As determined by the former number one rated surfer in the world, Mr Bradley Gerlach!
Brad Gerlach is a 40-something former world number one currently living in the city of Angels. He puts honey in his hive with a little modeling, consulting and surf coaching.
In September, 2014, you’ll remember, he performed in a heritage heat at the Hurley Pro, Trestles, squashing the 1989 world champ turned commentator Martin Potter a little too easily.
“And I surfed at 65 percent,” says Gerr.
What interests me, and what should interest you, about Gerr is his ability to get inside the technique of the best, and the worst, surfers. As in guys like Jordy Smith and Dane Reynolds and as in guys and girls like you and me.
Every time we paddle out, says Gerr, we make five fundamental errors.
1. Our expectations are too high
You set yourself up for failure by having high expectations. You’ll
look at the waves and already you’ll be thinking how you’ll be
catching this wave, ripping on that wave. But when you get out,
you’re already on a backward rhythm because of your inflated
expectations. If it doesn’t happen immediately you start to
panic. Maybe you paddle out in a lull and you don’t even see a set
for 20 minutes. You start to get frustrated and it impacts on your
surfing. So the number one thing is to lower your expectations.
Take it all the way back. Imagine how good it’ll feel just to
paddle out and do that first duck-dive. I never have bad surfs
anymore and I used to have ’em all the time just because I set
myself such high expectations. Surfing shouldn’t be painful.
2. You think too much
Surfing’s not about thinking it’s about … feeling. People
forget the reason they got into surfing was because it’s fun. I
know there’s all kinds of clichés around the surfing-is-fun thing,
but you take the fun out of it if you think too much. If you find
yourself getting frustrated it’s because you’re thinking and not
feeling.
The number one thing is to lower your expectations. Take it all the way back. Imagine how good it’ll feel just to paddle out and do that first duck-dive. I never have bad surfs anymore and I used to have ’em all the time just because I set myself such high expectations. Surfing shouldn’t be painful.
3. Your posture is wrong
Nobody in any sport can progress without a good posture and, in
surfing, your back is the control center. The thing is, our
consciousness is usually in our head because our eyes are there,
and so people will bend their body in a way to get their head
closer to the water. It’s a huge mistake. Your butt needs to go
down toward the Achilles tendon, but if you put your head down
toward the water your butt sticks up in the air. That’s the biggest
mistake I see. That’s why Jordy surfs so well. His
ass is on the ground! John John stands tall, but when he turns he
drops his butt. Dane does it better than anybody.
4. You wave your arms
Your arms cannot be moving. They’re an enhancement of whatever the
middle of the body is doing. Doing things with your arms doesn’t do
a thing. Every coach out there that I read talks about
arms –put your arms here, put your arms there – but you
can’t put your arms anywhere if your body doesn’t turn. It’s your
torso and your pelvis and your hips that need to move.
5. Sometimes it just ain’t your day
You can’t force surfing. Sometimes it’s not your day and that’s no
biggie. Maybe the next day you’ll be on. No amount of being mad or
aggro is going to change it. The only way to move forward is to be
calm. Get out of the water, get a drink of water, even go home and
swing back the next day.
(Watch as Gerr learns how to kinda air!)