What To Expect In Your First Maui Surf Lesson
I love this blog by Kristen from fitbottomgirls. It talks about what to expect in your first Maui surf lesson. Here at Hang Loose Surf Club you can expect to learn to surf and have the most fun ever! We pride ourselves in being safe and providing great customer service. Our Maui surf lessons provide protective water shoes, protective rash guards and beginner soft surf boards. All our surf lessons in Lahaina are two hours long. You can expect to paddle, learn to surf and learn how to be safe out in the water. Check out the blog below from a first timer’s perspective surfing in Hawaii.
What to Expect at Your First Surfing Lesson
1. You’ll want a rash guard with long sleeves. The boards used for newbies have a softer top, which is great for grip, but not great for the skin that’s rubbing against it as you’re paddling out over and over. Even with a rash guard, other areas might get a little raw by the end — I ended up with some definite wounds on the fronts of my thighs and knees from my lesson, so if you have board shorts or something, that’s not a bad idea.
2. Speaking of attire, you’re going to need bottoms that fit. Like, really well. The last thing you want to be worried about as you’re getting up on your board (or falling off of it) is whether your booty is hanging out. And if you’re not wearing snug bottoms? It’s gonna be hanging out. Let’s not talk about how I know.
3. You won’t start out in the water. Your instructor will go over the basic motions with you on the sand to make sure you understand the mechanics of paddling out and popping up. My lesson was really short, but I’ve spoken to some folks who spent half an hour or more on land. If you’re worried about it one way or the other, it would be wise to ask about their policy ahead of time. If you’re doing a private lesson, there might be wiggle room, but if you’re taking a class with a group, that might be difficult.
4. Getting out there is hard work. If you haven’t spent much time swimming in the open water, swimming out into the waves might be challenging, or even intimidating. Be honest with your instructor about your level of comfort. In fact, be honest with yourself — you have to be able to swim. Period. Not only would it be dangerous to take a lesson without strong swimming skills, it would not be fun. Take it from me — even strong and experienced swimmers can find the idea of standing on top of the water, falling off the board and getting pounded by incoming waves daunting.
5. Weird things will be sore. I had a majorly tender ribcage afterward, probably from banging up and down on the board a bit. And my toes! That was the part of me that gave out before anything else — I used them a lot to pop up on the board. Talk about unexpected!
6. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever done, and it’s more than a little addictive. Granted, I didn’t exactly catch a monster wave and ride it all the way in, but I was able to get up and stay up long enough to understand why so many people are so devoted to the sport. Even as I was hobbling through the airport wearing $40 sweatpants from the Honolulu airport gift shop because it hurt too much to put my jeans on I couldn’t help but think about when I might get another chance to get out on a board.