Catching the Wave

To start out, paddle your surfboard to around waist to chest deep water.  Remember that you are going to be learning how to surf in the whitewater portion of the wave.

While sitting or laying flat on your board, you are going to be facing the ocean, watching the waves come in. Wait until you see a section of whitewater approaching you and then turn the nose of your board toward shore and start paddling.

Keep paddling until you feel the wave propelling you and the surfboard, almost like it’s lifting you, without you having to paddle.  Once you stop paddling, it’s time to stand up on your board and ride the wave.

You are going to have to practice this over and over.  Don’t get frustrated though.  Remember that every surfer has been through this, even the professionals.  Before you know it, you will be able to stand up and catch a wave with ease.

What is Duck Diving?

Duck diving is the way that a surfer dives under an oncoming wave as he or she paddles out. Any breaking wave, generally over two feet, requires that you duck and dive under the wave rather than float over it. Thus, the term “duck-dive!”. Ducking under the wave ensures that all the progress made by paddling out is not lost by being washed backwards by the wave.

How to Duck Dive

Duck diving is a required skill that takes a lot of practice. The goal of a duck dive is to get both you and your surfboard as far beneath the oncoming waves as possible. Once you come back to the surface, return to paddling until the next oncoming wave approaches.

It is important to produce a good amount of forward momentum while paddling as you approach the oncoming wave. About two feet before making contact with the white water, place both hands on the rails (side edges of board) and push down, sinking the nose of your board under the water. Keep your arms extended and lean forward to help get more of the board under the water.

Once your body is just below the surface, push down on the tail of the board with your knee or foot to get the board fully submerged. Your momentum should thrust you under the quickly passing wave and only require you to be under water for a short time. As the wave passes over you allow yourself to float up to the surface.

The motions of the duck dive should be fluid as all the moves described about should flow into each other. Timing is a huge part of a successful duck dive and only by practicing will you get better at it. Now you have the skill to paddle to the next wave and duck under it!

If you liked this article, check out all the other surf instructions included on this website. Have fun and go surfing!

Now that you’re just about ready to start surfing, it’s time to learn how to paddle your surfboard. It sounds really simple, but in fact, it does take some skill.

The first step in learning how to paddle is to walk your board out into the water until you are about waist deep. Lay yourself on the deck of your board, and keep your weight centered on the middle of the board. You will know right away if you are not centered on your board as you will either roll off or the board will pop out either in front or behind you. Most beginners have the tendency to be too far back on the board. The nose of the surfboard should only be a few inches about the surface of the water. Just scoot up on your board if it is more than a few inches.

The second step is to actually start paddling. You will want to keep your fingers together and your hands cupped. Alternately, extend your arms all the way forward towards to nose of the board and give a good steady stroke. The key here is to really dig deep into the water. The more resistance you feel, the faster you will go. You will also want to focus on good posture while paddling. Keep your back arched and your chest up off the surfboard. If you notice your chin on or very near the board, remind yourself to get that chest up.

That’s all there is to it. Just remember to keep yourself balanced and to paddle with good form. The more and more you practice, the more conditioned you will be to catch more waves.

Location, location, location. When you are learning how to surf, it is extremely important in choosing the right surf location. And not only is it important to find the right location, it’s just as important in finding the appropriate wave(s) to learn on at that surf location. Hopefully our tips and advice below on finding the right surf location will help you on your quest to learn how to surf.

Avoid learning how to surf in crowded locations. Your safety and the safety of others is the primary reason why it is important in avoiding crowded locations. Learning how to surf can be frustrating at times, especially at the very beginning. You are going to fall off your board over and over again, and you are going to be repeatedly “losing” your board. Losing your board means that when you fall off your board, your board continues its forward motion toward the shore. Obviously, you risk the safety of others when this happens. One way to prevent losing your board is by wearing a leash. A surf leash is a cord connecting the surfboard to your ankle and is typically 5-6 feet in length. Even though wearing a leash will prevent the board from reaching the shore, you still run the risk of the board shooting out from underneath you and hurting yourself or someone else.

When learning how to surf, your ideal wave actually isn’t much of a wave at all, it’s the whitewater. The whitewater is what is left after the wave has crested and has broken. It looks like a line of white bubbly water. It’s a lot easier practicing standing up and balancing on your board while riding in the white water. Once you get comfortable catching waves in the whitewater, then you can move out further to the actually breaking wave. Don’t be embarrassed riding whitewater waves. Everyone starts out there and it’s actually quite fun.

Stick to sandy beaches and avoid any beaches where you can see rocks or coral reef in the breaking portion of the waves. If you see one rock or reef, chances are there are plenty more just out of sight under the water.

If you can find an uncrowded beach where there are no rocks or reef and safe whitewater to ride in on, go out as often as you can. It doesn’t matter how big or how well the waves are breaking, you are just concerned with practicing paddling and standing up at this point. The more time you spend out in the water, the more you will build up your surfing fitness and surf knowledge.

Now that you have found which surfboard is best for you to learn on, it’s time to take the next step and learn how to stand up on your board. This is where it starts getting tricky and also where the real practice comes into play. We advise to try these steps over and over until it becomes natural. That’s the only way you’re going to learn.

