Your stance is the foundation of everything. A good stance means stability, control and the ability to generate speed and make turns. A bad stance means constant instability, slow boards and very ordinary surfing no matter how good the waves are.
The most common issues we see at lessons:
Standing too tall. A high centre of gravity is an unstable one. Bend your knees, lower your hips, and think about surfing in a slight squat. Advanced surfers compress and extend dynamically, they go lower through turns and straighter when they need speed. But the base position is always lower than you think.
Feet too close together. Your feet should be roughly shoulder width apart, with your front foot angled about 45 degrees toward the nose and your back foot across the stringer or slightly angled. Too narrow and you're a wobbling statue.
Back foot too far forward. This is the one that limits turns most. Your back foot needs to be near the fins to have any leverage for direction changes. If it's sitting in the middle of the board, you're riding flat and straight.
Arms flapping. Your arms are your balance. Hold them slightly out from your body, not rigid, not flapping, and use them actively to counterbalance turns and changes in the wave. Surfers who hold their arms stiffly at their sides fall more.
Looking at the board. Your eyes lead everything. Look where you're going, not at your feet. This applies to paddling, popping up, turning, always look ahead of where you are, not at what you're standing on.
