How to turn on your surfboard for beginner surfers

How to turn on your surfboard frontside and backside to go left and right on a green wave

When you’re learning to surf, and you want to progress to surfing green waves, one of the most important things to learn is how to turn your surfboard, both to the left and to the right. This means learning to surf frontside and backside, depending on the direction of the wave and your stance on the surfboard.

If you haven’t yet read our blog posts on what frontside and backside surfing means and how to understand left-breaking and right-breaking waves, we recommend checking those out first. They give important context for what we’re about to explain here.

Now, let’s break down how to actually turn your board, so you can start surfing on the face of green waves.

So how do you start turning your surfboard?

Look and “point” to where you want to go. Same as when driving your car or your bicycle, if you are looking a certain way likely you will drive there, and so will the surfboard as your body will generally adjust and cause the surfboard to move in that direction. So:

Where you look is where you go.

• Look to the left (and point your front arm followed by your back hand), and your board will start turning left.
• Look to the right (and point your front arm followed by your back hand), and your board will start turning right.
• If you look straight ahead, your board will keep going straight.
• If keep looking down at your feet and surfboard the chances are you will fall down.

To help your body follow your eyes, you should also point with your leading arm in the direction you want to go, and your back hand should, for now, follow your front hand. This naturally rotates your shoulders, hips, and knees, guiding the board into the turn. Your body leads, and your surfboard follows.

The objective of using your arms pointed in the direction you want to go is to help your body make the necessary adjustments to help you turn. As you keep evolving as a surfer different movements with your arms will help you manoeuvre the surfboard, but for now lets keep it simple and pointing them where we want to go.

Toes and Heels: Where to apply pressure

Along with looking and pointing, how you shift your weight on your feet is key to turning effectively.

• When you’re turning frontside (facing the wave), you apply pressure through your toes.
• When you’re turning backside (with your back to the wave), you apply pressure through your heels.

Think of it this way: toes for frontside, heels for backside.
This pressure causes the rail of the board to engage with the wave and allows you to change direction with more control.

Watch this video on how to turn on your surfboard

What direction should you turn?

If you’re still new to reading waves, remember:

• A left-breaking wave peels to your left as you face the shore.
• A right-breaking wave peels to your right.

Depending on whether you’re regular or goofy-footed, turning left or right will either be a frontside or backside turn. You’ll use both eventually, so it’s important to practice turning in both directions.

Read more about that here:

• What Are Left-Breaking Waves and Right-Breaking Waves for Beginner Surfers
• What Is Frontside and Backside Surfing

Why it is important to learn how to turn on your surfboard?

In the beginning, you might just be riding the whitewater straight toward the beach, and that’s a great way to start, but as soon as you begin surfing green waves (before they break), knowing how to turn becomes essential.

To ride along the open face of a wave, you need to be able to:

• Angle your board to the left or right as you take off.
• Go up and down the wave to generate speed.
• Perform a bottom turn (a turn at the base of the wave).
• Perform a top turn (a turn at the top of the wave to stay in the power zone).

Without turning, you’ll end up missing the best part of the wave or getting stuck behind the whitewater. The more confident you are turning both frontside and backside, the more waves you’ll catch, and the more fun you’ll have.

Final Tips

• Practice looking and pointing during every ride, even in the whitewater.
• Focus on smooth, controlled weight shifts with your feet.
• Start by turning frontside, it’s usually easier when you’re facing the wave.
• Don’t avoid backside turns. They may feel awkward at first, but they’re just as important.

Join our Surf School in Costa da Caparica, Portugal

At Breakthrough Surf School, our surf coaches will teach you these skills step-by-step in every surf lesson, from beginner to intermediate levels. If you’re ready to start riding green waves with style and confidence, book a surf session with us today. We’ll help you learn how to do your turns and to progress faster than ever.

We are located near Lisbon in Nova Praia, Costa da Caparica.

Ready to advance your skills? Book a lesson and join our community of stoked surfers and don’t forget to subscribe to receive more posts like this in your mailbox.

See you at the beach!