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BYUH student Warne teaches people how to surf from reading waves to how boards work and from paddling out to popping up on the stringer line

BY HOLLAND BARKER

BYU-Hawaii student John Warne said he has worked at a surf camp for multiple years and just started his own surf business a couple weeks ago. He has been teaching people every single day since he started. He loves the sport and being able to teach people, he said, and have them experience the same feeling that he feels every day.

Surfing

Warne, from Malibu, California, is a business major focusing on marketing. He said, “Surfing is what I believe to be one of the hardest sports. It’s hard because of the weather conditions and how it is always changing. Unlike the skate park, where you go and it is the same ramp every time or the same obstacle, surfing is always changing. Every wave is different. And it can change from day to day, hour to hour, even minute to minute. You are always adjusting, and I believe it is more of learning how to adjust rather than learning how to surf.

The website ridingboards.org says, “You probably already know this, but surfing is not an easy skill to learn. Learning how to really surf a wave can take weeks or months depending on your skills, fitness, the conditions you learn in, and how often you practice.”

The basics

Warne said he teaches the basics first. He said, “I teach them how to avoid certain situations in the water that can be dangerous or that can lead them to not liking the sport anymore. Normally, when I have a new student, I take them down to the sand and show them the ocean and teach them what currents are and how to avoid them and get out of them - what to look for, where the waves are, how to avoid people, and how to still have fun while surfing.”

The website outsideonline.com suggests new surfers need to be respectful of the sport. Local surfers know the area and can feel have a sense of ownership, it says. Those starting should be polite and not get in anyone’s way, according to the article. Parts of the surfboard

The next thing he teaches people, Warne said, is about surfboards and how they work. “I take out the boards and lay them on the sand and teach them about the surfboards. I teach them what the rails are, the nose, the tail and where to be on the surfboard when paddling and standing. I teach them techniques for getting over waves and through waves so that they can get their boards all the way out to the ocean. Then after that, I teach them how to pop up and how to end up on the right spot of the surfboard so that they can avoid falling and get the longest ride possible. I take them out to the ocean and get them a few waves, and every time I do this, they are so stoked and that’s what makes me want to keep teaching surfing.”

Steps for surfing

Warne said he teaches people to surf through four steps. For the first step, he has his student lay down on the board and put their toes on the very tail end. After a person does that, they lean back into somewhat of a yoga position where they keep their chest off the board while their knees stay on it. This position helps keep the board from nose diving and shooting up into the air.

He said his second step is having the student slide both of their knees up and under so they can lean back on their heels. This step also keeps the board from nose diving.

Next, he has them put their dominant foot on the center of the board. Warne said, “Most surfboards have a line, called the stringer, and you put your foot right on that keeping your hands on the surfboard.”

Warne said, “The last step is going to be a twist of both feet. You are going to pop up onto both feet and stay on that line. You want to make sure your feet are on that line and your back foot needs to be right above the tail pad or right above the fins. The wider and lower you are, the more stability you will have to stay on the board.”

The website ridingboards.org lists 15 steps for surfing. The website has a beginner surfer start by picking the right gear, going bodysurfing, and picking the right beach. The ninth step from this website has the surfer practice paddling into waves. While the 10th step has the surfer stand up on the board.

Outsideonline.com suggests those just learning practice popping up at home or on the beach. This is to help beginners get comfortable with this new motion. •

Surfers out on the waves. BYUH student John Warne grew up surfing in California and now works teaching people how to surf here in Hawaii. Photo by Silas Baisch on Unsplash.