How to Surf

How to Surf? This is a question more and more people seem to be asking themselves each year. Each year more people just like you are looking for the secrets on how to surf.

Well don't worry, there's no secret. Everything you'll need to begin learning is all here for you.

Are you ready to uncover those "secrets"?

Great!

Practice makes Perfect

Well before you paddle out there are just a few things you need to do to fully prepare yourself. Don't worry, your almost ready to dive in and get a little wet, but first you will want to practice a few simple things either in your home or on the beach.

Find a comfortable place with enough room to lay your board down and still have some room around the edges. You are going to learn proper board positioning and practice popping up before you paddle out to make your first surfing experience as enjoyable as possible.

The beach is an ideal location for this as you can practice right before you go out and the sand allows your fins to sink in which makes the board more stable.

Although if you're not comfortable practicing this out in public, you can easily do this in your home or backyard. If you chose to do it inside I would just suggest placing a pillow or towel under your board in front of the fins so all your weight isn't resting on their tips.

Once you have your board laid out fins down, lay down with your feet on the same end of the board as the fins. You want to center yourself as well as possible. A good rule of thumb is to have your head around the front logo of the board but it will be much easier to find the ideal position when your out on the water. For now just try to get close.

If you've ever done any board riding sport you'll know your natural stance, regular or goofy. If you don't know your natural stance or even what regular and goofy are it's okay. There's a simple test to see which style you are most likely going to prefer when learning how to surf:

Stand straight up with both feet square under your shoulders. Then have someone lightly push your chest until you move back. Now whichever foot you catch yourself with is going to be the foot that you will put forward when you are surfing.

Left foot forward is normal and Right foot forward is goofy. If your goofy, relax, it's just a saying and some of the world's best surfer's are goofy, Rob Machado and Tanner Gudauskas both are.

Now you're going to practice popping up. To pop up, start with your arms on the edges of the boards as if you were going to do a pushup. Then straighten your arms while you bring your feet under your body into alignment with the board and a little wider than shoulder width apart. Then stand up.

This may take a little practice but if you can get this down smoothly before you try it in the water it will really help you. As you practice more, work on getting this as quick and fluent as possible.

Let's go Surfing!

The first thing you should do when you get to the beach is check the surf and conditions to find an ideal spot for you to paddle out.

The easiest ways to get out are going to be to either ride a rip current out or wait for a lull between the sets. If you choose to ride a rip current out just remember to paddle parallel to the beach once you're out far enough to get out of the rip. And you're going to want to get out just a little farther offshore than the waves are breaking so that you can comfortably wait to pick the off the waves you feel comfortable riding.

Once you've decided when and where to paddle out. Throw on that leash and hop on your board. Depending on the location you may need to walk your board out a little prior to paddling out.

Once you're out, the easiest way to paddle is going to be to position yourself in the center of the board and use your arms as if you were freestyle swimming, one after the other. Keep your hands and fingers lose while trying to keep a smooth rhythm and not rock the board from side to side. If you feel like you're not going anywhere, you can move up and down the board's length to find the sweet spot where the board is floating smoothly on top of the water.

Sometimes when your paddling out you may have to go through or around some oncoming waves. Don't worry. There are three very easy to learn options of how you can avoid getting wiped out if you have to face a wave head on.

Let me reiterate this, you need to face the waves head on! One common mistake for people just learning how to surf is that they will leave their board parallel to the beach and watch the waves coming in. In very small surf you may be fine but DONT make this a habit when learning how to surf. If you get your boards sideways in an oncoming wave it won't be pretty.

First option: If it's a small wave you can push the board under the wave and raise your body as if you were doing a pushup. This is a very effective way for easily dealing with waves that are about arm's length or smaller.

Second option: Now if the wave is too big for you to feel comfortable with the first option you can do what is called a turtle. Turtle's are most effective with longer boards. To Turtle simply roll the board so that you are under the water facing up and either move a little farther forward than you would be paddling or pull more heavily on the front end as the wave rolls over you. Make sure you have a firm grip on both rails, especially in larger surf.

Third option: Your third option is the Duck Dive. This option works easiest with smaller boards, but if you've got the strength and technique I've seen it pulled off on larger boards.

To Duck Dive push the nose of the board into the wave and follow the board in with your upper body. You then use your knee to push down on the back end once you are under the wave to pull the nose back up and safely exit the back of the wave. The Duck Dive is probably the most tricky to learn of the three, but once you learn it is definitely one of the most valuable ways of getting through waves.

So you've made it through the waves and are lying on calm waters. Now grab the rails of the board, pull the board under you, and sit on the board with one leg hanging off each side. You want to find a spot on the board where you can sit comfortably by moving forwards and backwards along the board until you find the spot that works best for you.

Once you're comfortable take a moment to just exhale from the paddle out and take in the beauty of the ocean. You've made it out and now you're free to relax and watch the waves roll in until you're ready to give it a try.

It's best to take a moment or two to watch the waves coming in to get familiar with the area and conditions especially at new locations before paddling for that first wave, but sometimes the adrenaline will grab you and you just gotta go for it.

When that moment hits you, lay back on the board and turn the nose of the board towards shore and paddle when the wave you want to go for is still a couple feet away. This will give you time to build up some speed before the wave just rolls right under you.

When the wave reaches you, if you've built up enough speed the wave will catch you. I've heard the feeling described many different ways but believe me when you've caught it, you will know. At this point is when all your practice popping up will come back and reward you. Just do exactly as you would as if you were in the sand or at your house, only this time make extra sure your well balanced over the board as soon as possible.

YOUR SURFING!!! Relax and enjoy your first ride.

Hopefully this is the first of many great memories.

Now if your first ride wasn't as relaxing or as natural as I've made this seem. Don't worry, you're not alone...

I'll be honest I've fallen many times and I'm sure there are still many to come, but I've just learned to love the whole experience of surfing. Don't pressure yourself to learn everything about how to surf in one day, or three rides, or whatever.

Just enjoy learning how to surf in this beautiful world around us and it will come with practice and patience.

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