Because mushy waves are softer and more forgiving, they allow for the fastest learning curve possible. Like Eskimos with snow, surfers have dozens of words to describe waves. For starters, there are a few you should know about. First, closeouts are waves that break all at once and, since they offer no tapering curl or open wave face, are not sought after by surfers. Second, reforms are waves that initially break over a shoal, back off into unbroken swell as they pass through deep water and then break again closer to shore.
Reforms occur when a deeper trench connects two shallower sandbars or reefs.
Huntington Beach Pier is a good place to see a textbook reform. Finally, double-ups are when two swells converge to form a thicker, steeper breaking wave closer to shore. Waimea Bay's shorebreak is probably the nastiest double-up on the planet. The bigger the surf, the stronger the currents are going to be. Longshore currents move up or down the beach, parallel to shore.