Surfing Lesson 3 - Discover How To Get Through The Waves

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Surfing Lesson 3 - Discover How To Get Through The Waves

by: RodneyLister | Total views: 5 | Word Count: 473 | View PDF | Print View
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Before you're ready to catch a wave you first need to get out to them. You should pick a calmer section, many surfers like to find a rip as the waves don't break as much, and the current helps to take them out.

When starting out, it might be advisable to stay in the shore breaks, and not go out to far. Alternatively you can find a nice headland, you can go wide on a headland, avoiding the breaking waves altogether.

So now you have to go through the waves you can't get over. The first thing you should practice, is rolling. This will be all you can do if your board is very large anyway. A large board makes it easy to paddle, float and stand up on, but has the disadvantage of being too buoyant to push under the wave. So on approaching within a couple of feet of the wave, grab the rails and roll the board over.

As you roll the board over, you will go under water while holding the rails. The wave will pass above you, and over the underside of the surfboard. You should now continue to roll the board back over, as you surface, the wave should now be continuing behind you, and you can start paddling again.

Practice rolling first, then when your ready, or you get a smaller board, you can try duck diving. The perfect duck dive requires momentum to push you through, you can duck dive without it, but try to get as much speed as possible to make it easier. When you reach within a few feet of the wave, put your hands on the rails. Position them so they are half way between the nose and the middle of the board.

Now you can raise your chest and transfer all your weight down through your arms and hands. This should push the nose of the surfboard under water, then lower your head and let your body follow through. As the nose of the board passes under water, push down on the tail with your dominant legs knee. You should bend your leg up to push the knee down, this will push the tail of the board under the water.

Release the weight from your hands, allowing the nose back up, the buoyancy of the board should push you back out of the water nose first. You should quickly pass under the wave and surface behind it, regain your balance and continue to paddle.

Don't get frustrated with the surf, getting out is the hardest part for everyone. Begin in small swells, and just keep practicing, you will get better, fitter, and stronger with time.

Make sure you read the next article, for the start of the fun stuff, catching your first wave.
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