It’s no secret that the quickest method to improve surfing performance is to increase your wave count. More waves equal more time on a wave increasing your muscle memory as you execute standard maneuvers time and time again.





Muscle memory is the interaction between the brain and the nervous system. When we apply this theory to sports it is called “proprioception”, which is the process our brain uses to know where our body parts are in time and space. Someone typing quickly without looking at the keyboard is an example of muscle memory, or proprioception at work. The more you execute a motion, the more muscle memory patterns you set and the more unaware you become of movements and mechanics. You can free your mind to focus on the objective at hand. Muscle memory is established through repetition of motor skills until it becomes automatic.


Sounds easy enough, but how do you get more wave time to improve your muscle memory and improve your surfing performance? You can't surf when its flat and you should surf after it rains, so for these times, SurfScience has three suggestions for you to get better:


Small surf got you down? Pick up a carving skateboard and shred the blacktop! Skateboarding was truly born of surfing and for good reason. You can improve your surfing if you practice generating speed, carving on open wave faces, and nailing reentries. Watching “Dogtown and the Z Boys” will inspire you to hit the streets. The kids in that documentary treated everything like waves; they carved up pools, ruled playground slopes, shredded hills, and cruised parking lots. They skated it all, improving the muscle memory needed for the next swell.



Traditional skateboards are a great way to increase your comfort level on a board but if you want to go a step further, the Carveboard can take you there. The movements made while Carveboarding replicate the motions needed to execute the cutbacks and rail turns of modern high performance surfing. By finding a cement slope or driveway, you will be able to practice hitting the lip and coming back around just like you would while doing a figure 8 on a wave face.