Surfing Waves

i started surfing in the summer and i cudnt stand up, i took lessons andi now i how 2 stand but jst cant do it! in november i got a bic 7'4 and ive taken it out once im only 13 and cant get to ne surfing places easely the only places ive bin r fistral and lusty glase, has ne 1 got ne tips?

its not goin to happen over night and its not easy. what do you expect!!!

Get out there as often as you can.

ye tats wot i thought, i cant get out eva but go wen u can, if ur not aloud on the train say 2ya parents y u buy me a board n i cant go surf tats wot i did

dude try out an indo board if you can. i made one for like 15 bucks and i can notice how much it helps me in the water. good luck

i had the same problem and then i got into fitness workouts and as i got stronger it got easier and now i can do it everytime try building the muscles in your legs shoulders and arms

I've seen beginners have problems with standing. The most common mistake is that they pop up too far in back of the board because they are afraid to pearl. It is much easier to paddle with your board flat in the water rather than pointed upwards. Paddle flat and stand up in one jerk. Dont stay took far back on the board or it will sink on the back end. Dont be afraid to try new things that you think might help you. Also stand up when you are sure you have the wave. Many people stand before they actually catch it and miss it. Just practice and you'll get it.

Aloha!

I'm guessing that you're pretty much still riding whitewater at this point, so you're probably not far out of your depth where you're catching waves.

I agree with duhkine that a lot of beginners are way too far back on the board. The tail of your board acts as a brake. If you get further forward you will notice how much quicker you can paddle.

Once you get to your feet - STAY LOW! If you stay crouched down your centre of gravity is lower and you are less likely to fall. Put more weight on your front foot and you will stay with the wave.

At the end of the day if you do fall, what's the worst that will happen in those conditions? You'll probably get rolled a couple of times, then get up and paddle back out. It's not going to hurt you... unless you're dropping in on 20ft faces, and if you are at 13yrs old then a) you've got more balls than me and b) maybe you should think about something a little smaller to begin with!!

Surfing is not easy, but even when you're just starting out it's FUN! I know it's hard, but you need to get out there as often as you can (even if this is only twice a year!!) and practise.

Enjoy!!

Sinista

Yeh i c wot u mean but its actually standing up

Right,

Is it that you can't actually get to your feet or that you can't balance when you are getting up?

Let me know and I'll see what advice I can give!

Sinista

Well wen i first went surfin they sed 2 knee slide n that is what i have done, i can get to my knees so easely, but when it comes to pulling my left foot forward i jst cant do it! please help me

Forget the knee step, it just develops bad habits later most of the time. Just straighten your arms under you and arch your back up, and then like un arch it so your lower half gets raised up and your feet just kinda swing up under you. Or you could try the arch up, put your back foot in it's spot, and lift the middle of your body up like that and set your front foot in place. There's a video somewhere of it...

DeathFrog wrote:Forget the knee step

I totally agree - it gets you into a bad habit that's hard to get out of.

Ok thanks du u fink i shud do that in white water?

You should aim to catch waves before they have broken - you'll find it much easier to pop to your feet on an unbroken wave, it's a far smoother ride.

i went shortboarding today for the first time in a month, and i was freakingggggg slow. u just gotta keep up with it, eat healthy, stay fit and you'll be ok

Guest wrote:Well wen i first went surfin they sed 2 knee slide n that is what i have done, i can get to my knees so easely, but when it comes to pulling my left foot forward i jst cant do it! please help me

I began to comfortably popping up after about two weeks trying and not once in those two frustrating weeks I attempted to stand up by kneeling first. I always tried to stand up in one, smooth pop-up motion, likt the others have said. Once you get the hang of it, it's much easier and you don't have to break the bad habit of two-three steps of popping up.

Oh, and I practiced popping up on the whitewaah; I found it easier.

if i dont pay attention when surfing either, i screw up a lot. but if i just sit there and focus ill get it. i remember my first wave i was scared of going over the falls. i sat there for awhile and thought about it, and then watched the other guys out there catching waves. then i saw the perfect wave comeeeee and i paddled and i popped up andddd i caught it WOooooooT.

so when you're paddling for the wave, think before you do it[/quote]

surf patrol wrote:You should aim to catch waves before they have broken - you'll find it much easier to pop to your feet on an unbroken wave, it's a far smoother ride.

This is simple but crucially awesome advice.
Though if i may, I'd like to ask a question...

How can you tell if a wave is surfable, when you haven't seen the wave break yet? I went out in the water today, and tried to "get ahead" of the wave, but ended up on a flop. Advice?