Am I too old to surf?

This is a question every adult surfer asks themselves about 5-10 sessions after their first lesson in the whitewater. Once you realize, as easy as the pros make it look, you’re not going to be doing cutbacks…soon.

Is 40 too old to surf?

Is 30 too old? Is 25, with a career and real time commitments, too old? It’s true, life gets in the way when you have responsibilities, but is it too late? Do you have to be under 12 to learn how to shred?

No, you’re not too old, but learning how to surf as an adult will be different than how the groms learn.

One advantage kids have is they are small. 3-4’ days are head high. They are also light - a performance board that fits on a 3’ wave has more than enough volume for them. And even better (for them), their parents are there, pushing them into waves they can’t paddle into yet, so they get the confidence boost of making the drop, without having actually earned the wave. Kids learn how to rip on waves of little consequence. They are good long before they experience their first hold down or under water dragging - you know the ones that are just long enough where you have time to think about your life choices.

So, most of these things won’t apply as an adult learner. I mean, you can get pushed into waves…but…after your first lesson, please don’t. As an adult learner, your instructor can teach you in better ways.

I learned how to surf in my 40s.

I had taken a lesson here and there much earlier, but I didn’t start to surf, seriously, until I moved to Hawaii, and surfing didn’t really start to come together until I committed to surfing every day. Learning to surf is hard, mentally and physically. I’m out in the waves a lot, so I see a lot of adult learners stall and never really get past the whitewater or the go straight stage. But is it because they’re too old? Probably not. You’re not too old, but…

…you might be too afraid, too out of shape, too unfocused, or too uncommitted.

None of these is a problem though. Age, is out of your control, but these things can be mastered. And you can work on them slowly. You don’t have to turn the dial up to 100 right away - especially when it comes to fear.

So let’s talk about the first reason why you may not be able to learn to surf as an adult.

What if, you’re too afraid…

This one doesn’t always happen at first. It can happen after a minor (or major) injury, or after going out in surf that is too big, too soon. You don’t have to charge into waves you’re not comfortable with and this advice comes in three parts; small waves, and big waves, other people. Note: I’m assuming you can swim, and that you’re surfing at a distance from shore, that you can swim back from, if you had to.

Getting over fear: Small Waves

For small waves, I’m going to call this 3’ and under. At this size, assuming you’re not over shallow reef, while the waves, and the uncontrollable churn of the ocean does seem scary when you’re new to surfing, at this size, falling off or getting tumbled by the wave, has very little actual consequence. You may get water up your nose. You might swallow some. You might be uncomfortable, but you’re going to be okay.

Navigating surf, of any size, is a skill. Go with a friend, or hire an instructor and tell them you want to focus on learning where to sit and how to get past waves. For this category of fear, one where the consequences are small, I recommend you push through; taking a breath, paddle out, and remember the 2-or-3 rule.

What’s the 2-or-3 rule

When you’re learning how to surf, you don’t usuallly need to be out for long. It’s more important that you’re going regularly, and getting your wave count up over time. To take the pressure of any individual session, I have a 2-or-3 rule. On days when I don’t really want to be out long, I have to either catch two or really try for 3. Usually, that’s enough to keep me out longer, but I could be done in 20 minutes.

Getting over fear: Bigger Waves

Big waves. 4’ isn’t really a big wave, but at this size, you might get some cleanup sets of consequence, depending on where you’re surfing. At 4’+, getting hit by the wave may sting if you find yourself in the impact zone, or if you get hit by the lip. So, while not major, I’m not going to put a 4’ wave in the category of easy breezy. The consequences aren’t yet serious, but it’s also big enough for the fear to become paralzying if you can’t surf yet. You’ve seen it - when the person doesn’t paddle for the wave, they brace for impact. So anything 4’ and over, I say go slowly. Just remind yourself that every surfer was once afraid of this size. Go out with a friend, learn where to sit, and learn when to paddle outside. Give it time. One day, you won’t even realize it changed, you’ll just notice that you’re comfortable in larger surf. Don’t worry about it, and don’t rush it.

And the last one, other people.

I’ll keep this brief here, but as you get better at surfing, understand etiquette, and have more control over your board, your comfort in crowds increases. For their sake, don’t rush it, find a relatively uncrowded peak. Bring a bigger board so that you don’t need to take-off right at the peak if it’s crowded. Don’t worry, as your skill gets better, you’ll get there. You’ll get the peak, you’ll get priority. But really, as a beginner, you should be at less competitive waves, for now. Not forever.

If you’re scared of other people hitting you, this is valid. An experienced surfer will generally let a wave go or kick off early if you’re unavoidably in the way. So, with experienced surfers, your shouldn’t worry about them hitting you, so much as you should worry about ruining their wave. With beginner surfers, they’re generally going straight, so don’t be directly in front of them, paddle out wide.

When we’re talking about crowds, I’m assuming, you’re not surfing malibu on a day like this. This is a gorgeous wave, but nothing about this scene is for learning. When I’m not in Hawaii, I live near here. I learned a location specific technique from my LA friends. The party paddle. I do it a lot with my kids in Hawaii. Don’t do it to a stranger.

What if, you’re too uncommitted..

Really, just pick some days, ideally 4-5x a week, and commit to going. I find it’s easier if I don’t over think it. I just toss my board in the car, and go. Don’t over think what you’re going to wear. Just get your surf outfit, whatever it is. Don’t worry about snacks and drinks.

As for conditions, you need to consider them, but don’t overthink it. This is assuming that on a bigger day, there’s some out of the way whitewash where you can practice pop-ups, or there’s a place that breaks much smaller.

You should stay committed to just getting out there regularly until you’ve hit a reasonable milestone. Something like what Barefoot Surf calls level 1.3 - where you can take off on a green wave, and angle down the line.

What if you don’t live near surf?

This is an interesting question, and here’s the truth. The learning curve is steep, and if you’re only surfing once/week, it’s going to take years, and may never happen. The advantage you have though, is if you’re going to travel for surf, you get to pick the ideal learning wave. You can pick any of the surf schools in Costa Rica. A month surfing a goldilocks wave, with coaching, will progress you much faster than surfing waves that are too big or too small.

But if you don’t live near surf, it begs the question of why…I’m not here to stop you though.

What if, you’re too out of shape…

Honestly, don’t worry about this. Get a board with enough volume to make it easy - no need to even get a hard board at this stage. If you’ve committed to going out 3-7x a week, but you’re tired, or your arms are sore, just remember the 2-or-3 rule. You don’t have to be out for long. I find that my arms stop hurting once I actually get in the water. If you’re going out regularly, fitness will come over time, so don’t stress this one. You also don’t have to charge on the smallest board possible - volume is your friend.

What if you’re too unfocused

This is one that most learners won’t realize is holding them back. Surfing should be fun and relaxing, but while you’re learning, you should have some sort of a plan about what skill you’re working on for that session. If you’ve ever taken ski lessons, it’s the same principle. When you’re starting out, the instructor is having you focus on something specific. It’s much faster than accidentally discovering, well known techniques.

So, it’s up to you how you do this. You can hire an instructor, you can buy a beginners progression course, or you can DIY on youtube, but either way, you’ll progress faster if you’re surfing the right size wave, with the right size board, and have some idea about what, specifically, your next step is.