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Mick Fanning's Top 5 Tips for Advanced Surfers

Mick Fanning doing what he does best. Photo by Wire Image/Gene Blevins
Mick Fanning doing what he does best. Photo by Wire Image/Gene Blevins

ADVANCED

1. Watch good surfers. I really like watching the surfers I most admire, and try to figure out how they pull off manoeuvres that are a cut above the rest. When I was a kid, I used to watch surf videos day and night, especially before a surf session.

2. Learning the feeling of a manoeuvre is important. When trying something new, go out and do it how you think it should be executed, with a clear vision of it in your mind. If you fall off, don’t worry. Paddle back out and try again.

3. Tube riding is definitely one of the ultimate experiences in surfing. As a kid, I used to get in these situations and just freak out and jump off. But if you can just hold your line and stay over your board, it’s amazing how often you can make it back out.

4. One of the biggest things in training for surfing is working on your core. Your core is the centre of your body, and that’s what is going to hold everything together.

Get great core training tips for surfing from mesurf.

5. In the lead up to events, I like to go out and have 30 minute surfs. This is the length of time we usually have in heats. I find after a few of these surfs I start to feel like my competition heats are just free surf and I feel switched on from the very first minute.


Note: The advice given here is of a general nature only, and surfers should seek their own guidance appropriate to their abilities and local conditions where ever they choose to surf.

These tips are taken from "Surf For Your Life: Grommets' Edition", by Mick Fanning and Tim Baker available from Random House, RRP: $19.95.

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