Barefoot Surf

07/13/2024

Styling with Jaimy in Nicaragua 💃

07/05/2024

Costa Rica surf retreat spots are selling fast 💨 don’t miss your chance to join us in 2025

06/16/2024

Surfing in the sun, in Costa Rica ☀️

05/07/2024

Excited to be back in Nicaragua for our summer season 📍

05/05/2024

Get some footage of yourself and look for Feedback.⁣
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The earlier in your progression journey you can get yourself filmed, the better. The first step to fixing something in your technique is to discover it in the first place. You have to be conscious of what you are doing wrong to start fixing it. When watching your surf footage in slow motion, pay close attention to every moment and try to isolate patterns.⁣
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Compare your videos to tutorials or footage from experienced surfers to understand how you should approach fixing your mistakes.⁣
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Asking an experienced surfer friend or surf coach to give you feedback on your technique can help you fix your mistakes more efficiently.⁣
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Surfers can keep making the same mistakes for years without noticing them if they don’t get proper instructions.⁣
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Once you have a clearer idea of what you need to change, try to remember and focus on fixing it during your next sessions.⁣
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The more you try, fail, get feedback and correct your skill, the faster you improve.⁣
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05/03/2024

Few spots remain for our ⭐️Intermediate Retreats in the Mentawais, November 2024⭐️ photo captured by

04/09/2024

The Last Paddle Strokes ⁣⁣
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Once you have the perfect positioning on the wave, it’s time to commit to catching it. The last few paddle strokes often make the difference between catching a wave or not catching it. Do not paddle two arms at a time, as you won’t continue gaining momentum when both your arms are up in the air.⁣⁣
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Find the balance between looking back to position yourself perfectly for the wave, and committing to it. Once you have done the hard part and positioned yourself at the peak, you don’t want to look back at the wave too much, especially during your last few paddle strokes. Once you are certain you’re at the right spot, stop looking back at the wave and paddle with all your heart.⁣⁣
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“Paddling with all your heart” doesn’t mean forgetting about the proper paddling technique. Lots of surfers try too hard. They want to catch the wave so much that all their technique disappears and they start doing short, inefficient paddle strokes right at the moment when it’s most important. You still need to do long, deep and powerful paddle strokes.⁣⁣
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When it gets critical to paddle, experienced surfers keep the same efficient paddle technique but they increase the number of paddle strokes per minute. They limit to the minimum the amount of time between the hand coming out of the water and re-entering the water for another paddle stroke. Kicking with your feet can also give you a little extra power to get into the wave.⁣⁣
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These are just a couple of tips for the last part of getting into the wave. Lots of intermediates underestimate how precise their position must sometimes be in to be able to paddle into a wave. Just being a few feet outside of the steeper part of a wave can make it impossible to catch it. Ten Tips to Catch More Waves is Coming Soon. Watch this space...⁣⁣
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03/29/2024

White Water vs Unbroken Waves 🌊 ⁣
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Forward Push - When you first start surfing, you might be catching white water waves during your first sessions. White water waves are relatively easy to catch, as the power from the broken white water wave pushes you forward. You could catch most white water waves without even paddling.⁣
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Gravity - The first thing you must understand about catching and “sticking” on green waves is that there is no “push forward” from the white water. The force that lets you into the wave is gravity. You have to visualize yourself paddling down a “hill” that’s moving forward.⁣
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Long efficient strokes - This is especially important for catching unbroken waves. You have to give everything you have when paddling, especially when you feel your surfboard’s tail go up: that’s a key moment to “stick” on it.⁣
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Positioning is key - The correct paddling technique is not only done with proper paddle strokes, but also with the proper positioning of your body on the surfboard. The correct position on the surfboard is when your chest is perfectly centred on the width of the surfboard, and when you are at the right height. ⁣

