Im a beginner surfer and well not really a surfer but...?

Question

i can ride whitewater quite well because i can touch the sand and ride unbroken waves when they rarely come close to shore. i wana go out into the unbroken SOOO bad. but i cant touch the bottom out there and find it hard to get enough power without physically pushing the board while standing in the water. can u help me with this problem?? ist dangerous to go out over my head? thanks in advance guyys!

Answer 1

it deppends what board your on a mini mall is best for beginners and it fine for catching unbroaken wawes so try using one of them

also change your psition on the board see if that helps any

and watch other surfers to pick ut the technique the main part of it is knowing what waves are best to katch and at what point you should set off

Answer 2

aside from telling you paddling out is tough when you are a beginner, and until you get over your fear of being out there, dont go----i'll let John F handle this.  

Answer 3

If you have to ask is it dangerous to go out in water over your head, you shouldn't be surfing!! Now, that doesn't mean that you should never surf, but you better master your ocean swimming skills before you try to surf.

Probably one of the reasons why you can't paddle well, is that you can't swim well. You need to be an excellent swimmer to surf. Right now there are probably hundreds of people surfing, who are poor swimmers, and who should be mastering ocean swimming skills first. There are just way too many dangerous people out there in the water.

Try this: Stop surfing for a while (because riding that inside beach break stuff really insn't surfing anyhow), and work on your swimming skills. You may have to go to a pool and you may even have to take lessons. If you can't swim in water over your head, you just shouldn't be surfing. One mishap with  heavy rip current and you could be in big trouble. When you get swimming under control, work on swimming in the ocean. Swim, body surf and boogie board for a while, until you feel confident. Then get back on your surf board. No doubt that after all that swimming, your paddling will have improved, and your confidence in catching waves will increase.

I hope I don't sound too discouraging, but I am really concerned with the number of people who are taking up surfing who aren't competent swimmers. People who are poor swimmers pose a hazard to themselves and other surfers. They ferquently have to be rescued by lifeguards or other surfers or bystanders, and they are cause for restrictive surfing rules in many towns. Learn to surf, and have great fun doing it. But remember the ocean is very powerful and it demands respect.

Answer 4

buy a mini mal surfboard they are the big boards for begginers and are really good and need little effort to get onto a wave.

if you can swin then it should be ok just go out bit by bit

Answer 5

PRACTISE PRACTISE PRACTISE!!! Always the key.

So your problem is being afraid off not being able to stand ONCE you get out back and catching the wave once you're there.

Everybody started riding white water but whether you can stand or not should be irrelevant. You should be paddling onto white water anyway. This will help greatly with you arm strength and paddling balance. Once you can do that, catching a wave out back is purely about reading the waves correctly (so that you're in the correct spot to take off) and gaining enough speed to match the wave.

Good luck and keep practising. The first ride you have on the face of a wave is awesome (especially if its clean)!!!! TRUST!!

By the way, when you go out back it may feel like you're in danger nut you'd have to be surfing very big wave to really be in danger. Just watch out for other surfers, always paddle out of their way (which will probably mean into white water). LEARN TO DUCK DIVE (for smaller boards) OR MORE LIKELY FOR YOU (bigger boards) TURTLE ROLL - will greatly help you get out back.

Cheers.

Answer 6

The only cure for bad paddling is more paddling.  You may want to play around with where you postion yourself on your board, this will make a big difference in the glide of your board.  Once you figure out where you paddle best from make sure you remember where it is, it is usually about where your chin is above your logo, but it may be off some.  

If you can swim well you should be fine going in over your head.  However if you are not a good swimmer you should never be surfing from a point where you cannot swim in by yourself if you need to.  If you're really worried wear a leash, that way you'll always have a flotation device nearby.  

When you are looking to paddle out to where the waves are breaking look for two things:  First, if you happen to live where you get ground swell your waves will come in sets, usually 3-5 waves per set.  Wait for a lull in between sets and then paddle out.  Second, look for areas where it appears that the waves are either not breaking or are kind of  crumbling.  This indicates a rip current.  For swimmers rip currents present a real hazard, for surfers they work like a moving sidewalk to help you get out.  Just ride it out and paddle sideways to get out of it when you reach the lineup.

Answer 7

well i would first do what John F said. then i would get a mini-mal. its a board on the longer side but they dont take much effort to paddle and they are good for beginner / intermediate surfers. but anyway, you have to be able to paddle your board right and definetly be able to swim before you get out past head deep water. i hope this helps. have fun surfing!

Answer 8

It sounds like you just need to practice your paddling. On a small day paddle out past the waves are breaking and just paddle around.

The Surfboard Man

http://www.thesurfboardman.com/

Answer 9

ok paddeling is basically everything in surfing. its half the job. take it slow practice at home thats what i do . do arm exercises. it gets easier the more you do it and as far as the boards go get a funboard there supose to be easy for beginners. When you paddle out dont go out to far if your scared yet wait a little and work your way out if u rush yourself then it could lead to problems so know whats right

Answer 10

First I would recommend getting into shape because surfing uses very specific muscles you may not be using now.

You need to do push-ups and bench presses to build your chest muscles, (pecs), so you can push yourself up to stand.

Next you need to do pull-ups or lat pull-downs to work the muscles along your sides, (lats), that you will use to paddle.

A little running will build your cardio and legs muscles.

Then I would take a couple of lessons to get the basics down.

After that it's just going to take time in the water.

I always recommend that beginners get a longboard, (at least 9' long), as these are the easiest to catch waves with and balance on to stand up.

And finally this site has a great article called 'Learn How to Surf in One Day' that I think is terrific:

http://www.BeachTrading.com

Good luck and have fun!!  :-)

Answer 11

yeah mate no worriez just start paddlin earlyer b4 u start to catch the wave dont worry abt the water deepth just sit in the line up and a bit closer to sure.. theres ppl out there just like u so dont worry abt it as long as ur givin it a go its all good to us surfers enjoy ur self and take it easy :)