Choosing Your First Surfboard
Nothing is more important to the beginning surfer than having the right board. Those thin, narrow rockets the stars are riding sure look exciting, but they are a disaster for surfers learning initial techniques. Therefore, keep these tips in mind when choosing your first surfboard.Go Cheap
While learning to surf, you're going to ding and scratch a board if you really put it to use, so don't spend too much cash. A $400 surf board will ding as easy as a $100 surfboard. It's not about looks, so ignore minor yellowing and small dings.However, dings that show foam should be avoided. As a beginner, you're going to beat the heck out of your surfboard, so pay the least amount of cash possible.
Go Big and Thick
All the cool girls and guys have small, narrow surfboards, right? So what! You're not cool yet. Get a board that will give flotation and allow for easy paddling.A good average size board for a beginning surfer would be around 7 feet long and 19-21 inches wide and at least 2-3 inches thick. This all depends on your size, so be sure you can comfortably carry and wield the surf board in the water. Just make sure your surfboard stands at least a foot taller than you.
Generally, a 120 pound surfer should look for a 6 feet 10 inch board while a 140 pounder might look towards a 7 feet 2 inch board. At 170 pounds, try to go above 7 feet 6 inches.
Don't Go Chasing Tail
Don't worry about the tail shape or number of fins on your surfboard. These parts of a surf board shouldn't matter. For the first 3-6 months, you really shouldn't worry about turning or doing maneuvers any way, so whether your board is a swallow tail or a pintail or even if your surfboard only has one fin is really pointless.For the record, 3-fin boards are the easiest to turn and the most functional fin set up for the advanced and intermediate surfer.
Final thoughts...
Several companies make soft-tops that consist of a bodyboard-like material, and the fins are flexible to help prevent injuries while learning your craft. This is a good way to get the kids up and riding without a ride to the emergency room.
These are the most basic rules to choosing your first surfboard. It doesn't matter if you buy a board from a friend, a local surf shop, or from the Internet; just find a big, cheap board that you can carry to the beach go get stoked and learn to surf.Choosing the Right Surf Spot
Okay, you've got a big, thick used board to start, now where should you go to ride it?On many occasions, I have encountered new surfers who are frustrated. They say they can't get a wave from the crowd, or the other surfers are yelling at them. However, those are the lucky ones. Others get dinged boards or dinged bodies because they aren't familiar with proper escape procedures when a loose board is bearing down on them.
Beginning Surfers Need Mushy Waves
The bottom line is that inexperienced surfers should not pick the most critical surf spot in town to practice their art. Instead, they should seek out the opposite. An easy, rolling wave with deep water is very helpful since a reef will only slow down the learning process and cause possible injuries. If you live on the East Coast of the U.S., finding a mushy wave is pretty easy, but other areas may warrant you to check weather forecasts to be sure that conditions won't change too quickly. There is absolutely no shame in learning to surf in small, unpopular waves. In fact, others will be thankful!Beginning Surfers Need Space
Get away from the crowd! Crowds suck, everyone knows that, and nothing can get in the way of the learning process more than a bunch of wave hogs. You'll be one yourself soon enough, but first you need some space. Find somewhere you can catch different kinds of waves and really practice your technique without getting in the way of the more experienced surfers.Beginning Surfers Need a Friend
Get a mentor! This sounds a bit serious, so don't actually call him or her your "mentor." What I mean is find someone who is better than you to talk to about surfing or to watch while you are in the water. There are some things you can only learn "in the field." This idea will follow you throughout all levels of your surfing life. As an example, I thought I was at my peak until I went to Hawaii and saw guys doing things I had never dreamed of. This pushed me to the next level. There is always another level. In summary, get yourself an old, thick board and go to an uncrowded, mushy spot. Watch and talk to good surfers, and watch videos (all levels). In my opinion, the best non-surfing activity is to watch surf videos. That subliminal power is very persuasive. You won't even realize you're learning.Paddling Out for the First Time
Your thick, old board is under your arm and you've chosen a mushy, unpopulated spot for a surf. Time to paddle out! Paddling sounds so simple. However, in surfing situations, you are also balancing your body on moving water while being knocked about by breaking waves. So remember to start small and go out when there are little to no waves coming in.Your first step is to walk your board out until you are in waist-to-chest deep water. Lay your body on the deck of your board, being careful to keep your weight centered on the middle of the board. The natural tendency is to lean back towards the tail of the board, but this causes the nose to rise and create resistance when you're trying to get moving.
Instead, keep your chest just above the center point of the board. Once you feel stable, lean forward and let your nose and tail level out. Now you're ready to get moving! Alternately paddle your arms with cupped hands. The more resistance you feel, the faster you'll go. As you hit bumpy water or "chop", lift your chest slightly and lessen your weight on the board so the nose and rails don't go under.
