With any extreme sport, bigger is always usually considered better. Going off a bigger jump when snowboarding. Base jumping off a bigger mountain. Surfing a bigger wave. As much as the thrill of surfing bigger waves may be greater than small waves, there is still a lot of value in riding smaller waves. In this article we’ll unpack the benefits of riding small waves.
Balance Control
Larger waves produce a lot more speed making it easier to maintain your balance once up on the wave. On the contrary, smaller waves are much more difficult to maintain your balance on. By consistently riding small waves you’ll be able to dial in on our balance, making you a better all round surfer.
Speed Generation
Small waves also present the challenge of consistent speed generation. What you’ll often find on small waves is that there will be lulls where you’ll run out of speed on the wave. This teaches one how to generate speed by pumping up and down the face of wave when lulls occur.
Duck Diving
Small waves are a great environment to practice your duck diving. You can experiment with new techniques without the consequences being too severe. Get a new duck diving technique wrong in big waves and you’ll be paying the price – which could well be a long hold down or even snapped leash.
Trying Out New Equipment
Smaller waves also enable you to test our new equipment in a safe and fun environment. If you’ve got a new foil or electric surfboard you’re looking to try out then a small wave environment is perfect for this. If these different board types don’t perform as you hoped, the consequences are less severe in a small wave environment.
Practicing New Moves
If you’ve recently added a few new moves to your arsenal the best training ground is a small wave environment. In small waves you’ll be able to dial in these new moves with relative ease without paying the cost for falling. Most tour pro’s always start practicing new air maneuvers in smaller waves as the room for error is lower which means they have to work harder to lock these maneuvers in.
Conclusion
Don’t underestimate the value of surfing smaller waves. Even if the thrill is not quite the same as surfing larger waves, there are still many benefits to doing it. Next time you’re down at your local break considering skipping the surf session because the waves are too small, think again.