Surfer A paddles with long, strong, deep strokes, and is properly positioned on his surfboard, with his nose about 1 inch out of the wave. Two seconds later, Surfer A has been lifted up on the face of the wave. When the wave “lifts” him, it would normally create more space between his nose & the water, but Surfer A keeps his head low at this critical moment, putting more weight towards the front of his surfboard.⁣⁣
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Surfer B paddles with short, shallow strokes, and is positioned too far back on his surfboard, making the nose pop out significantly. Two seconds later, Surfer B is lifted up on the face of the wave. The space between his nose and the water gets even bigger as he goes higher up on the wave. Surfer B is way too far back on his surfboard and doesn’t bring his head down closer to his board during this critical moment. ⁣⁣
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Your head and the upper part of your shoulders probably weigh 20 pounds or more! Imagine the difference it can make when you bring your head lower and closer to the surfboard as you are lifted up on a wave. This is really what helps you catch, stick and go down on this “hill” that’s moving forward. ⁣⁣
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03/25/2024

Passing the Break with the Push Through ⁣⁣
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The “pushing through” technique, or “punching through”, is the optimal method to use to get passed small waves on a big surfboard. This technique uses the speed and flotation provided by a longboard in order to drive through the wave, instead of under it.⁣⁣
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Take a look at the horizon. Start paddling when bigger sets of waves have passed & when the ocean looks calmer.⁣⁣
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As you get closer to a whitewater wave, keep paddling hard straight towards it. More speed equals more control.⁣⁣
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When you are about a surfboard’s distance from the whitewater, grab your rails & push up. There needs to be proper space between your body & the board for the whitewater to pass between you and your surfboard.⁣⁣
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Lift one leg up in the air. This brings extra weight over your surfboard, preventing you from getting knocked back off on bigger waves.⁣⁣
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When the white water hits you, your board should be facing straight towards the wave, totally perpendicular to it.⁣⁣
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You can only do this on smaller waves. Don’t try to push through big whitewater waves, you will get pushed back. Instead, try the turtle roll.⁣⁣
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03/17/2024

Some of our travellers waves from the past couple of weeks 🌊

03/08/2024

Textures of Costa Rica. Captured by

02/24/2024

capturing some surf moments in Costa Rica.

02/08/2024

Moments captured by on last week’s surf coaching retreat…

02/05/2024

Turning on the Heel Side⁣ 👣
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The first step to any turn is to look where you want to go to. After, turn your shoulders so that your chest points towards where you want to go.⁣
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Keep your knees bent, it will help your balance.⁣
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Keep your upper body relatively straight in order to turn your chest in the direction you want to go to.⁣
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Keep your right hand over the right rail, and the left hand over the left rail. It will help your balance and ability to turn.⁣
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With a good stance, you can apply weight on different parts of the surfboard in order to change it’s direction efficiently.⁣
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Loads more tips are available on our online coaching platform ✨ ⁣
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12/14/2023

Surf Quality waves for your level.⁣
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Just like there are world-class waves for advanced surfers, there are world-class waves for beginners and intermediates. Understanding this and planning your future surf trips accordingly could play a major role in your progression.⁣
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Imagine an extremely consistent spot with glassy/offshore conditions, offering long peeling waves, an easy paddle out and clearly defined peaks with both rights and lefts.⁣
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Now imagine repetitively surfing a spot like this, perfectly adapted to your level with a mellow crowd, for seven or more days straight.⁣
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This setup would help you take major steps forward in the techniques you are trying to learn and your overall surfing skills.⁣
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If this sounds interesting to you, you may want to check out our surf coaching retreats. We specialize in coaching beginner and intermediate surfers one-on-one on some of the most consistent surf spots worldwide in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Mentawais.⁣
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12/02/2023

