HELP!!! Duck diving

[Coolryanrocks]

Hi. I'm 11 years old 112 pounds and I'm 5-7. I surf a 6-6 board and I surf fine but duck diving I get munched. I hate to turtle roll please help

[Rickyroughneck]

:x Hi. I'm 11 years old 112 pounds and I'm 5-7. I surf a 6-6 board and I surf fine but duck diving I get munched. I hate to turtle roll please help

The board is too big for you; if you surf well then look at getting something 5'10" or less.

[IB_Surfer]

You are learning on a big board for your size, which is a great idea to learn the basic but not so great when duckdiving.

For now just do the best you can, dig in the nose, then press the tail down with your foot when the wave hits, the basics. The board won't go that far under, big boards don't, but enough that you can still be on the board when after the wave hits so you can keep paddling.

If you are looking for additional tips on just the mechanics of duckdiving look it up on youtube, they some some cool videos on it.

Basics: Dive in the board before the wave hits with your hands, push it farther down with your foot as it hits, kick with your feet to get in deeper, then pull up to use the buoyancy of the board to propell you up and behind the wave. Lastly, the purpose of duckdiving is to get back on the board and paddle, so concentrate on paddly right after you finish the duckdive.

Hope that helps.

[cornishsurfer]

when i duck dive i always slide off my board because i can't submerge it.. do i have the same problem as Coolryanrocks? im 14 years old, 100 pounds and i'm 5'4'' & i ride a 6'4''.

[IB_Surfer]

when i duck dive i always slide off my board because i can't submerge it.. do i have the same problem as Coolryanrocks? im 14 years old, 100 pounds and i'm 5'4'' & i ride a 6'4''.

Yes, but you should not think of submerging a board that big, place your hands a little farther up, that way the nose goes under for sure. Remember, nose first, tail second with your foot, let the wave hit and roll over you, better than bailing your board or falling off.

[drowningbitbybit]

Basics: Dive in the board before the wave hits with your hands, push it farther down with your foot as it hits, kick with your feet to get in deeper, then pull up to use the buoyancy of the board to propell you up and behind the wave.

Not saying you're wrong, merely that I do it differently (if I'm understanding your description properly)... my foot stays on the back of the board, and then I pivot the board forward around that foot, so my foot stays on the board until its on the way back up again - so I dont kick with my feet (except possibly on the way back up) and Im very close to my board as I surface and can paddle immediately.

But whatever works, works

[Lodato]

Definitely going to need a smaller board. As long as you are able to surf down the line consistently, you are good enough to switch to the smaller board.

Once you get a board that you can actually submerge underwater:
1. Do a pushup on the front of your board, trying to get the board as deep as possible.
2. Right when you think the front of the board is about as deep as you can get it, and the board is about to start floating up, you step with one foot on the very back pad, and keep the other foot high in the air to help push you deeper under water.
3. It is critical you step on the back of your board and get it deeper than the nose BEFORE the board starts to float back up to the surface. The moment the board reaches neutral buoyancy and is pointed slightly nose-up, lay on the board, and hold the nose, guiding it to the surface and out the back of the wave.

If you do this properly, you'll time the maximum depth of your dive with the moment the board goes flat, holding you at your deepest point for the maximum amount of time, then floating out the back of the wave. If you don't get the back of the board deeper than the front, your board will float backwards out of the water, shooting you feet first in the wrong direction.

It takes some practice. Get yourself a board that you can push at least a foot underwater. With some practice, you'll get it 2ft in no time.

[Wave4Surf]

I've got a duckdive problem as well. Last year (autumn) I went to surf in Biarritz (Fr). At one of the evenings we went out surfing. The waves were quite awsome, but once a wave almost twice as high as the others came through, breaking just in front of me. I threw away my board and just dived through it. It took me some time to get back to the surface, which was a scary moment for me. My brother told me to duckdive when such a wave hits again. As he does this quite well, I duckdived through an equal next wave. I did it wrong, lost my board under water, and felt like a coin in a washing machine. This time it took even longer before I reached the surface...

When our 'winter-break' is over I'll practise it a lot, hoping something like that won't happen again.

[Ashsurf]

The washing machine experience is all part of surfing! Get used to it.. it's gonna happen a lot!

[jaffa1949]

I've got a duckdive problem as well. Last year (autumn) I went to surf in Biarritz (Fr). At one of the evenings we went out surfing. The waves were quite awsome, but once a wave almost twice as high as the others came through, breaking just in front of me. I threw away my board and just dived through it. It took me some time to get back to the surface, which was a scary moment for me. My brother told me to duckdive when such a wave hits again. As he does this quite well, I duckdived through an equal next wave. I did it wrong, lost my board under water, and felt like a coin in a washing machine. This time it took even longer before I reached the surface...

