Kicking out is an important surfing action that can be added to your surfing kit. Kicking is done to escape the waves that are closed in front of you or to avoid collisions with another surfer. Sometimes it takes only a fraction of a second to make a kickout decision, and you need to do this quickly and forcefully.

In the spring of 2010, I surfed during a quiet break in Costa Rica. Yes, Costa Rica still has a quiet break. There are only four surfers in the water. They are all locals and almost ignore me. This is good for me because the five of us have a lot of waves and a lot of space.

About an hour later, when one of the surfers caught the wave and didn't see me, I was surfing and in a good position. When he started breaking into the waves, he saw my eyes. I quickly kicked my foot and avoided hitting him or his surfboard. I lost a good ride, but for…

Learn to surf – how to kick out was originally published on Spring