First off, you want to learn how to stand up on your surfboard on the beach, not out in the water. You can even practice these moves in your house if you want to. There are a couple ways to practice on the beach without risking damage to your surfboard fins. You can either remove the fins from your board or you can draw an outline of the board in the sand and use this outline as your surfboard. Either way will work just fine.

Step 1: Lie flat on the sand (on the outline of your surfboard) right down the center of the board with your feet just touching the tail end of the board. This is the proper position for when you are lying down on your board before you push yourself up.

Step 2: While you are lying down on your board, grab the rails (sides of the board) and do a push up. Your hands should be close to your body and in line with your arm pits. As you push the front of your body up, you also want to pull one knee up quickly to your chest. Once you pull one knee up, your foot should be near the tail of the board. The distance between your front and back foot should be a little more than shoulder width apart. The foot that goes to the tail of the board should be the foot you kick a ball with. This “kicking” foot is what is going to steer the surfboard. You will want to practice this move over and over as it is the most important step in standing up on your surfboard.

Step 3: Your feet should be sideways on your board as if you were standing in the batters box playing baseball. Keep your feet directly over the centerline. Most falls occur because people aren’t centered on their board correctly. Also, point your feet a little forward. This will help with your forward motion.

Step 3: Keep your weight as centered as you can with a low center of gravity. Avoid leaning back or forward. Try to stand as upright as you can. Do not stand straight up, however. Bend your knees a little to lower your center of gravity. This will help keep you balanced. Your goal here is keep your body as relaxed and flexible as possible.

Step 4: Like a trapezist walking on a tight rope, you will also want to move your arms out away from your body. It’s natural to keep them close to your side. This will help with your balance. Keep your arms loose and avoid swinging them.

Step 5: Look up, not down. If your eyes are focused on your feet, you are going to fall, so keep your eyes looking forward at all times.

Practice these steps over and over until you feel comfortable enough to do this out in the water. Remember, the most important step in keeping your balance is to keep your body and feet positioned down the centerline of the board. If you can keep your balance, you are ready to surf.

Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a comment below. See you out in the water!

Short boards, which typically range in size from 5-8 feet in length, are known more for their performance capabilities and are geared more for the experienced surfer.  They allow for quick, powerful turns and very tight maneuverability. The thickness of a short board is generally only a few inches, which makes learning on a short board very difficult. The nose and tail of a surfboard vary as well. Pointed noses are more common in short boards as opposed to a more rounded nose, which is common in longer surfboards. A pointed nose will make it easier when dropping in on a wave at the last second or when duck diving under a wave. Obviously, for the novice surfer, dropping in on a wave at the very last second is not something we want to teach you. That is something that takes a lot of practice and skill. With all this in mind, we do not suggest learning on a short board.

Longboards are primarily single finned surfboards with large rounded noses and can range in length anywhere from 9-15 feet in length. These characteristics make for great surfing in a variety of conditions. Long boards are also a lot thicker and wider than a short board. As a beginner, this is better as it makes for more stability whether you’re paddling, sitting or standing. A great advantage to a longboard, due to its size and shape, is its buoyancy. This enables surfers to ride waves that are too small to propel on a short board. With all this being said, the longboard is more suitable for a beginner because of its large size and we strongly suggest learning on this type of board.

Fun shape boards combine the elements of both short boards and longboards and are typically midsized, which is 7-8 feet in length. Fundamentally, the fun shape board’s design allows waves to be caught more easily than a short board, yet the board is more maneuverable than a longboard. The fun shape is large enough to make it easier to catch and stand up on a wave yet isn’t too large to where you can’t control it. Learning how to surf on a fun shape board is also easier than learning how to surf on a short board.

Another element of long boards and fun shape boards, which make them ideal for beginners, is that manufacturers can make these boards “soft” with a foam top, instead of a fiberglass. These are called “softboards”. While these softboards are still very strong and durable, the primary benefit is the safety aspect. If you happen to be in a crowded location and the surfboard gets away from you, if it were to hit another person or yourself, it wouldn’t hurt as much as a fiberglass board would.

Hopefully, we’ve made your decision a lot easier for you in deciding which board to learn how to surf on. If you have any questions or like this article, please leave a comment below.

First off, surfing is a sport, just like soccer and football.  It’s an athletic (and competitive) activity that takes a lot of practice and physical conditioning to be successful at it.  But that’s just one layer of it.

Surfing is a lifestyle.  It carries with it a style of dress, a global dialect, and a simplistic view of life’s realities.  Surfer’s have a constant pursuit to find the best waves out there, almost making their intense dedication seem religious.

The surfing industry has exploded into a multi-million dollar industry that churns out everything from surf boards, clothing and accessories, to major motion pictures and exotic travel packages.  It’s mind boggling just how far surfing has come just in the past few decades.

Does any of this really matter?  Not really.  Surfing is not about being competitive, living a certain way, or making money.  It’s about you, your surf board, and the ocean.  Surfing’s essence is found in that very first time you stand up on your board.  It’s that feeling of energy.  I call it a rush.  Surfing takes you places and let’s you meet new people.  Surfer’s all have one thing in common, they just want to surf.  Plain and simple.  Life is better when you surf.  I can’t imagine life without it.

Now, are you ready?  Let’s go surfing!  Come on, grab your board and lets start from the beginning.