Two bands across a 1.0–2.4 scale. Find your band, then work through the Progression Guide checklists below. The italic label on each band describes the shape of the line you draw across a wave.
Vocabulary
Learn the language first.
Peak: highest point of the wave; where it breaks first.
Deep: close to the peak.
Wide: too far from the peak to catch it.
The inside: shallow breaking zone (lots of whitewater).
Out the back: past the breakers.
The pocket: steepest, most powerful part of the wave just before it breaks.
Power zone: upper third of the wave face — where speed comes from.
The line: the path you draw across a wave.
Trim line: the fastest path along the face.
Coiled spring: low, loaded position holding kinetic potential.
The dial: rotation framework — 12 → 1 → 2 → 3 → ... → 6 (pass through each, never skip).
Neutral position: arm position before a manoeuvre; back arm shrugged, not crossed.
Oomf turn: mini bottom-turn to project down the line.
Section: a portion of the wave with distinct character (steep, fat, hollow).
Each level has a description, a Key Focus cue, things to watch out for, and a checklist. Check items as you reliably hit them — not what you've done once, what you can do most of the time. When ~80% of items at your level are checked, you're "Ready" to focus up. Progress saves automatically in your browser.
Whitewater Beginner
- Stands up occasionally on whitewater pushes; usually falls within a second or two.
- Eventually stands up consistently on whitewater pushes and rides the foam straight in.
- Pop-up becomes functional.
- Paddles out short distances in mellow conditions.
- Starting to learn good paddling posture.
Watch out for: Using your knee to pop-up · Looking down at the board · Stance too narrow or too wide · Butt is higher than eyes during pop-up · Paddling from arms-only (no back/glutes) · Slapping/scrambling instead of stroking when paddling · Too low of board volume too soon · Head too low to see waves.
First Green Waves
- Catching unbroken waves with a push or in very small surf — those first real glides that hook you on the sport.
- Going straight only; not yet angling.
- Beginning to recognize wave shape and where it will break.
- Critically: one or two sessions in small green waves teaches more than ten sessions in whitewater.
Watch out for: Sitting too wide / on the shoulder (rolling swell can't pick you up) · Lying on the board instead of sitting up to watch waves · Only catching whitewater.
Angling the Take-Off
- Paddling into unbroken waves unassisted in chest-high or smaller surf.
- Taking off in angle — not full sideways — with timing matched to the shoulder line.
- Post pop up, you land in with eyes & shoulders to target (don't look down), front knee over front foot, hands/arms up, body low & compressed.
- The framework: eye line + low pop-up → point.
- You adjust the amount of angle depending on how the wave's shoulder is peeling.
Watch out for: Not looking down the line until you're already at the bottom · Fading the take-off (paddling opposite to the break) · Taking too long to initiate the jump-and-point · Turning before feet hit the deck · Front foot landing outside hand line (jumping rather than sliding into stance).
Generating Speed
- Pumping down the line — deliberate up-and-down movement on the wave face, low at the bottom and high at the top.
- Loading into a coiled spring at the bottom (both feet evenly weighted), then steadily jumping and shrugging up to the power zone.
- Feet are never planted — small back-foot adjustments happen constantly, micro-tuning speed and control.
- You're starting to predict peeling speed by reading the shoulder line's steepness, and using land indicators (rocks, cliffs, breakwalls) to lock in position.
Watch out for: Hinging at the hips instead of loading the lower body · Jump too small (legs barely move) · Mistiming the jump (too early or too late).
Bottom Turns
- The bottom turn follows the 5-step sequence: compress → look at target → hold the rail (engage line) → wait → decompress.
- Leaning, not crouching - upper body stays straight; the bend lives in knees and ankles, not the hips.
- Surfboard rail (the edges) engagement redirects water — that's the physical mechanism driving the turn. You're not pushing the board around; you're holding a line.
- At the bottom of the wave, scoop back arm behind you, then punch through at the top of the wave.
- Shallow bottom turn - Generally used on softer shoulders setting up for pumping, top turns and cutbacks
- Deep bottom turn - Generally used to setup for vertical moves
Watch out for: Releasing the compression too early (energy goes toward the beach, not the lip) · Hinging at hips instead of bending knees · Front foot not far enough back for a deep turn · Taking too long to initiate (you lose speed in flat water).
Top Turns & Carving
- The bottom turn becomes a setup for the next move depending on the wave shape.
- First attempts at small top turns.
- On small or fast waves, you can't use big up-and-down, it becomes rail-to-rail transitions instead.
- Adapt to the wave's peeling: too far on the shoulder → carve back; pocket getting ahead → carve up; steep wave → perform re-entry back in
- Stay within 3ft of the wave pocket.
Watch out for: Forgetting to re-compress after a turn · Not adapting line to wave-peeling speed.
Cutbacks
- Cutback when the wave goes fat.
- Two types of cutbacks: normal and roundhouse.
- Normal cutback - While on the shoulder → turn back towards the power source, without hitting the lip or bouncing off the white water.
- Roundhouse cutback - Shallow bottom turn out → ascend → fully twist upper body → return and rebound off the foam.
Watch out for: Starting the re-entry rotation before the lip (kills the rebound) · Missing the back-leg kick at the lip · Performing a re-entry on a fat section · Holding the bottom turn too long on a re-entry (over-vertical) · Not fully twisting upper body during the roundhouse.