Improve your surfing

Foundations

Getting out, getting into waves, standing up, and not getting hurt. The part that decides how fast everything else goes.

Paddling: The skill that decides how many waves you catch. Most improvements people want come from better paddling.
The pop-up: From lying down to standing in one motion, on the same wave you were just paddling.
The take-off: Choosing a wave, paddling at the right angle, and committing. Where most missed waves are lost.
Getting out the back: turtle roll and duck dive: How to get past breaking waves without being pushed back to the beach. Half of surfing is the way out.
Stance, trim and balance: Standing in a way that lets the board go fast and lets you steer it. Most beginners stand too tall and too upright.

Surfing the whole wave: speed, bottom turn, trim, cutback, top turn, and picking the right wave.

Wave selection and positioning: Where to sit, which waves to take, and which to let go. The skill that makes everyone around you think you surf better than you do.
The bottom turn: The turn at the bottom of the wave that sets up everything else: speed, direction and where you go next.
Generating speed: pumping and trim: Keeping speed on slow, soft waves. Pumping is the skill that makes small days fun.
The cutback: Turning back toward the breaking part of the wave. How you stay in the power instead of racing out onto the flat shoulder.
The top turn (off the lip): Driving up the wave and turning at the top, back down. The foundation of all vertical surfing.
The floater: Riding over the top of a section instead of through it. Good for closing sections and a first taste of lip control.

Tubes, power moves and air. Skills that need good fitness, the right waves and a lot of waves behind you.

Barrel riding: Riding inside the curl. The hardest thing to do well, and one where preparation matters more than courage.
Snaps and carves: Sharp turns that redirect the board quickly on the face. The move behind most of what you see in a competition.
Airs (the first one): Leaving the wave and landing back on it. Easier on small, onshore days than on a good one.

Two or three sessions a week

Weeks 1 to 2: paddling, pop-ups on the sand, whitewater only. Aim to stand up and ride straight on one wave in three.
Weeks 3 to 4: take-off angle, and your first green waves on small days. Learn the rip and the lineup rules.
Weeks 5 to 6: trim and stance; ride along the wave, not only to the beach.
Weeks 7 to 8: turtle roll and the way out the back. Film one session and watch it.

Weekly, plus dry-land

Anywhere