|
| |
Surfer
Greats Locations
and Events Glossary
Back to Surfing
How to surf
Just watching the surfing movies or surfers down at the beach,
moves our desire to be like them and to be able to ride a board.
There is no amount of words on paper or the web that can teach you how to surf without you actually
getting out there and doing it. That said, here is a condensed version of
what you should know.
Learn to Surf
-
Be physically fit. Weighing 250 lbs and being slovenly
won't cut it. That doesn't mean you need to be straight off muscle
beach, it just means you can't be stumbling off the couch.
-
Buy a board a foot longer than you are tall and
with sufficient floatation to handle your weight. A professional
surf shop will be able to help. A beginning longboard will be a lot
easier to get the hang of. As you become a proficient surfer you
will want to trade in your longboard for a somewhat smaller and more
maneuverable short board.
-
Practice your popups on land before you try them
in the water, The popup is a move from the paddling position to
standing on the board. This is accomplished by laying on the ground
(beach, floor or carpet will do) face down. Picture yourself laying
on your board about 2/3 of the way up. Place your hands down by your
ribs palms flat on the deck and fingers pointing towards your
shoulders You will always have your hands flat on a board and not curled
around the edges. Lift your shoulders, head up, draw your feet up
under you and stand up. One of your feet will want to be forward of
the other, it doesn't matter which one, just which ever one feel
most natural. The forward foot will be turned out about 45
degrees and the rear foot about 18 inches behind the front one
will be turned out about 80 degrees. This will give you a good
stance and place your weight back far enough to keep your board's
nose from diving.
-
Practice your balance. Use your imagination. Walk
the curb rather than the sidewalk. If you can get your hands on an
old board that is beyond repair (Or a piece of 2X12 lumber) you can
remove the fins and set it on a piece of 3 inch pipe somewhere near
the middle. Stand on this board and shift your weight while keeping
your balance. Don't lean forward but arch your back and hands a
little out to the side with one higher than the other depending on
which foot is forward.
-
Now you should be ready for some waves. Pick a
spot where the waves are foamers (white water rolling in) Snug your tether. Wade
into the water with your board at your side , nose into the
oncoming waves. When it is about waist deep, watch the waves and
place the board out in front of you and lay in the centerline. Your head
should be 2/3 of the way up the board.
Let your feet trail behind you. Then reach down
into the water with a cupped hand , one at a time and begin
paddling. Paddle out to where you have observed the waves forming,
the "point break". If you have a hard time determining
where this is just follow the other surfers but be sure
to leave at least 50 feet between you and the other
surfers already out there.
-
You will be meeting some waves on the way out and
you can not greet them with your board's nose up high or they will dump you.
When a wave approaches you paddle hard ( both arms in the water at
the same time) straight into the wave and then do a push up just
like in gym class. This "Push Up" will actually push your
board down into the wave and allow the water to pass between your
body and board and works well on smaller waves.
For large waves,
same thing , paddle hard , straight, then move your weight
forward grab the side rails, sink the nose and go under the
wave while holding yourself tight to the board. This move is known
as a "Duck Dive".
You can do a "Turtle
Roll" (similar to an Eskimo roll in a Kayak) where you rollover
until you are hanging under the board, kicking with your feet and
then roll back over, but this can be very tiring.
-
Once you get out to the point break sit
astride your board and watch the waves until you see a higher one
forming. Lean to one side and paddle with one hand to rotate yourself
so you will be heading in with the wave.
Lay flat on the board and as the wave approaches begin plunging both
hands into the water hard to build as much forward momentum as
possible. By the time the wave reaches you you will need to be
traveling nearly the same speed or you will not catch it. A larger
wave can usually be caught by heading straight in with it, but a slight
cocking into the wave helps on smaller ones. You will never catch
every single wave so don't be frustrated if you miss most of them.
-
Once the wave is caught and you feel it
propelling you, do the popup like you practiced on land. Now is
where the balance stance and posture comes in handy. No matter how
much you practiced on land the sensation of standing on water is so
fluid that it will be completely foreign to you. You may wipeout
many times until you get the hang of it, and even afterwards,
but this is to be expected.
-
The object is not to ride straight in to the
beach but to ride
across the face of the wave always keeping yourself about halfway up
the face and the nose of your board pointed slightly downhill. This
is possible by shifting you weight, not unlike a snowboard,
skateboard or for that matter riding a motorcycle. Watch some
accomplished riders and you will see them pumping a small wave, kind
of riding up and down the face to extend the ride. If you ride down
too fast you will leave the wave behind and falter. On larger waves
the pumping action isn't needed, you have so much momentum that you
can ride straight across the wave.
-
When you feel the ride petering out or if you are
approaching an obstacle, steer your board nearer the top and then
twist your board and cut back out by moving your weight to your rear
foot and push down hill while your forward foot pushes up hill. A
little swinging of the arms help as well. This way you will be back
over the top and out of danger of being boiled under.
Hope this helps if anyone has something to add to this contact us and we will
consider it for placement.
|
