When you stand on the shore and watch the other surfers out on the breaks, they make it look so easy. The ease that they display comes with one thing, practice. It takes years of constant practice, surfing all types of breaks, to develop your skills. On this page we will cover some of the basics that will help you get a good start in this wonderful and exciting sport.
Before we get into the technical aspect of learning to surf, there are a couple of points to highlight. Most important is to remember why you became interested in the sport in the first place. Generally it's because riding waves looks like a lot of fun. Of course, there are other facets - the exercise, the creativity and so on - but most importantly, surfing should be fun.
Also, there will be times when certain things will seem impossible to master, and this can be made a lot worse when your buddy finds the same task simple. Just remember that it takes time, and everybody learns things at a different rate. If you are having trouble following instructions exactly, don't worry, because these are only guidelines and everybody has their own style. And, as they say, practice makes perfect.
So hang in there, don't get discouraged, and above all enjoy it - because that's what it's all about.
Getting a Board
Paddling is weird. Almost nothing else you do is anything like it. You're simultaneously pulling through with your arms and shoulders, while holding your arms and upper body steady with neck girdle and back muscles. Swimming is fairly close to it, but doesn't quite match the strain on the back and neck. Weight lifting can't come anywhere near the breadth and fluidity of the paddling motion. So, remember: even if you are super-fit from another sport, paddling will be hard on you at first. You may hurt in strange places where you've never hurt before. This is OK. Don't try too much too quickly, let the stiffness recede before having another go, and your new paddling muscles will get used to it.The most common mistake beginning surfers make is trying to paddle their board from too far back. Place yourself a bit further up on the board and see if it doesn't result in a noticeable increase in speed.
The first step in your Great Adventure is getting hold of a decent board. Here we're casually assuming you are a strong and confident swimmer, because if you're not, don't do anything until you are. The ocean just loves surfers who can't swim. It snatches the board from beneath them and drags them off into its watery depths, chuckling evilly all the while. So make sure you can swim at least 200 yards without sinking.
OK. Now is the time for a surfboard. You aren't looking for anything to ultra-hot here. A radical modern missile can come later. Right now you're chasing something second hand and has the following qualities:
| FLOTATION | It's hard enough learning to paddle without sinking. Look for plenty of thickness - somewhere between 2 3 D4? and 3?. | |
| LENGTH | It will also help stability if the board is between six inches to a foot taller than you are. | |
| CONDITION | It doesn't matter about dings as long as they are repaired cleanly. |
A basic single-fin is best, but don't spend years looking for one. A standard three-fin thruster will do as well. A longboard is a wonderful tool for the older learner - very stable and easy to paddle. If you are worried about hard fiberglass, try it first on a soft BZ, Doyle or a bodyboard.
Pick your Surf
Here is your first lesson: wait for the right place at the right time. For your first surf, let's try to get off to a good start in this department.
Places that you really don't want to try first time:
- Incredibly shallow reef breaks
- Lined-up point breaks
- Small but heavy shorebreak crunchers
- A nice straight stretch of beach where the bottom slopes gradually into the ocean.
- A steady swell of around one to three feet, breaking between twenty and forty yards out and rolling smoothly to the sand .
- Nobody else in the water within twenty yards.
- Make sure your board has plenty of wax or other grip surfacing applied to its deck. Ignore other surfers who may joke with you that putting wax on the bottom of the board will make it go faster.
- Now walk into the water with your board. Choose a place where the bottom slopes gradually away.
- Once you're thigh-deep, sit the board on the water next to you. Play with the thing. Roll it around a bit, feel out its dimensions, flip it over a couple of times. Lean on it and feel it resisting your efforts to shove it underwater. Push it away from you and watch how it runs along the surface. Use this to get yourself used to what a surfboard does in water.
- Now lie on the surfboard, chest down, head toward the nose, rolling on to it from the side. Your weight should be distributed so that the thickest part of your body - the chest and trunk - is resting on the thickest part of the board, usually just forward of half-way. Easy!.
- If you're blowing this bit, two things might happen; first, the nose may stick wildly up into the air and the board shoot out from under you; second, the nose may sink and the board shoot out between your legs. Do not stress out if this happens a few times. Keep trying until the board sits nicely beneath you without attempting to escape. Try to keep your legs together on the board, but don't freak if they flap over the side. You can fix that later.
- Now for the simple bit. Paddle! Stroke alternately with either hand as if you were swimming freestyle. Do it very carefully and slowly at first, so you don't hurl yourself off the board. Get the feeling of balancing while moving through the water. Turn by stroking with one hand only, like a rowboat.
- Practice sitting astride your board by hanging on to the rails near the nose and pulling yourself up. Work on being able to switch from lying to sitting easily and quickly. You may slither around a bit until you get it wired. If undue slithering is occurring, you may need more wax. Make your alternating strokes through the water as long and smooth as you can. For variety, try paddling for quick bursts with both arms digging in at the same time. This is standard procedure for obtaining an extra boost just before taking off on a wave.
- TURNING
- This, as you'll probably have figured out from the rowboat-stroking trick, is best done while sitting on the board, not lying down. Two ways, basically:
I) Sit on the board in the regulation balance spot and swing your legs in circles underneath you like an eggbeater, rotating the board so it faces in the desired direction.
II) Shift your weight rapidly to the tail, sinking it deep, hold on to the rails and pivot the board swiftly, just as if you were twisting your body while swimming. This is pretty advanced stuff and is commonly used by experienced surfers to snatch a wave at the last second.
- ROLLING
- Once known as the Eskimo Roll or turning turtle, this is a mystic way of taking your board through the waves. It's also good to know just for recovery purposes. Grab both rails just forward of the thickest part of the board. By twisting you're your body sharply to either side to roll the board beneath the surface, holding the board with its deck facing down. Now roll back upright, twisting your body once again as if you were swimming. If you can't manage the roll-upright first time, just swing yourself out from under the board, flip it over and remount.
The Eskimo Roll, or turning turtle is a big deal on longboards, but on shortboards it has been superseded. You will have been able to tell exactly why it has been superseded from the first moment you spent upside down beneath your surfboard with water forcing itself up your nose. A hint: before rolling, take a deep breath. While under, expel the breath slowly through the nose, keeping the old sinus cavity as clear of salt as possible. Simple.
- DUCKDIVING
- This is what superseded the Eskimo Roll. It Involves sinking the board with your hands on the front rail and your knee or foot on the tail, and diving underneath the wave. Practice in still water by sinking the nose first, the tail next and bringing the nose out smoothly. A good duckdiver actually uses the power of a wave to help perform this maneuver.
Duckdiving is the best way to get under waves that have either already broken or are in the process of breaking. This one takes a lot of practice to get wired, but keep at it - as basic as it is, being able to duckdive well is one of the most valuable skills a surfer can have.
Paddling, Step by Step
Your first paddling exercises should be in a bay or inlet or some other incredibly flat or still water. Out past the break on a very small day is fine.
The first step in getting out into the water is getting to know your board. And here you may find a big surprise. Good paddling, like everything else in surfing, is all about BALANCE . No experienced surfer ever really considers it, but placing your weight correctly over your board while paddling is an absolute fundamental.
