surfing in london!!!

[french chick]

Hi guys!!

am a complete surfing begginer, will be surfin my way down the coast of France and Portugal later this summer. i only have two weeks, so want to spend maximum time surfing rather than learning to paddle, duckdive, etc....does anyone have any advice on what i can do to train and get ready here in london???have considered bringing my board to the local pool to practise paddling, but somehow, that didn't go down too well!!!

cheers!!!

[jonny]

The two key skills for surfing are paddling power and more paddling power.

Get your self down to the local pool adn just swim like eric the eel.
I'd suggest alternatin fast sprints for a length with endurance swimming.

[french chick]

Cheers for that....Do you know if there is anything else you can do to improve balance, cos that's pretty important too no???

[Phil]

indo boards are good you can buy one or make your own for £20

heres a good site that shows you how to make one

http://www.xshelton.com/users/kathy/balance_board/

[jonny]

Cheers for that....Do you know if there is anything else you can do to improve balance, cos that's pretty important too no???

you are right - it is, but that will come naturally once you get used to the feeling of being on a surfboard, and understanding how waves work etc.

The best preparation you do without a shadow of a doubt is to build up your fitness and upper body strength so you have huge reserves of paddling power.

Regardless of what anyone says (and I've bene surfing long enough to know!) the number one way of getting better at surfing is to surf. Sounds daft but it's true.

Picture this - you get o France, perfect 2-3foot waves, the sun is shining, and you take you lovely new, freshly waxed board in the sea. 20 mins later you are absoutely knackered because your body is not used to the physical demands. What use is good balance if you're sitting on the beach exhausted?

OR - you can work on your fitness and strength now so when you get in the sea, you have hours and hour of energy stored away to actually get the hang of surfing, get your balance right, get used to the feeling of a wave etc etc.

[french chick]

Thanks for all the advice, have already been going crazy at the gym, just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything else i could do to train.....I like the balance board idea, will have to try that one!!!

Cheers!!