Are you wondering if skateboarding can help with surfing? You might be surprised to learn that these two sports are more connected than you think. Skateboarding and surfing share many similarities, including riding boards, requiring balance, coordination, and an understanding of body movement.
In fact, skateboarding can be an excellent way to improve your surfing skills. Many professional surfers use skateboarding as a form of off-water training. By improving your balance, coordination, and board awareness through skateboarding, you’ll be better equipped to handle the waves when you hit the ocean.
So, let’s explore how skateboarding can translate to better surfing skills!
10 Reasons Why Skateboarding Can Help Improve Your Surfing
Skateboarding can be a valuable training tool to make you better equipped to handle the waves when you hit the ocean.
Let’s explore 10 reasons why skateboarding can help improve your surfing skills, so you can hit the waves with confidence and take your surfing to the next level.
1. Skateboarding will Improve Your Balance
One of the most significant benefits of skateboarding is its ability to enhance your balance. While surfing is all about staying on your board in constantly changing and unpredictable conditions, skateboarding helps you develop and maintain the balance required to stay on your board in any situation.
By practicing tricks, riding ramps, and doing flatland maneuvers, you will improve your stability, making you more confident and stable. This can translate to better balance on your surfboard, making it easier to stay upright and navigate the waves.
2. Skateboarding Skills are Learned through Repetition
In both skateboarding and surfing, mastering certain skills requires persistence, practice, repetition, and a willingness to push yourself to the limit.
Skateboarding can help you build muscle memory and develop the ability to repeat a particular movement over and over again until it becomes second nature. This can be especially helpful when learning new surfing maneuvers and techniques.
3. Skateboarding is an Individual Sport
Skateboarding is often seen as a solo sport, where each skater sets their goals, and each attempt is a personal challenge. This independence is a valuable trait to develop for surfers, who often have to rely on themselves to catch waves, make decisions, and stay safe in the water.
The ability to be self-reliant and self-motivated is crucial in surfing, and skateboarding is an excellent way to develop these skills.
4. Skateboarding helps develop Coordination
Skateboarding requires precise coordination between your upper body and lower body, as well as your eyes and hands. The same applies to surfing, where every movement needs to be coordinated to stay on your board and catch the perfect wave.
By practicing skateboard movements and tricks, you can improve your coordination and develop a better understanding of how your body moves on a board.
5. Skateboarding will Help Push your Limits
Skateboarding can be a great way to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and try new things. Whether it’s learning a new trick or tackling a more challenging terrain, pushing yourself to try new things will help you gain courage.
This way, you’ll gain the confidence to try new things on your surfboard, take on bigger waves, and improve your skills overall.
Both skateboarding and surfing require an understanding of how to control a board and how it reacts to different movements and terrain.
By practicing skateboarding, you can develop a better sense of board awareness and control, how to maintain speed, and how to turn effectively, which can help improve your overall surfing skills.
7. Skateboarding & Surfing Builds Comfort at New Locations
By developing board awareness through skateboarding, you’ll find it easier to adapt to new locations when surfing.
Every surf spot is different, and the more familiar you are with different types of boards, the easier it is to adjust to new conditions.
And the best part, getting better and skateboarding can help reduce anxiety and nerves when surfing in unfamiliar waters.
8. Skateboarding is all About Commitment
To succeed in skateboarding, you need to be committed to practicing and improving your skills. This same commitment can be applied to surfing, where dedication and persistence are necessary to improve your surfing abilities.
9. Skateboarding takes Determination
Skateboarding can be a challenging and frustrating sport, requiring determination to keep pushing forward and improving.
This same determination can be applied to surfing, where the ability to persevere through setbacks and challenges can lead to greater success.
10. Skateboarding & Surfing Will Help You Make Friends
Both skateboarding and surfing are social sports, with a vibrant and friendly community of athletes and enthusiasts.
Whether it’s through joining a local skate or surf club, taking lessons, or attending camps and retreats, skateboarding and surfing can help you make new friends and expand your social.
5 Skateboarding Tricks That Will Improve Your Surfing
Now, let’s find out what are the best skateboarding tricks to help improve your surfing game. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced surfer, these tricks are sure to up your skills on the waves.
So grab your board, and let’s get started.