Remember that you will be balancing your right and left sides, head, and legs all while you paddle your board out to the lineup.How to Catch a Wave
Now that you've paddled out and ducked under the breaking waves, it's time to get yourself one.
Again, be sure you are picking a small, mushy surf spot to get your initial experience.
Once you've made it to the lineup, sit up and straddle your board with your butt situated just below the center-point of your board, so that you can easily swing the nose left or right.
Pick a wave that has not broken, and be sure to sit far enough out among the sloping swells, not where the waves are standing up straight.
As a wave approaches, turn the nose of your board toward the beach, lay down and begin paddling.
As you feel the wave lift you and your board, paddle as hard as you can and lean your weight forward. The natural tendency is to lean back to keep the nose from going under water, but that will only slow your momentum which in not conducive to wave-catching.
Lean forward but raise your chest so that your weight is just above the center of the board.
You should now be sliding down into the trough of the wave. The first phase of surfing will entail that you wait until you are in the flat water in front of the wave before you stand up. However, the ideal is to begin standing just as you feel the pull of the wave.
Now you are ready to work on standing.How to Stand on a Surfboard
Standing up on a surf board would be such an easy activity if the board were at rest on a solid surface. But place that board on a lurching surge of swirling water on which you must simultaneously leap from a prone position while weighting and unweighting left, right, front, and back just to keep from plunging into the watery abyss, and now you've got yourself a challenge. Learning how to stand is the step in learning to surf that separates the stoked from lame.But forget about the water for a moment...the place to start is the beach.
Lie on the sand (it's effective to lie on your surf board on the sand but only if you can remove your fins to avoid damage) and do a basic push-up quickly. Once your arms are at full extension, pull both knees toward your stomach and hop to your feet. Do this repeatedly to program your subconscious to be ready for what you will do in the water. Whether you stand with your right foot or left foot forward will establish your membership into a long standing rivalry between regular foot and goofy foot surfers.How to Stand on a Surfboard: Step 1
Paddle for a wave, and just as you feel the momentum of the surfboard flow faster than your paddling speed, you are ready to hop up on your surfboard.How to Stand on a Surfboard: Step 2
With your hands firmly grasping each rail, push up quickly.How to Stand on a Surfboard: Step 3
Simultaneously, extend your arms completely and pull your knees quickly up to your chest. Be sure to keep your weight centered with just a little slant forward (leaning back is a natural tendency, but this takes away from your forward momentum).How to Stand on a Surfboard: Step 4
Place your feet firmly on your board, one foot near the tail and one foot just above the midpoint of the board.How to Stand on a Surfboard: Step 5
Don't stand up completely erect. Keep a low center of gravity by crouching down and focusing your weight on the midpoint of the surfboard. Balancing on a surfboard is no different than balancing on a skateboard or even a bicycle. Just keep your arms out and your eyes looking forward (remember: your surf board will always follow your eyes and head, so focus on forward motion.How to Ride a Wave
Once you've learned how to paddle, how to catch a wave, and how to stand up on a surfboard, it's time to climb to the next level of waveriding. Although movies and cartoons depict surfers darting straight to the beach, arms outstretced like some spasmodic aircraft, the real aim of the beginning surfer is to angle along on the open face parallel with the beach , getting the longest possible ride with the greatest amount of speed.How to Ride a Wave: think before you paddle
Waveriding strategy begins before you even catch the wave. You should decide which direction (right or left)you will ride as you begin paddling for an oncoming wave. Understanding and predicting wave behavior will come with time (or maybe be contained in my next article), but how you approach your drop-in will depend on the type of wave your are riding.How to Ride a Wave: types of waves
If you are surfing a mushy, sloping wave, then you may want to start angling to the right of left even while you paddle. To clarify, a mushy wave does not dictate that you follow your drop to the bottom of the wave. Angling mid-face is a more effective use of the wave's energy and helps you to stay ahead of the whitewater.However, on a more critical wave (i.e. Hawaii or Australia), a surfer must follow his/her dropline to the flat trough of the wave in order to avoid digging a rail or nose and thus falling during the drop.
How to Ride a Wave: making your turn
The technique of turning the surf board is relatively simple. While keeping a low center of gravity (legs bent at the knees), lightly lean your weight in the direction you choose and towards the wave face (but always leep your body centered over the midpoint of your board). This will push the rail into the water and create a keep effect, cutting into the water and directing the board in the direction you choose.
Remember, wherever you direct your eyes, your board will follow, so look to the location on the wave you want to end up. Eye up a point down the line and stay focused on that point. Keep your body over the midpoint of your surf board and lean slightly on your front foot, and you are on your way.