Live 2 Surf

Beginning Surfing? Ways to help

Surfing is a fun and popular sport around the world. Unfortunately a lot of folks are too intimidated to even search out a school or instructor to even start this fantastic sport. Here's some tips that will help you get over that and get out there on the waves!


Choose a spot appropriate to your skill level. The place where you start surfing will influence your experience and learning curve. When you are first learning to surf, your main goal is to catch a wave and stand up on the board. You don't need a perfect wave to do that. In fact, a beach where the waves just close out (break all at once), when the waves are small, offers a great opportunity to practice catching and standing up. Since the waves are closing out, there won't be any other people surfing (unless there is another beginner, so keep your distance). After catching the wave, ride on your belly until it breaks, then, while you are riding the white water toward the beach, just stand up and try to balance. Once you've got the hang of that, you are reading to ride a wave that has a peeling break. The greater speed associated with a peeling wave will then allow you to learn to turn the board.




1. Avoid crowds. You need some experience before you can successfully catch waves without getting in the way of others.



2. Avoid rocky spots. When you're learning you might not have sufficient control to navigate around them, and getting smashed up against a rock is bad for you and your board.



3. Avoid big waves. Knee- to waist-high surf is right for beginners.



4. Slow, mushy surf at point breaks with sandy bottoms and small crowds are the best places to learn.


Once you get a feel for the basics of catching and riding waves, continue your learning at a "beach break" - a long straight beach with lots of different wave peaks, a sandy bottom and plenty of room.

Ask friends who surf to steer you to the best places in your area to learn.

Understand the surfing right-of-way before you get in the water. Beginners that get in the way of experienced surfers ruin the fun for both.
Surfing is an inherently dangerous activity that can result in serious injury or death.



We recommend that you seek proper training and equipment before attempting this activity.

Before learning any fancy skills on your board, first you need to catch a wave. With experience, you will be able to identify a wave on the horizon that is relatively easy to catch, then it is a case of paddling hard to match its speed. You will feel the wave carrying you forward, then stand on your board (‘pop-up’) and keep your balance! Usually you aim to ride the wave just ahead of the white water, the ‘curl’. Catching waves and getting to your feet are the fundamentals and can take considerable practice.

Once you feel you have mastered the basics, it may be time to try out a few moves like turning and carving. If you’re a beginner, you’re most likely using a longboard, which are great for tricks like ‘hang five’ – one foot at the front of the board with your toes just over the edge - or ‘hang ten’ / ‘nose riding’ – both feet at the front and all toes over the edge. Other board stances include ‘goofy foot’ – left foot at back of board or ‘hang heels’ – facing backward with your heels over the edge.


Probably the most common maneuver is the ‘cutback’ which is basically turning back towards the breaking part of the wave. To ‘fade’, aim toward the breaking part of the wave, then turn sharply and surf in the direction the wave is breaking towards. Try a ‘floater’ – where you ride on top of the breaking curl and the come down with it – or ‘off the lip’ – where you bank off the top of the wave. ‘Pumping’ is an up and down carving movement that helps build speed or you can ‘stall’ by shifting your weight to the tail of the board or putting a hand in the water to slow you down.

You need to watch more experienced surfers to pick up these moves and be prepared to wipeout (perhaps MANY times) on your first attempts. The best way to learn is through experience so get out there!


For more information about surfing or to find products, including your favourite surf brands at great prices, visit http://surfingstoreonline.info

Have you ever wanted to know what it was like to surf, but didn't have a beach near you? Now there is actually a way for you to do this. What you need, basically, is a cylinder and a board. You place the cylinder on the ground, put the board on the cylinder, and then get on the board and balance yourself in mid air. It sounds a little crazy, maybe even a little too simple, but there's actually a product available for this, and it's called an Indo Board. By standing on this board and balancing yourself in the air, you can learn to balance yourself just like you would need to do on a skate board or a surf board. You can use one of these indoor balance boards to improve your current skating, your current surfing, or to prepare to learn one or the other.


Balance Boards Offer Tons of New Tricks

However, people who have an indoor balance board are discovering that while it does enhance their skating and surfing, it's also a fun sport all on its own. There are many videos online that show people of all ages doing all kinds of tricks on their indoor board. From hanging ten, walking from one end to the other, to ollying, or popping the board up in the air and then landing on it - still balanced on the cylinder - there are many tricks that can be learned.

Improve Skating and Surfing Balance

The indoor balance board is great for everyone who wants to have some fun on a board, whether you already skate or surf, or if you just want to find out if you have what it takes to get started in those sports. With this board, you can now learn to balance a skate board or surf board without getting scraped up on pavement and without even getting wet. The indoor board can be mastered right in your own living room, and it's a lot of fun to play with even on those days when the surf is flat or when it's too rainy to skate.