snaps from west sumatra

11/20/2023

Balance & Control - ⁣
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A proper surf stance is one of the keys to unlocking your surfing potential. With a good technique, you will gain more balance and be comfortable shifting weight forwards, backwards and sideways. This translates into accelerating, slowing down and turning your surfboard with more control. The two main benefits of a proper stance are balance and control. To be able to turn, accelerate, or do any manoeuvre, you first need to feel balanced on the surfboard. The best way to do this is by bending the knees and compressing the lower body to lower the centre of gravity.⁣
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Imagine someone pushing you in the back. You would feel more balanced if you were compressed down with your knees bent compared to standing up straight with your knees locked.⁣
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However, a stance that brings stability is not automatically great for surfing. In fact, the most common positions beginner surfers take to gain balance are far from ideal for surfing. In this position, you might be stable, but you won't have the agility required to turn or accelerate.⁣
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A proper stance gives you both balance and control. By control, we refer to the ability to distribute weight over the surfboard to turn or accelerate efficiently, which is one of the most important skills to learn in surfing. Surfers need to bring their weight forward to accelerate and backwards to turn more efficiently. They must compress and decompress when generating speed, lean forward or backwards during bottom turns, twist their upper body during top turns, and more.⁣
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A proper stance is not a static posture; it's a fluid position in which the surfer is comfortable and balanced while doing the different movements required to adapt to what the wave is doing. This could be, for example, accelerating to get passed a section or carving back to the curl to reach the most powerful part of the wave. From our experience, even after a few years of practice, most surfers still have a few things to adjust in their stance that can propel their surfing to the next level and reduce their risks of injuries.⁣
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11/17/2023

Days spent on a tropical island 🏝️

10/24/2023

Learn to Angle your take-off⁣⁣ 🏄‍♀️
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Angling the take-off provides considerable benefits that are crucial for beginners and intermediates. Learning to angle the takeoff is like having a little "boost" every time you get into a wave. Here are a few reasons why surfers would angle their takeoff:⁣⁣
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Easier to draw the line on the shoulder...⁣⁣
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When surfers angle their take-off, they actually ride the wave on their chest towards the right or left for a short time. This allows them to build momentum toward where they want to go. Also, it puts them in the right line right from the start to follow the wave.⁣⁣
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It helps to surf Fast Peeling Waves...⁣⁣
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It will also be extremely useful in certain types of conditions. Surfers don't have the extra seconds to drop straight down and go back up the wave when waves peel very fast. They need to get going towards the right or the left as soon as possible.⁣⁣
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More Time...⁣⁣
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Because you are already riding the shoulder with the same line you'd be taking if you were standing on your board, you don't need to pop up in an instant. This is great for surfers who have slower take off techniques, or for those who still need to readjust their stance often once they're up. The end goal is to pop up in the proper stance quickly, but angling the take-off will give surfers a bit more time to take off until they reach that point.⁣⁣
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If you would like to dive deeper into Angling the Take Off, check out the Angling the Take of Course on our Online Coaching Platform. You'll find out How to Angle, When and how much to Angle, Angling with different types of surfboards, Angling Mistakes and more. ⁣⁣
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10/22/2023

Some moments captured on our retreats this summer ☀️

10/11/2023

Learn to move your feet on the board 👣 ⁣
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The main element to understand about basic footwork is that moving your feet forward will provide speed, and moving them backwards will allow you to turn more efficiently.⁣
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If you are standing too far forward on your surfboard, you won't be able to turn efficiently. There will be too much weight forward on the surfboard. With so much weight towards the front, you might sink your surfboard's rail in the water as you try to turn, which will probably make you fall. Sliding your feet back, so that your back foot gets over the tail of the surfboard is essential to turn.⁣
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If you need to accelerate, practice sliding your feet up the surfboard. Slide your back foot forward closer to your front foot, then slide your front foot forward on the board. This works very well when you feel you're losing the wave. For example, if it's getting too soft you could move forward to accelerate and stay with the wave.⁣
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Beginners sometimes try to accelerate by leaning forward on their longboard. A 9 or 10-foot longboard is too big for that. This slight weight shift forward might give you a bit of extra speed, but often it won't be enough.⁣
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Becoming comfortable moving your feet back on the board before starting your turn or forward on the board for extra speed is a crucial progression step.⁣
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09/26/2023