1. Carving/Turning
Carving and turning on a skateboard involves leaning and shifting your weight to turn on the board. This trick helps improve your balance and coordination, which are essential skills for surfing.
When you carve on a skateboard, you are also simulating the motion of surfing, making it a great way to practice without hitting the waves.
2. Stopping/Stalling
When you are riding a skateboard, you need to be able to stop or stall quickly. This trick can help you maintain control of the board and is useful when you need to slow down or stop to avoid obstacles.
In surfing, the ability to control your board and change your speed quickly is crucial, and this trick can help you develop that skill.
Kickturning is a trick where you pivot the board on its back wheels by kicking the tail down while turning your upper body. This trick helps improve your balance and footwork, both of which are essential for surfing.
In surfing, you need to be able to shift your weight and adjust your footing to stay balanced on the board, and kickturning can help you develop those skills.
4. The Ollie
The Ollie is a fundamental trick in skateboarding that involves popping the tail of the board and jumping with the board still attached to your feet. This trick helps improve your power and timing, which are critical skills for surfing.
When you are surfing, you need to be able to generate speed and power to catch the waves and perform maneuvers, and the Ollie can help you develop those skills.
5. The Boardslide
The Boardslide is a trick where you slide the board across an obstacle like a rail or ledge. This trick helps improve your board control and balance, which are important skills for surfing.
While surfing, you need to be able to maintain control of your board and adjust your balance as you move across the waves, and the Boardslide can help you develop those skills.
Skateboards That Help With Surfing
Here are some skateboards that will help you get better at surfing:
Carver Skateboards: These boards are specifically designed to simulate the feeling of surfing on land. They have a unique truck system that mimics the feeling of riding a surfboard, and they’re great for practicing carving and turns, which are essential skills for surfing.
SmoothStar Skateboards: Another popular option for surfers, SmoothStar boards are designed to mimic the movements of surfing. They have a curved deck and special trucks that are great for building muscle memory and improving balance and coordination.
Hamboards: These longboards are great for practicing your cross-stepping and noseriding skills, which are essential for longboarding on waves.
Penny Skateboards: Although not specifically designed for surfing, Penny boards are great for improving your balance and board control. They’re also lightweight and portable, making them easy to bring to the beach for some pre-surf warm-ups.
Landyachtz Dinghy: This mini cruiser board is perfect for practicing your turns and quick maneuvers, which are essential for surfing in crowded lineups.
Here’s a Guide to Nose Ride
Final Words
Well, to sum up, incorporating skateboarding into your surfing training regimen can provide a host of benefits, including improved balance, coordination, board awareness, and the ability to push your limits and build confidence.
So if you are looking to take your surfing game to the next level, grab a board and hit the pavement – your surf skills will thank you for it!
And who knows, maybe you’ll even make some new skateboarding friends along the way. So keep shredding and surfing, and never stop pushing yourself to be the best you can be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will skateboarding help surfing?
Absolutely! Skateboarding is an excellent way to improve your balance, coordination, and board awareness, all of which are crucial skills for surfing.
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Does surf skate improve surfing?
Yes, surf skateboards are specifically designed to mimic the feeling of surfing, and practicing on them can help surfers improve their technique and muscle memory.
Plus, surf skateboarding can be a lot of fun and a great way to stay in shape during the offseason.
Is surfing just like skateboarding?
While both surfing and skateboarding involve riding a board, the two sports are quite different.
Surfing takes place on the water and requires dealing with the unpredictability of waves, while skateboarding is typically done on hard ground and involves performing tricks and maneuvers.
What kind of skateboard to get to practice surfing?
To practice surfing on a skateboard, you want to look for a board that is specifically designed for surf training. Look for a board with a wider deck and larger wheels that can handle rougher terrain.
Additionally, you can consider getting a board with a rocker shape or a truck system that simulates the movement of a surfboard on the water.
I got inspired by my father after watching him performing heroic tricks on a skateboard. Started at the age of 8 and performed in multiple competitions, now I coach professionals for tournaments. It's not just a sport for me - more like a passion and meditation! After years of experience with different skateboarding products, here are my reviews about Best Skateboard Brands and Best Skateboard for Beginners. It's an era of technology, you can also check unbiased reviews of Best Electric Skateboards. You can also read Benefits of Skateboarding.
