I want to learn how to surf,any secrets how to get a good waves?

Question

I want to learn how to surf,any secrets how to get a good waves?

Answer 1

Hey,

Easiest way to get remotely proficient would be to take a surfing class and build on your knowledge from there. If you couldn't be bothered, it's a long hard road learning by yourself, but the feeling of accomplishment when you start getting good is just awesome.

Prob best to get a really old, big wide board. Old so you don't stress about dinging (bashing) it, big, because the size will help float you easily and paddle better and wide because the width will make the board more stable and more forgiving for a beginner.

At this stage it doesn't matter if you've got a single fin, twin fin or thruster (3 fins) or any other permutation, just get in the water. If you've got a pool practice paddling, it sounds easy but learning to position yourself correctly on the board is a key skill. Also the paddling will help you develop the muscles necessary to make your experience a bit better. A mistake beginners make is to either position themselves too far back on the board when paddling which places all the weight on the back of the board and drags a helluva lot. If you place too far forward it sinks and the nose drops in the water, result wipeout.

Watch a couple of surfing vids and watch how the pro's paddle and where they position themselves on the board. Surfing is an exercise in trial and error. When you feel comfy and balanced on the board, head to the sea.

It's a good idea to start out where you can stand in the water, prob about waist deep. Lie down on the board and try to paddle and catch the whitewater. Don't try to stand up straight away, just go with the water and get some idea on how the board moves. After doing this for a while you might  be ready to try to stand up. Always remember never turn your back on mother ocean for the simple reason that if you aren't looking a wave can give you a smack and under you go, or alternatively someone else might be surfing the wave and dependant on how local your spot is or crowded, you could get given the beat down for messing someones wave up or even dinging their board.

Surfing like skating works on a natural (left foot forward) or goofy (right foot forward) basis. Kick a soccer ball, if your natural inclination is to kick with your left foot, chances are you are natural and vice versa if you kick it with the right foot. Once you've determined this when you catch the whitewater, at 90 deg angle you'll know which foot to put first.

Once you start moving put both hands on the rails of the board and push down, while bringing your left (or right) foot up. It does take a while to feel comfy doing this, so try it on your bed push down with both hands, bring the leading foot up first and then the rear foot, release your hands while bringing the leading foot up. It's difficult to describe so watch some surfing dvd's to watch how the pro's get up.

If you've made it this far you will probably stand up and fall down a lot. Don't be discouraged, it takes time. After a while you will be able to stand up and ride the wave to the beach. Don't try to turn the board at all until you're comfortable with riding it straight. When this stage is complete you may want to head out into deeper water and catch unbroken waves. Always think that in order to catch a wave your paddling speed needs to match the speed of the wave. This is just a general rule of thumb, but does not apply in to all waves or breaks. Some waves really jack up quickly and you may not need to paddle at all, while others require some hard graft.

Sometimes, you need to paddle away from the crest of the wave, sometimes just straight on and other times towards the crest of the wave. That sort of wave judgement really comes with experience and time. As I said, it is an exercise in trial and error. Watch the waves, watch how other people take off on them, how they paddle to catch the waves and take your cues from them.

As you probably would've gathered so far, there are no secrets or tricks. I should qualify that statement, there are tricks and secrets, but only once you've learned the basics do the tricks and secrets help. There is no easy way out of the trial and error part, although a surf school certainly gives you a jump in the right direction.

Try to go to an area that doesn't have a helluva lot of people as you won't feel too self conscious about messing up a lot, which you may very well do. If people give you stick and call you a kook or other interesting names, just remember they started in exactly the same place you are.

Most important is not to give up, the feeling you get from surfing is an unbelievable one. Hope this brief diatribe helps.

keep it real.