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Discover more about surfing and the Indo Board and how it can help your balance!

If you are a water sports lover and want to try out something you have haven't done before, stand up paddle boarding is the best option for you.

The watersport involves standing on an extra large surfboard and directing it through a long paddle that is held by the hand. The game was initially started in 1960s but the modern incarnation of the sport came in 2002. The larger size of surfing board in comparison to the regular ones and an extra speed gained by paddling helps in getting through a lot more waves and facing more exhilarating turns.

The sport is actually targeted at the windsurfers who are used to stand up on a board and want to get out of water when the wind is down. If you are using the surfing paddle with an increased length, it would be extra buoyant and you will be able to catch long rides, no matter what the conditions are.


In case you are just a beginner who is not able to surf, stand up paddle board surfing is ideal for you. It is also a great exercise for legs and arms. The moment you get the balance and a hang of the sport, surfing canals and rivers will not be a difficult thing for you. Learning a sport is not difficult but you need to practice a lot to get mastery on it. Here are some tips that will help you to surf on a stand up paddle board:

• You should always get into your surfing gear, even if it is a dry suit for cold water or a wet suit for the ocean. Ensure that the gear is comfortable and provides you flexibility in moving.

• When you are buying a paddle, make sure that it gives enough space to stand with your feet apart comfortably.


• You can practice stand up paddle surfing by placing the board on the ground or sand. It is always better to practice this a few times before hitting the water. Once you get used to stand on the board, you are ready to enjoy the sport. The paddle should be placed on the board.

• The next step is placing the board in shallow water. Try to float and sit on the board for sometime to get used to be on water. Now, it's the time to push out onto the water.

• One should always climb on the board by pulling the chest up first and then moving a foot on the board. Then slowly move the other foot on the board and make sure it's shoulder length apart from the first foot.

• Start paddling the moment you stand on the board. Focus more on balance and good body posture. Then move slowly at the beginning and go at your own pace after sometime.


• If you will keep the steps in mind, you will soon be able to ride off the high tides and enjoy stand up paddle surfing.

Duck diving

Once you can ride broken waves with confidence you’re ready to venture further out to the lineup. But to get there you’ll have to get through bigger lines of whitewater, as well as unbroken waves, and to do this you need to learn how to duck-dive.

Duck-diving involves sinking your board underneath the oncoming wave, then popping up the far side. The zone of turbulence of a wave is usually only a couple of feet deep, so if you can get underneath it you won’t get dragged back the whole time. Here’s how you do it:
Paddle hard towards the wave, so you’ve got loads of forward momentum.

Just before the wave reaches you, grab the rails of the board under your chest, lift your bum in the air, and lean downwards on the board’s nose, straightening your arms as you do so. This will sink the nose of the board. Now bring one of your knees up under your body, position it in the middle of the board, and shove the board downwards and forwards underwater. Take a deep breath as you do this.
If you’ve duck-dived deep enough, you’ll sense the wave going past above you. Once it’s passed, your board’s buoyancy will lift you back to the surface.

Most intermediate surfers find duck-diving the hardest part of learning to surf, as it requires a lot of effort. If you find yourself struggling, try to build up your upper-body strength between surf trips by doing regular exercises (especially push-ups and stomach curls).
Intermediate surfer’s boards are hard to duck-dive because of their large volumes (thinner custom boards are much easier). Unfortunately you’re in a Catch-22 position because you need that volume to catch the waves.

Once you’ve mastered duck-diving using one knee, try bringing one leg up under your body and using your foot to push the tail of the board down. This method allows deeper penetration.

The magnificent Sunset Wave.

Sunset Beach does not often 'work' for the surfers and many a day it is hard to believe that this is one of the very few Really Big wave sites in the world. When Sunset is firing, usually in summer when the South- East blows, it produces unbelievable waves. Riding these on a BIG day is only for the skilled and the brave!

Cape Town Surfing.

Although Sunset Reef is the most famous for its size the jagered Cape Peninsula coastline from Kommetjie to Cape Point and then along False Bay to Muizenburg always have an excellent wave to offer for surfers and bodyboarders. The shape of the Peninsula means that regardless of wind direction there is always a beach with an on-shore. Long Beach Kommetjie, Outer Kom, Misty Cliffs, Washing Machine, Dunes and The Hoek is all close by. Diaz Beach, Kalk Bay and Llandudno fill in the days that Kommetjie itself is not working.

Surfing Conditions at the Cape Beach House.

