Flailing arms and excessive shoulder rotation is inefficient. Your shoulders should always face the way you want to go and your arms should be in front of your body. When your arms are extended and back you lose valuable time going into your next move. For example, think of an ice skater spinning, the arms go in and the body rotates faster. Study videos of the top pros.
Actions become reflexive only when repeated over and over again.
Repetition and ongoing realistic self analysis will develop perfection. Giving your best will allow you to truly enjoy surfing and remember, surfing is for fun. This highly technical maneuver can only be done on certain sections on the wave. Don't try this on a 'heavy' closeout section because it's a good way to get hurt. Down the line speed is needed for the setup.