Surf Lingo Part One: The Basics

Are you new to the surfing community and find yourself wanting to learn more about it? As with every sport, there is a whole language of terms specific to surfing.

Over the course of several posts, we will showcase different aspects of surf lingo: The Basics, Surfboard Terminology, Surfing Maneuvers and Wave Terminology.      
While throughout the decades surf lingo has continued to evolve with new terms developing with each generation, some terms have remained as staples within the culture. Below are a few of those staple surf terms:

The Basics
Aloha: A Hawaiian word used in place of hello and goodbye.

• The two surfers said aloha to one another as they met at the beach that morning.

Grom: Short for grommet referring to a young surfer.

• The new grom is reaching top of their age bracket in the surfing contest.

Hang Loose: A surfer term that means to relax and enjoy the ride. It can be used to refer to surfing style or life in general.

• As one surfer became frustrated at the lack of waves for the day, another paddled past and told them to be patient and hang loose.

Kahuna: A Hawaiian term for priest or wise man who is knowledgeable about many things.

• While traveling the local island, it was common to visit the town kahuna and be blessed with a safe journey.

Ripping: When a surfer performs unbelievable moves and totally conquers a wave.

• The crowd cheered the surfer on as he was ripping the tube in a very hollow pocket.

Shaka: A hand signal where you stick out the thumb and pinky while folding in your other three fingers. The meaning of this signal varies from expressing something is cool to simply gesturing hang loose.

• The surfer threw up a shaka after she caught her first big wave of the day.

Sponger: Someone who bodyboards rather than surfs.

• Did you see that sponger complete an el rollo so smoothly?

We hope this helped you better understand some of the vernacular within the surfing community. Join us next time when we will dive further into surf culture and explore more of the unique terminology.