How to Surf: Learning to Turn on a Surfboard in the White Water

This is the second installment in our larger Learn to Surf series, which breaks down our entire beginner surf curriculum with video and written lessons.

This post contains lessons five and six of seven. When you’re ready, continue with Lesson 7: How to Paddle Out.

If you are a beginner surfer and want to know how to turn on a board in the white water for the first time, or even an intermediate surfer struggling to turn along the face of breaking waves, this blog is for you.

We will cover the following topics in this blog:

• Why practice your turns in the whitewater
• How to manage your speed in preparation for turning
• Trimming vs. carving turns: what’s the difference?
• How to perform a frontside trim turn in the whitewater
• How to perform a backside trim turn in the whitewater
• A few common mistakes when learning to turn your surfboard
• 3 performance tips for turning your surfboard in the white water

We have also included a step-by-step process for turning both front and backside and a video tutorial on turning your surfboard in the white water.

Why you should practice turning in the white water first

Surfing is unlike most other sports in that you depend on an ever-changing playing field — the ocean — to produce waves for riding. 

To become a proficient surfer, you must first build muscle memory in a somewhat controlled environment (the white water wave zone) before paddling out to catch your first unbroken waves. 

The mistake most beginner surfers make is trying to paddle all the way out to the green wave zone to catch their first waves. 

Most of the time, these beginners tire themselves out in paddling and are too exhausted to stand up and practice turning once they make it to the outside “green wave” surf zone.

It is also very challenging to turn your board along the face of a breaking wave if you’ve never first practiced turning in the white water. 

Therefore, the white water zone is the best place to simulate a controlled environment and start accumulating consistent repetitions, turning both frontside and backside.

If you want to conserve your energy to catch a bunch of waves and build muscle memory, then practicing in the white water zone is a great place to start. 

How to manage your speed in preparation for turning

Before we dive into turning the surfboard, it is important to reiterate the importance of speed management first. 

Just like riding a bike or driving a car, you need to be able to slow your board down before making a turn and then accelerate out of the turn so you don’t lose the wave.

After popping up to your feet and riding straight to the shore several times without falling, your next step is to control your speed. 

Catch 3-5 more whitewater waves and practice speeding up and slowing down as you ride straight to the beach. 

Speeding your surfboard up

• To speed up on the board, sink into your legs and shift your hips forward so most of your weight is now on your front knee and foot. 
• Do not break the vertical plane in your upper body by leaning forward. Simply bend your knees and transfer your weight to the front knee and foot. 
• Keep one hand over each rail (like a tightrope walker) for balance. You can even reach/extend your leading arm out in front of you to help guide your weight toward the nose of the surfboard.

Slowing your surfboard down

• To slow down, sink into your legs and shift your hips so your weight is now primarily on your back, knee and foot. 
• Once you’re comfortable shifting your weight from front foot to back foot, you could even try sliding your back foot back over the tail to slow down more efficiently. 
• As a challenge, see if you can lift the nose of the surfboard out of the water as you shift your weight back over the tail. You can even retract your hands back away from the nose of the board to help you guide your weight into the back leg. 

Shifting weight on your board is an incredibly important skill to master, and it is the crux of learning how to turn.

Trimming vs. carving turns in surfing: what’s the difference?

As a beginner surfer, you will be working on trim turns.

That means that you will be turning the surfboard predominantly with the rails of the board instead of the fins. 

When performing a trim turn, your goal is to angle the board in the direction you want to go — 45 degrees to the left or right — and hold that line along the face of the wave.

To perform a trim turn, your weight will be slightly more on your front foot rather than all the way back over the tail (like when performing a carved turn).

A carving turn is any turn where the nose of the surfboard lifts up out of the water, creating a pivot point at the tail where the fins are. 

This requires you to shift most of your weight into your back foot by either shifting your hips back or stepping further back over the tail. 

Carve turns are much sharper and more fluid than trim turns but are more difficult to perform, especially in the white water. 

Continue to practice frontside and backside trim turns (front foot dominant) in the white water before moving on to carving turns (back foot dominant).

