Surfing Waves

Body surfing teams from all over Australia battled it out in tag team events, tricks events and individual heats in Whomp Off Australia. The 2-4’ near perfect offshore conditions produced something to remember, with barrels and 100m+ rides that would blow your mind.

http://www.coastalwatch.com/surfing/22041/next-level-body-surfing-is-here

I enjoy this (at a very low level) with my kids on warm water vacations. Here's good advice from OMS and DTC.

https://surfing-waves.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=26207&hilit=body+surfing

Bodysurfing is fun. I hardly ever do it anymore. Long ago it made surfing a whole lot better because there were no leashes and even when there were leashes if yours came off or broke then bodysurfing saved a lot of time and effort. I have had several waves that I fell on and continued on bodysurfing and even a couple where the board came along on the wave and I got to it and stood and rode the board again for the rest of the wave. Not to mention several waves where I bodysurfed in to get my board and caught up with it while bodysurfing then stood back up and finished the wave surfing my board ahh the memories.... I am so old and feeble now

I noticed that when the nose of the board gets underwater and can't be freed I can let go of the board and just body surf. Works great with a wavestorm since it's so buoyant it'll follow me along really well! Of course only in small surf when I don't need to worry about getting pitched and pounded

"Next level" ? Sorry to insert my local pride, but Bodysurfers in Hawaii are going well beyond what i saw in the video. Youtube "point panics bodysurfing", it a spot reserved ONLY for bodysurfers, not even bodyboards allowed.

Sad thing is some of our newbie/beginners members have to UN-LEARN that move for their take off.

Long before anyone was doing airs surfing I was doing them bodysurfing with a sideways 360 rotation ( not a somersault or a spin) But that somersault maneuver is cool. I don't think I have ever seen that one before.

The more I think about it the more I want to try that maneuver but I am so out of shape now. It seems so simple but there must be a certain specific technique to it. I used to do a flip and kind of tuck into the lip of a big closeout wave and this made me come out on the back of the wave going over the falls, but I bet with some slight change in how and where it was done I could continue going forward. Looks like maybe as simple as having your fins right on the lip as it pitches forward or just do it at a steep place and don't penetrate the water much. The freedom of no board is really a great thing.

I can see myself messing up and have the fins going over my back. Can anyone say "Underwater Scorpion" ?