Surf the Right Equipment for You!⁣
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When learning to surf, it's crucial not to ride a board that is too small for you. You will usually be on a foamboard for your first few sessions, which is the easiest and safest way to learn. After that, we recommend buying or renting a Longboard in fibreglass or epoxy. Buoyancy is the important factor. At this level, you should ride a surfboard that has more volume for the following reasons:⁣
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You need to be able to catch as many waves as possible. A big board will help you catch waves with less effort. This will provide more opportunities to practise.⁣
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Once standing, bigger surfboards will give you stability, allowing you to focus on your stance and body position.⁣
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You will usually be learning in weak waves. When the waves are weak, you need a bigger board to float and glide on the surface of the water. Surfing a smaller board in weak waves is much harder. Even advanced surfers often ride bigger boards in smaller conditions.⁣
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Once standing, you want to accumulate "surfing time." A bigger board will give you more margin of error, helping you surf waves for longer.⁣
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Learning to catch unbroken waves takes a lot of trial and error. A bigger board will make this process much easier. Riding a surfboard that's too small for you will hurt your progression by limiting the number of waves you surf on an average session. Only when you are consistently catching decent-sized unbroken waves should you start thinking of going for something smaller. If you move to a smaller board, do it gradually. This will limit the impact on your capacity to catch unbroken waves.⁣
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08/30/2023

Keep Taking Glances at the Wave.⁣
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Experienced surfers keep monitoring the wave they intend to catch by taking multiple glances at it while they position themselves. At some point, in order to catch a wave, you will be paddling straight towards the beach, or in diagonal to the beach, which makes it hard to see the wave. Make sure to take multiple glances over your shoulder while you paddle for a wave.⁣
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Face the wave for a longer period of time.⁣
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Our second tip is to face the wave for a longer period of time. It's harder to read and adjust your positioning when you are paddling straight back towards the beach. Although you can still take glances over your shoulder, it's more difficult to see the wave as a whole & properly identify the peak, colour changes on the wave & other cues.⁣
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Use every Paddle Direction⁣
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Even though at some point, every surfer needs to paddle in towards the beach in order to catch the wave, that doesn't mean that your paddling line to get into position needs to be towards the beach. As you sit on your board, it's possible that a bigger set comes and that you need to paddle out, or a wave could hit a bit wide, and you might need to paddle in diagonal to your left, or it could be smaller and peel closer inside to your right.⁣
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Constantly readjust your paddling line & speed.⁣
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Your paddling line towards the peak will rarely be straight. The moment you decide to paddle for a wave should be early enough that you only have a general idea of how the wave is going to peel. Most often surfers will make tiny adjustments until the very last moment.⁣
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Read & Adjust to the Wave after you've caught it.⁣
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We can't overstate the importance of looking at the wave and paying close attention to all the hints it can give you about how it's going to peel. A frequent beginner mistake is to look straight down to the feet or to the surfboard. The result is that they end up dropping the wave directly to the bottom.⁣
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Many more tips are available on our online coaching platform that will help you in your surf progression. See link in bio⁣
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08/26/2023

5 Things to Know when you Start Surfing 🏄 🏄‍♂️ 🏄‍♀️ ⁣
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The Learning Curve ⤴⁣
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Before you start surfing, you must know this: surfing is one of the most difficult and complex sports in the world. Think about it. Not one wave is the same, so your playground is constantly changing. Elements such as wind, tides and swells ⁣are affecting the waves you surf differently every single day. Knowing the learning curve helps you prepare your attitude and expectations towards your surfing. ⁣
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The Importance of the Right Surfboard 🏄🏼‍♂️⁣
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In any sport, having the right equipment helps you perform. But surfing is different. It can make the difference between surfing 20 waves or 0 waves in your session. ⁣

