Get up, stand up. Surfing in 7 steps.
Author: Alf Alderson
A Beginner's Guide to Surfing - in 7 steps.
From Alf's book Surfing A Beginner's Guide
1.Get as fit as you can.
Surfing requires strength, speed, stamina and agility, and anything you can do to improve these will be well worthwhile. You should think specifically about developing your arms,shoulders, are upper back and neck, and improving your cardiovascular fitness and overall agility.
2. Make sure you can swim.
Ok sounds obvious but You should be able to swim AT LEAST 50 METRES IN OPEN WATER to ensure your own safety if you get into difficulty.
3. Start with shore surfing
Paddling practice doesn’t look too cool, but paddling one of the most strenuous aspects of learning to surf, and the more you can practice it the better.
Another useful exercise on dry land is getting to your feet on your board.But make sure you do it on a soft surface, and remove the fins, otherwise youcould easily damage your board. This is only really recommended for soft skinand pop-out boards – custom fibreglass boards will damage too easily.
To do this, first of all lie on your board.Put both hands flat on the deck directly under your shoulders and push up as if you were actually doing a push-up. Take your body weight on your arm sand hands. Once your upper body is off the board, bring your forward leg up under your chin, at the same time twisting your hips so your backside faces out to one side. Your rear foot should follow so that you’re now in a crouching position withyour feet about shoulder width apart down the centreline of the board. Quickly stand up straight, with both feet flat on the board and still the same width apart, and your arms out to your sides for balance. Both feet should have the stringer running under the middle of them, and be at approximately 90 degrees to the stringer along the centreline of the board. This whole movement should take less than a second to perform in one fluid motion. Don’t worry if it’s a bit stilted at first, as it will come in time.
4. Time to get wet.
First of all check the waves. How big are they? Are there any obvious rips or currents - they can be very dangerous if you don't know how to deal with them. Is it crowded? More chance of collisions, especially for beginners. If you're comfortable with all these factors its time to go surfing.
Wade out with the board under your arm. When you're knee deep float the board beside you with the nose pointing out to sea.
5. Bellyboarding
Once you get into waist- to chest-deep water, turn the board shorewards when you get a lull in the surf.wait until a broken wave approaches you, and when it’s about two metres away push off the bottom with your feet and lie on your board, all the time holding a rail in each hand. As the wave picks you up, slide your weight back a little to avoid nose-diving, then once you’re moving slide forward again. If you lean one way orthe other you’ll find the board will turn in the same direction – try this to get some idea how the board reacts to shifts in body weight. After you’ve done this a few times, you should start paddling for the approaching wave rather than just hoping it will pick you up of its own accord. Lie on the board, looking over your shoulder at the approaching wave. Start to paddle for it when it’s about four metres away, using alternate strokes. When you feel the wave pick you up, paddle one or two more strokes to ensureyou’ve caught it, then lift your arms out of the water, grip the rails and ride into the beach. Adjust your weight back and forwards on the board as necessaryto stop it nose-diving or stalling.
6. Traversing the wave
The next step is to bellyboard across the face of the wave rather than straight into the beach. Paddle for the wave as above, and once you’ve caught it lean left or right until the board turns.If you do it gently you should feel the board start to turn, and as long as you keep the weight lightly angled on that side of the board you will find yourself traversing along the wave.
7. Standing up
This is it!
In a lull between sets of waves turn the board shorewards, then lie on it. Keep checking behind you for the next set. Give about four hard strokes on each side, and when the approaching wave picks you up give a couple more. Then go through the motions you practised on the beach as quickly as possible.
At first you’ll probably find it difficult to get from lying down to standing up in one quick, smooth movement. Don’t worry about this.You may find it easier to learn the whole thing in stages – prone, kneeling,crouching then standing. If this is easier for you, go for it. You’ll get there eventually!
Although I'm trying to teach you the basics of surfing here, you really can’t beat direct tuition on the beach or out in the surf. Try to get some lessons from aqualified surfing instructor, as it undoubtedly speeds up the learning process and makes you more safety conscious. There are surf schools on most coastlines that are popular with surfers. You can get contact details from the relevant surfing association or just go to the Internet.
Article taken from Surfing A Beginner's Guide by Alf Alderson
Copyright John Wiley and Sons 2008
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