The One Thing Most Surfers Don’t Understand About Waves
Waves don’t just travel. They spiral.
And if you don’t understand how that spiral works – and how to tap into it – you’re missing most of the energy the wave is offering you.
Here’s what actually makes a wave surfable – and why learning to lift with it changes everything.
1. Waves Don’t Flatten – They Organize
Storms create chaos. Wind hits water. Waves begin as compressed, circular energy that wants to escape.
But instead of flattening out and dying, the ocean organizes them. Through constructive interference and surface tension, that chaotic energy gets concentrated – lifted into clean, spiraling swells.
When the swell hits a reef or sandbank, it releases all that energy in the form of a breaking wave.
And that’s where we come in.
2. Most Surfers Fight the Wave’s Lift
Beginners see waves as straight lines – so they stay low, heavy, and stiff.
They paddle in, compress hard, and drive the board down into the flats.
Then they get stuck – or slammed – because they never tapped into the wave’s upward energy.
Meanwhile, pros like John John or Rob Machado stay tall, light, and aligned.
They move with the lift – and it carries them effortlessly up the face.
3. You Don’t Need More Power – You Need Less Resistance
Think of it like a trampoline or a thermal updraft:
– When the wave lifts, you lift
– When it flattens, you compress
– When it curves, you match the arc
It’s not about forcing turns. It’s about tuning into the spiral and letting it send you up, down, or across – depending on how you position, compress, and extend.
That’s how advanced surfers maintain flow.
They’re not flapping. They’re gliding.
4. Bottom Turns Should Release – Not Stall
You’ve probably heard “drive off the bottom.”
But too many surfers press down hard on the tail, canceling the lift and getting stuck.
The better cue? Extend into the wave’s draw.
Let the wave suck you upward. That’s what gives you projection – not a tail stall.
5. You’re Riding Spiraling Energy – Not Just a Slab of Water
This isn’t poetry – it’s physics:
– The wave draws water up from below
– It folds it into a spiral
– It accelerates toward the path of least resistance (the lip)
– You can either tap into that motion – or miss it entirely
Stop trying to “surf the wave.”
Start trying to surf the energy inside the wave.
Related Reading:
→ Still Surfing From Your Back Foot? – Learn why lift only works if you're forward.
→ Fix Your Bottom Turn Before You Fix Anything Else – Good surfing starts from the base.
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