Beginner Surf Mistakes — Avoid These Common Errors

Mistake 1: Wrong Board Choice

What it looks like: A beginner paddling out on a sleek 6'0" shortboard because it "looks cooler" or because they bought it cheap online. They spend 90% of the lesson sinking, missing waves, and getting frustrated while the people on foam boards are riding wave after wave.

Why it happens: Beginners see experienced surfers on shortboards in videos and assume that is what surfing looks like. They do not realise those surfers spent years on bigger boards before stepping down. Surf shops sometimes sell unsuitable boards to uninformed beginners.

How to fix it: Ride an 8–9 ft foam board for your first 10–20 sessions. These boards have the volume and stability you need to catch waves and learn the fundamentals. Your surf camp provides the right board — use it. Do not buy a board until your instructor tells you what size and shape you should be riding based on your weight, fitness, and skill level. Most beginners need at least 3–6 months of regular surfing before they should consider stepping down to a shorter board.

Mistake 2: Looking Down

What it looks like: A surfer staring at their feet, the nose of their board, or the water directly beneath them. Their weight shifts forward, the board nose-dives (pearls), and they go over the handlebars — every single time.

Why it happens: Instinct. When you are learning a new physical skill, your brain wants to watch what your body is doing. Looking at your feet feels natural. But in surfing, it is catastrophic — your head weighs about 5 kg, and where it goes, your entire body follows.

How to fix it: From the moment you start paddling until you kick out, keep your eyes up and fixed on the beach or the horizon. Pick a specific landmark — a building, a palm tree, a café, your instructor standing on the sand — and look at it. Your instructor will probably shout "LOOK UP!" dozens of times. Listen to them. This is the single most impactful fix you can make as a beginner, and it costs nothing.

Mistake 3: Bad Positioning on the Board

What it looks like: Lying too far forward (nose sinks, board pearls every wave). Lying too far back (tail drags, board pushes water instead of planing, waves pass underneath you). Body crooked (one rail digs in, board turns sideways immediately).

Why it happens: Finding the "sweet spot" on a surfboard takes practice. Beginners tend to lie too far forward because it feels safer to be closer to the front of the board. They also tend to lie off-centre without realising it.

How to fix it: Your toes should be touching or near the tail of the board. Your body should be perfectly centred along the stringer (the line down the middle). The nose of the board should sit about 5–10 cm above the water — not higher (too far back), not lower (too far forward). Your chest should be slightly lifted. If you keep pearling, move back 10 cm. If waves pass under you, move forward 10 cm. Small adjustments make a big difference.

Mistake 4: Paddling Incorrectly

What it looks like: Frantic, splashy paddling with arms windmilling. Paddling with both arms simultaneously (like a butterfly stroke). Paddling with arms too wide or too straight. The board barely moves despite enormous effort.

Why it happens: Paddling technique is rarely taught in detail — instructors focus on the pop-up because it is more visible. Beginners also panic when a wave approaches and revert to splashy, inefficient movements.

How to fix it: Paddle one arm at a time, alternating. Reach forward fully with each stroke, pull deep (not splashing the surface), and exit the water near your hip. Keep your elbows slightly bent — straight arms are weak arms. Your strokes should be long and smooth, like a freestyle swimmer, not short and choppy. When a wave is coming, take 3–5 deep, powerful strokes — quality over quantity. Practise paddling on flat water between sets to build the muscle memory.

Mistake 5: Not Checking Conditions

What it looks like: Arriving at the beach, looking at the waves for 5 seconds, and paddling straight out — into a rip current, at dead low tide over exposed rocks, or into overhead waves that are completely wrong for a beginner.

Why it happens: Excitement and impatience. Beginners want to get in the water as fast as possible. They also do not yet know how to read conditions — tide, swell direction, wind, rips, and wave size are invisible to an untrained eye.

How to fix it: Before every session, spend at least 5 minutes watching the waves. Note: where are they breaking? Where are the sets (bigger waves) coming through? Is there a rip current (look for darker, calmer channels)? What is the tide doing? Check a surf forecast app (Windy, Windguru, or Surfline) before you leave your accommodation. Better yet: surf with an instructor or an experienced local who makes these decisions for you. This is one of the biggest advantages of a surf camp — the guide does the condition-checking so you can focus on surfing.

Mistake 6: Skipping the Warm-Up

What it looks like: Running straight from the car or camp into the water, paddling hard with cold muscles, then wondering why their shoulders hurt for the next three days.

Why it happens: It feels unnecessary. The water looks inviting. You are excited. Warming up seems like a waste of 5 minutes. But surfing places extreme demands on your shoulders, back, and core — muscles that are cold and tight from sitting or sleeping. Going from zero to full-intensity paddling without a warm-up is the fast track to strains, pulls, and a shortened trip.

