Surf stance - Are you a Goofy footer or a Natural?

Surf stance! The term Goofy foot actually came from the Walt Disney character Goofy, surfing in a cartoon with his right foot forward, unlike most surfers who surf with their left foot forward. The king of animation was left handed and goofy surf stance tends to be favored by left handed people, so there you go.

Do not make the mistake of automatically thinking that because you are right handed you are a natural footer or because you are left handed you are a goofy footer. This is not a hard and fast rule, just a generalization. And some surfers are switch footers and can surf equally comfortably with either foot forward.

How do you know?

If you are an avid snowboarder or skateboarder it will be the same for surfing. You’ve never been on a skateboard or snowboard? Imagine you are running on the ice and getting ready to slide, which foot would you put in front while sliding? You were never sliding on the ice either?

Then it is time to let the visualization juices flow. Pop in one of your surf videos. Follow and mimic the moves when the surfers are up and maneuvering. Moving your feet around as much as possible to see how stable you feel is key. You will start to feel a definite comfort zone with one position over the other. One position will feel stable and powerful and the other will feel awkward and unsure.

It is a much better use of your water time to make sure what stance you have beforehand. Why waste good waves learning something you can figure out in your living room?

If you are one of the lucky few switch footers, nourish it as you learn. It is a fantastic natural inclination to have and will give you an advantage in catching waves, and every girl can use that.

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