Learn how to surf

Learning how to surf requires time, patience, a lot of practice and love for the waves. As long as you are confident and determined, you will overcome the frustration and the strain that comes along with the process of learning.

The board has to match your experience in surfing or your lack for experience for that matter. A surf shop has a multitude of possibilities, a variety of surfboard made for beginners; you could refer to the sales person that can recommend a board according to your height and weight.

After having chosen your surfboard you will have to practice standing on it but not in the water, yet. At first you will feel like losing balance and you will wobble. The secret is to keep calm and make as little movement as possible. When you are ready to sit up, spread you palms, placing them on the sides of the board, beside your shoulders. Push your body up and immediately pull your legs under you and be careful to place them on the stringer to keep your body centered on the board. Once you have done this you need to keep yourself low, with your hands a little higher than your waist. And remember to always look up, in from of you and never down at your feet, because otherwise you will surely fall, losing balance. It is advisable to practice this out of water, with the board on the floor or in the sand. The quieter you are when you jump up on the board, the better you will be able to control the board in the water.

In the water, the nose of the surfboard could sink a little. When that happens, it means that you need to move your chin slightly back. This is called pearling. The spot where you keep your chin should always be the same to maintain balance. On the other hand, if there is too weight on the back the board will cork, which will impede you from catching a wave. A common mistake among beginners can be corrected by moving up on the board until it regains its balance on the water. When you paddle, you should not do it with your both arms at the same time because it slows down the board exactly when you need speed more. You need to move them alternatively, giving you constant speed and increasing the chances to catch a wave.

All these should be practice for hour and hours before getting into the water. Once you are into the water you need to practice even more and have someone experienced criticize you constantly to improve and correct your moves. It is unlikely to learn how to surf all by yourself. A surfing school can do the trick easily. In the unfortunate event when you cannot afford it, you need to have somebody else guide you, with whom to practice, even if he is not that experienced. You can learn from each other’s mistakes.

Safety is always first when in the water. Believe it or not, the second most important rule to follow will be the respect you will give the other surfers. These two principles are relative and will always complement each other. You need to avoid collision with the other surfers or swimmers in the water. Therefore you should keep a safe distance, wear a leash-especially beginners, never push the fin first in the water – it makes the board go in opposite direction; after falling off the board stay a little longer than necessary under water, immediately look for the board and don’t rely on the leash to bring it back – imagine that you don’t have the leash in the first place so that you don’t have problems when you don’t use it; the surfer that is closest to the wave has the right to go in and you need to respect that and quit. Always make eye contact with the surfers close to you that want to catch the same wave as you so that they know you intentions and directions.