Choosing the right surfboard will completely change the experience. It’s not about having the “brand new model”. It’s about having the right volume and rocker. The volume is the measurement of how much flotation the board has. It’s a function of length, width and thickness. Basically, when you start surfing, you want lots of volume (choose either a longboard or a foamboard, boards that are wide, thick, long and have a flat rocker). Our favourite boards for the first week or so are 7″4- 8″0 foamboards, which are thick and wide, but not too long to help prevent nose diving.⁣
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Choosing the right surfboard will completely change the experience. It’s not about having the “brand new model”. It’s about having the right volume and rocker. The volume is the measurement of how much flotation the board has. It’s a function of length, width and thickness. Basically, when you start surfing, you want lots of volume (choose either a longboard or a foamboard, boards that are wide, thick, long and have a flat rocker). Our favourite boards for the first week or so are 7″4- 8″0 foamboards, which are thick and wide, but not too long to help prevent nose diving.⁣

In order to help you maximize your propulsion when paddling, let's divide a surfer's paddling motion into 4 phases: the Catch, the Pull, the Recovery and the Hand Entry. These techniques have been taken from competitive swimming lingo. They are divided into phases only to help clarify techniques.

07/16/2023

A few snaps from our latest retreats in Nicaragua 🌊

07/07/2023

Surf stoke is high in Nicaragua 🌊

03/28/2023

03/27/2023

Here is the first of five topics to help you position in a busy line-up. This can be one of the most intimidating parts of surfing so here are some tips to help you along the way.⁣⁣
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Doing a spot check often refers to things like looking out for hazards, rip currents, analyzing waves, where they break, how they peel, how frequently sets come through, and more. One of the most important elements to evaluate during a spot check is the crowd. How many surfers are out there? Where are they sitting? Are most of them waiting for the set waves, or are they sitting further inside? What are their surfing level and how does it compare to yours?⁣⁣
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Where to Sit in the Line Up?⁣⁣
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The optimal situation for a surfer is to sit near the peak in order to maximize their ride. This is in an ideal world where a spot is uncrowded, or in a wave pool where surfers don’t have to compete for waves. In reality, most surfers have to deal with surfing in crowds of different sizes and might choose to sit in less optimal spots in order to increase their wave count.⁣⁣
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Choosing a Peak that’s less Crowded⁣⁣
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The first choice you can make is to sacrifice quality for quantity and sit where it’s less busy. The best peaks tend to be more crowded. For example here at this spot, the best waves could be breaking on the left side of the beach. You could decide to sit at a peak on the right side. Waves might not be as perfect, but you could end up catching a lot more waves.⁣⁣
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Once you choose your peak, you have 4 main options to choose from. You can either sit outside, sit at the peak, sit wide or sit inside. When a spot is not too crowded, most surfers will sit outside or directly at the peak because that’s usually how they can get the longest and most enjoyable rides. However, the busier a spot becomes, the more attractive sitting wide or sitting inside can become.⁣⁣
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03/25/2023

Next up Nicaragua 📍

03/21/2023

Here is our next tip on transitioning from a beginner to an intermediate surfer.⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣
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Our 6th tip is: Surf Quality waves for your level.⁣
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Just like there are world-class waves for advanced surfers, there are world-class waves for beginners and intermediates. Understanding this and planning your future surf trips accordingly could play a major role in your progression.⁣
⁣
Imagine an extremely consistent spot with glassy/offshore conditions, offering long peeling waves, an easy paddle out and clearly defined peaks with both rights and lefts.⁣
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Now imagine repetitively surfing a spot like this, perfectly adapted to your level with a mellow crowd, for seven or more days straight.⁣
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This setup would help you take major steps forward in the techniques you are trying to learn and your overall surfing skills.⁣
⁣
If this sounds interesting to you, you may want to check out our surf coaching retreats. We specialize in coaching beginner and intermediate surfers one-on-one on some of the most consistent surf spots worldwide in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, the Mentawais and the Maldives.⁣
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