How to perform a frontside trimming turn in the whitewater

A frontside turn means turning the board toward your toe-side rail. 

If you are goofy-footed, a frontside turn will always be to your left. If you are regular-footed, a frontside turn will always be to your right.

Typically, frontside turns are easier than backside turns because your head, shoulders, hips, and toes are already facing the way you want to go, hence the term frontside. 

Here’s the process for performing frontside trimming turns: 

1. Catch the whitewater wave and pop up to your feet (you can lean ever-so-slightly in the direction you want to go, but not so much that you immediately lose balance)
2. Look in the direction you want to go (project your eyes far out in front of you).
3. Sink low into your legs and shift your weight slightly forward into your front foot
4. Rotate your hands and shoulders over your toe-side rail (point both hands in the way you want to go)
5. Shift your weight into your toes
6. Allow the board to turn in the way your eyes are looking (roughly 45 degrees to your front)
7. Once you have made your turn, rotate your hands back over the rails and apply pressure to your front foot to speed up

How to do a backside trim turn in the whitewater

A backside turn is any turn toward your heel-side rail. 

This means turning to the right for a goofy footer and turning to the left for a regular footer. 

Backside turns are typically more challenging than frontside turns because you have to be able to rotate/twist your head, shoulders, and hands back across your body without leaning backward and losing your balance.

Here’s your process for doing a backside trim turn: 

1. Catch the whitewater wave and pop up to your feet (again, you can learn a bit of your body weight on the side of the board you will be turning)
2. Rotate your chin to your front shoulder and start looking toward your backside
3. Sink low into your legs and shift your weight slightly forward into your front foot
4. Rotate your lead arm over your heel-side rail as you begin to open up your shoulders to your backside (point both hands in the direction you want to go)
5. Shift your weight into your heels
6. Allow the board to turn in the direction your eyes are looking (roughly 45 degrees to your backside)
7. Once you have made your turn, rotate your hands back over the rails and apply pressure close to the nose of the board to maintain speed.

Going one direction than the other: the “S Turn.”

If you master trimming and carving turns, you can combine the two types to do an “S turn” on your feet.

This would entail doing a trim turn first in one direction, then quickly putting weight onto the back foot and doing a carving turn to change direction and go the other way.

You can use these skill sets to link multiple turns — one direction than the next. You are left than right, right then left.

This is the ultimate test of surfboard control!

A few common mistakes when learning to turn your surfboard

There are a few common mistakes to avoid when learning how to turn your surfboard, most of which result in you falling.

When catching the wave, you put too much pressure on one of the rails.

When we are learning how to turn the surfboard, we get excited and tend to lean on the rail of the side we know we want to turn.

If too much pressure is applied, this can cause the board to tip right on the takeoff. Conversely, it can cause you to land your feet in the wrong place if you’re learning how to pop up on the surfboard.

You put more pressure than is necessary on your rail when standing.

If you put too much weight on the rail of your board, you could either cause the board to go off balance immediately (and possibly tip it) or, conversely, cause it to do a U-turn.

Make sure that your feet are well-positioned and that you look and point with your leading arm in the direction you want to go.

Three performance tips for turning your surfboard in the white water

Last but not least, here are some critical “pro tips” to remember when learning to turn on a board. 

Start looking in the direction you want to turn the board before you even stand up to your feet. 

Your eyes should be projecting along the face of the wave (either to the right or to the left) as you paddle for it. Continue looking in the direction you want as you place your hands on the board deck to pop up. This will cue your body to turn the board as you pop up. When learning how to turn, always look where you want to go!

Point your hands and shoulders in the direction you want to go.

Keep your hands over the rails when you initiate the turn (imagine a tightrope walker). If you have both hands in a straight line (like Warrior II) or both over your toe-side rail (a common mistake), it will be nearly impossible to turn the board and maintain your balance. 

Stay low in your legs with your knees bent and your butt tucked under you. 

If you are standing tall, the twisting motion of the turn will probably knock you off balance. The lower your center of gravity, the easier it is to stay balanced while turning.

Read the next series installment, How to Paddle Out.