out! to the outside! i learned quickly what it meant to be ‘washing machined’. sucked under a seemingly small wave, crashing down on me. straight panic. not a good idea. get me out of here! city girl battling the ocean. yeah, i knew who would win that combat.

after my 2nd surf sesh i decided surfing was not for me. nearly drown. my entire body sore. WHY would i put myself through that again? yoga feels so much better! i’m a triple earth sign, astrologically. i like equal steady ground. i would learn to have respect for the ocean, and embrace it slowly with caution.. but surfing just wasn’t going to happen.

within a week, jamie took me out again. i knew he was right. if i waited too long to get back in the water, i would get into my crazy brain and freak myself out. i needed to just go back out there. play. its about having FUN! deep breathe, nikki! i went out, in the white wash with jamie. he was super calm and positive. i popped up a few times and plopped down a few more. but it was fun. and relaxing. well, maybe not relaxing but i was embracing the novelty of the ocean. the salt water up my nose, my bikini bottoms falling down, losing a contact. allowing the ocean to embrace ME.”

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