The water color and clarity makes up for its temperature. It is only the brave and committed that surf the Cape without a full suit and then only in summer. To those who love to ride the waves, surfers and bodyboarders the Western Cape Peninsula has a very rich bounty to offer. Equipment and expert tuition is available up the road from the Beach House at Gary's Surfing Tours Cape Town. Continue to the tour to visit some of the local surfing beaches.

Surfboards are made to float on the water. They have a natural center of gravity. If you were to lay any surfboard in a swimming pool, it would come to rest the same way every time.
What you want to do when you lay on a surf board is to have the board remain in the same relation to the water as it was without your weight on it, just a bit lower in the water.
Mark The Balance Point
A good tip is to find this balance point is to lay on your board then make a mark right at your chin. This spot is best made with a bit of wax or a magic marker. It is a reference point that enables you to put your chin on the same spot every time, so the board will react to your weight the same way every time.
Pearling
If the board's nose digs into the water it is called pearling and you must move the location of "your chin" back. To adjust, just slide back an inch from the mark and make a mental note.
Corking
Too much weigh in the back and the board will cork. This is a common mistake amongst beginners. You cannot catch a wave if you are corking your board. Move up an inch at a time till the board lies in the water naturally. This will provide you with the maximum hull speed and minimum drag from the water displacement that you are causing with your weight.
Paddle With The Crawl Stroke
Do not paddle with both arms simultaneously because this will cause the board to speed up and slow down in the water and you will not be able to maintain constant hull speed through the water. Always paddle with the crawl stroke...one arm and then the other alternatively. This will provide you with a constant speed so you can catch that wave.
Sitting On The Board
Ok, so now we know how to lie on the board and paddle the board. Now it's time to learn how to sit on the board. The first time try this you may be quite wobbly. The key to doing this well is being calm, or trying to be still. The less movement that you make, the easier you will find it is to do this. All the other skills of surfing will improve as you learn to be "calm" while surfing.
Standing On The Board
Now it's time to learn how to stand up. This is something you have been doing all your life. Lie on your chest, your head up, looking ahead. Put your hands on the board beside your shoulders, palms down like you were going to do a push up. Push your upper body up and at the same time sweep your feet under you. Make sure your feet are laying on the stringer, the line down the middle of the board. This move keeps your weight centered along the stringer.
When you come up, remember to keep low. If you stand erect you will fall. Ass

Now it's time to learn how to stand up. This is something you have been doing all your life. Lie on your chest, your head up, looking ahead. Put your hands on the board beside your shoulders palms down like you were going to do a push up. Push your upper body up while at the same time you sweep your feet under you, laying them on the stringer, the line down the middle of the board, so your weight is centered along the stringer.
When you come up, remember to keep low. If you stand erect you will fall. Assume a position of a sumo wrestler. Press your feet shoulder width apart and "grip the board in your feet", opposite of the way you would press your thighs together on a horse. Have your hands a bit higher than your waist and just in view of your vision. Always look up! If you look at your feet, you will fall down. I promise!
Practice this for hours. Have someone watch you and have them critique your performance. Practice jumping up without making a sound on the floor. Calm and controlled is the smoothest way to approach this so practice doing it quietly. If you have a surfboard, lay it on a large bed or in the sand and do this exercise. This is a way for you to judge your ability to be contr

Ok, so now we know how to lie on the board and paddle the board. Now it's time to learn how to sit on the board. The first time try this you may be quite wobbly. The key to doing this well is being calm, or trying to be still. The less movement that you make the easier you will find it is to do this. All the other skills of surfing will improve as you learn to be "calm" while surfing.

Do not paddle with both arms simultaneously because this will cause the board to speed up and slow down in the water and you will not be able to maintain constant hull speed through the water.

Always paddle with the crawl stroke; one arm and then the other alternatively. This will provide you with a constant speed so you can catch that wave.

Basic Surfing Tip #1: Surfboards

Surfboards are made to float on the water. They have a natural center of gravity. If you were to lay any surfboard in a swimming pool, it would come to rest the same way every time. This is what we want to do when you lay on a surf board. That is to have the board remain in the same relation to the water as it was without your weight on it, just a bit lower in the water. A good tip is to find this balance point and lay on your board then make, a mark right at your chin. This is a spot is best made with a bit of wax or a magic marker. It is a reference point that enables you to put your chin on the same spot every time so the board will react to your weight the same way every time.

If the board's nose digs into the water it is called pearling and you must move the location of "your chin" back. To adjust, just slide back an inch from the mark and make a mental note.

Too much weight in the back and the board will cork the board. This is a common mistake amongst beginners. You cannot catch a wave if you are corking your board. Move up an inch at a time till the board lies in the water naturally. This will provide you with the maximum hull speed and minimum drag from the water displacement that you are causing with your weight.