When our 'winter-break' is over I'll practise it a lot, hoping something like that won't happen again.

You will get washing machined, and you will have to learn to duck dive also learn to turtle roll although this is not as effective as duck diving on a short board, but chucking your board away is going to earn you some grief and abuse at almost any beach, as if is a major danger to everyone else.
If you try to duckdive and fail that's no problem because anyone can get overpowered, but as you go under the wave be aware where everyone else is around you, saves all sorts of problems.

[Wave4Surf]

You will get washing machined, and you will have to learn to duck dive also learn to turtle roll although this is not as effective as duck diving on a short board,

How can you find the surface again when you got washing machined?

but chucking your board away is going to earn you some grief and abuse at almost any beach, as if is a major danger to everyone else.

You're totally right with that, of course. And btw, it takes too much time to first look around if nobody is too close

[esonscar]

:x Hi. I'm 11 years old 112 pounds and I'm 5-7. I surf a 6-6 board and I surf fine but duck diving I get munched. I hate to turtle roll please help

Post a Vid and we will help you

[surf doc]

How can you find the surface again when you got washing machined?

I find that I can anticipate when I'm going to be in trouble. You see an approaching set and you're caught inside, you look up and see the lip bearing down on you and you know you're going to get tossed. At this point, this is what I do:

1. Take several rapid deep breaths, and hold the last one at maximal lung capacity. Do not blow out while under water. Air in your lungs will keep you boyant and of course provide oxygen underwater.
2. If you're on a shortboard, duck as deep as possible and hold the board tight against your body. Anticipate the wave trying to wrench it out of your hands as this surely will be the case. Keep your face turned to the side and protected from the board in the event is does get wrenched out.
3. Hold onto the board and hold your breath as you get tossed. I usually can make minor balance adjustments underwater to keep myself centered over the board. I find it helpful to count slowly in my head: 1 mississipi, 2 mississipi etc. This helpes me relax in 2 ways. First off I know how long I can hold my breath at maximal exertion and I find that I never even come close to approaching that number. Second, it gives me something to think about other than panicking.
4. If you're still clutching the board, you'll surface very quickly, much faster than if you ditch and dive. If its a macker of a wave and you lose the board, I've found that you still surface just as fast if you relax than if you struggle to fight to the surface. Accept this fact and fight the urge to claw helplessly through foam. Wait until things settle out and swim gently to the surface.

I hope this helps. I don't think there's any one correct way of handling a beat down, this is just what works for me.

[inahbeeler]

I want to learn duck diving also.

[jaffa1949]

I want to learn duck diving also.

Go on have a quack at it

[[surfthosewaves]]

Hello there again chummies, SOO today i bought that second hand CLAYTON board i was talking about. The dimensions are 6.5 height, 18.5 width, 2.2 thickness. I havent taken her out for a tester yet, but am SOO EXCITED. unfortunately the conditions are still choppy and horrible. I need a way to get over those waves, and i wanna be prepared for tomorrow. For those who need a reminder, I am 12 girl, 166 cm tall, and 50 kgs- also not very strong. I have read up a lot about this, and before , when i was using the 6.8 board, i attempted turtle rolling. Thats right, ATTEMPTED. It is absolutely horrible, and honestly I would rather just be knocked over by the wave. I practiced for about 2 weeks but everytime the wave would just knock me all over the place and all sorts of things would go wrong. So, now that i have a slightly shorter and lighter board, do you think it will be possible for me to duckdive?
Please could you also run through the steps of the method you use for duck diving.

[Seyrnahd]

try shifting your weight towards the nose more. it is sometimes helpful to either curl yourself up to the nose or to try the scuba dive method if the board is on the large side vs your own strength/weight.

Scuba method = almost lift all your legs up kinda like doing a handstand except your knees are bent. This will help you make more use of your light frame. Just be carefull it is a technique that is not for everyone. But i have seen sum one duck a solid 10fter using it

[Coolryanrocks]

Hey guys sorry for the late update,
I got a 5"8 board I can duck dive way easier and I can do airs now. I have also pulled off a 36 thanks for the replies guys

[Coolryanrocks]

I meant 360 not 36

[Coolryanrocks]

*update*. Hey guys sorry for the late update but I got a 5"8 board now. I can also do airs and I have pulled off a 360 Thanks for the replies guys!