How to fix it: Spend 5 minutes before every session on a simple warm-up: shoulder rotations (forwards and backwards, 10 each), arm circles, torso twists, hip openers, and light hamstring and lower-back stretches. Practise 5–10 pop-ups on the sand to activate the movement pattern. It takes 5 minutes and dramatically reduces your injury risk and post-surf soreness.

Mistake 7: Surfing Alone

What it looks like: A beginner paddling out by themselves at a beach with no one else in the water — or worse, no one on the beach who knows they are there. If something goes wrong — a cramp, a rip current, a knock on the head from their own board — there is no one to help.

Why it happens: Independence, scheduling conflicts (friends do not want to surf), or the misguided belief that "I will be fine, the waves are small." But small waves do not mean zero risk. Rip currents, cramps, exhaustion, and panic can happen at any beach, on any day.

How to fix it: Never surf alone as a beginner. Always have at least one other person in the water with you — a friend, an instructor, or another surfer. Tell someone on the beach where you are going and when you expect to be back. Most surf camps organise group sessions specifically so no one is in the water alone. This is not about being over-cautious — it is basic water safety that experienced surfers follow too.

Mistake 8: Wrong Spot for Your Level

What it looks like: A beginner paddling out at Anchor Point "because it looks amazing in the photos." Or surfing a beach break on a 6 ft day when they have only ever surfed 2 ft white water. The result is terrifying, dangerous, and often ends the session — and sometimes the trip — early.

Why it happens: Social media and surf videos make advanced breaks look inviting. Beginners do not yet have the eye to distinguish between a 3 ft wave and a 6 ft wave, or between a sand-bottom point break and a shallow reef break. Ambition outruns ability.

How to fix it: Stick to beginner-designated spots: Imsouane Bay, Tamraght's Crocodile Beach and Banana Beach, or the inside section of Taghazout's Panoramas (on small days). Ask your instructor or a local guide before paddling out anywhere new. If a wave is breaking over rocks, reef, or in water deeper than you can stand — it is not for you yet. The spots that look best in photos are usually the most dangerous for beginners. The right spot for your level might look boring — until you are riding 200-metre waves on it and having the time of your life.

Mistake 9: Not Drinking Enough Water

What it looks like: Headaches, fatigue, muscle cramps, poor decision-making, and a session that ends early because you feel terrible — all caused by dehydration that you did not notice because the ocean water masked your sweat.

Why it happens: You do not feel sweaty in a wetsuit in the ocean — the water washes it away. But you are sweating, and in Morocco's sun, you are losing water fast. Surfers routinely underestimate how much fluid they lose during a 2-hour session. Combined with the diuretic effect of morning coffee and the dehydrating effect of saltwater swallowed during wipeouts, it is easy to end a session significantly dehydrated.

How to fix it: Drink at least 500ml of water before every surf session. Bring a reusable water bottle to the beach and drink more after the session. If you are surfing twice a day in summer, aim for 3+ litres of water across the day. Avoid heavy caffeine before surfing. Signs of dehydration: dark urine, headache, dry mouth, unusual fatigue, muscle cramps. If you notice any of these, get out of the water, drink water, and rest.

Mistake 10: Giving Up Too Soon

What it looks like: A beginner who has a frustrating session — they cannot stand up, they keep pearling, they are tired, they swallow saltwater — and decides "surfing is not for me." They quit on day 2 or 3, just before the breakthrough that almost every surfer experiences.

Why it happens: Surfing is genuinely difficult. It is one of the few sports where the playing field (the ocean) is constantly moving and changing. Progress is not linear — you might feel great on day 2 and terrible on day 3. This is completely normal, but it can feel demoralising if you expect steady, predictable improvement.

How to fix it: Reframe your expectations. A "bad" session where you fell 30 times is not a failure — it is 30 data points that are teaching your body what not to do. Lower the bar: if you are frustrated, set a goal like "I will catch one wave and ride it on my belly." Success builds confidence, and confidence builds momentum. Take breaks when you need them. Watch other surfers. Remember that every single person you see ripping on a shortboard was once a beginner who could not stand up either. The difference between someone who can surf and someone who cannot is not talent — it is persistence.

"I nearly quit surfing on day three. I was exhausted, sunburnt, and I had swallowed more seawater than I thought possible. My instructor sat with me on the beach, handed me a mint tea, and said: 'Tomorrow morning, the waves will still be there. Try again.' I did. That was fourteen years ago."

— Karim, SurfAgencyMorocco guide, Imsouane