Surfing is a challenging sport to learn. It’s physically demanding, often frustrating, and you need incredible patience. But ask any good surfer why he or she does it and you’ll get the same reply: because it’s the best sport in the world. Surfing can be exhilarating or relaxing, fast or slow, wild or controlled, competitive or soulful…whatever you want really, because how you ride your board is up to you.
If you want to learn to surf, you need to be fit and you must be a good swimmer. Good eyesight is also important; if you have poor vision, wear contact lenses.

Just as beginner skiers spend their first days on the slopes at a ski school, so beginner surfers should spend their first days on the beach at a surf school. Being taught the correct techniques by a properly-qualified instructor will save you hours of frustration. Lessons are inexpensive and they’re good fun. Most importantly, it’s vital that you learn about safety in the water: the ocean is a dangerous place to play if you don’t know what you’re doing.

A FEW GROUND RULES

As well as the basic techniques of surfing you’ll be taught at a surf school, you’ll also come across a number of important ground rules, which apply to all surfers:

• DON’T surf alone. It’s always safer to surf with a mate or two…and a lot more fun.

• DON’T drop-in. Recreational surfing is a sport without hard-and-fast rules but there is one fundamental unwritten law: the surfer nearest the curl of the wave has right-of-way.

• DON’T surf straight after a meal, or after drinking alcohol.

• DON’T bail your board when paddling out through waves if you can possibly help it. There may be someone right behind you and they won’t appreciate getting a board in the face.

• DO observe warning flags and restricted-area flags. These are used for safety purposes by lifeguards at most of the main surfing beaches from May to September.

If a red flag is flying, the beach is closed because surf conditions are unsafe. Beginner and intermediate surfers should find a more sheltered beach elsewhere. Experienced surfers who paddle out when a red flag is flying do so at their own risk.
A zone with black-and-white chequered flags is a lifeguard-supervised area for beginner surfers. These areas sometimes get pretty crowded, with boards flying around all over the place, so keep your wits about you.
A zone with yellow-and-red flags is an area for swimmers (and bodyboarders) only.

If your learning to surf and you cant get to the beach have you seen the NOHO BALANCE TRAINER?!

The Paddle Out.

It’s now time to paddle out! Paddling is an essential surfing skill so lots of practice at this will bring its rewards. Start in small waves and if possible paddle out when there is a lull in the waves. Its best to walk your board out until you are in waist deep water then lay your body on the deck of your surfboard. On a shortboard keep your weight centred on the middle of the board and on a long board positions yourself so the nose is around 1inch out of the water. The trick is to find the optimum trim position for the board which will provide least resistance when paddling. Once you feel the board gliding through the water with ease you’ll have found the ideal trim, so remember your position and stick with it.

Start to paddle using a crawl stroke with your arms. If you hit bumpy water or “chop”, lift your chest slightly and lessen your weight on the board so the nose and rails don’t go under. Once you have learnt to balance your right and left sides, head, and legs, paddle your board out to the line-up you’re on the way.

Catching a Wave

To begin with, rather than paddling straight out the back into the line up, its best to catch a few broken white water waves in shallower water. You should have your ideal trim/paddling position at this stage, so point your board directly towards the beach and as the white water approaches paddle towards shore. The wave should pick you up and push you forward which is an unmistakable feeling, however if your board pearls or nosedives you have set off positioned too far forward on the board, likewise if the wave passes under you are positioned too far back on the board.

Its fun to catch and ride a few to the beach whilst still laying down to get the feeling of the wave, after that it’s time to stand up which we will go onto in the next section. Once you have the hang of catching white water it’s time to use those paddling skills and get out into the line-up to catch the unbroken waves which is what surfing is all about. Once in the line-up, past where the waves are breaking, sit up and straddle your board (you might want to practice the art of sitting on your board as it takes a little time to find your balance). Always face out to sea until you are ready to catch a wave. Practice swinging the nose of the board left or right so that you can easily turn around to catch an oncoming wave. Pick a wave that has not broken and be sure to sit far enough out among the sloping swells, not where the waves are standing up straight.

As a wave approaches, turn the nose of your board toward the beach, lie down and begin paddling. As you feel the wave lift you and your board, paddle as hard as you can and lean your weight forward. The natural tendency is to lean back to keep the nose from going under water, but that will only slow your momentum which in not conducive to wave-catching.

Lean forward but raise your chest so that your weight is just above the centre of the board. You should now be sliding down into the trough of the wave. The first phase of surfing will entail that you wait until you are in the flat water in front of the wave before you stand up. However, the ideal is to begin standing just as you feel the pull of the wave. Now you are ready to work on standing

Standing Up

Standing up on a surfboard can look very easy but once you place that surfboard on a moving, pitching, surge of swirling water where you must simultaneously leap from a prone position while weighting and unweighting left, right, front, and back just to keep from diving face forward, you’ll soon realise a lot of practice will be needed! The place to start to stand is on the beach. Firstly you will need to know which foot will feel most natural to you in the forward position. The left foot forward is called natural stance and the right foot forward is a goofy foot stance. The way to find out which way you swing is to stand up straight, close your eyes and ask a friend to gently nudge you forward, the foot that goes out first to steady yourself is your leading foot!

The motion from prone to standing is called the pop-up, which is basically a quick push up to your feet. Lie the board on the sand (watch the fins) and do a push-up, once your arms are at full extension, pull both knees toward your stomach and hop to your feet. If you practice this regularly it will help when in the water.

Step by step guide to your first surf

The next step is to get out there and do it. It will be best to start in the white-water:

Step 1 - Paddle for a wave and just as you feel the momentum of the surfboard flow faster than your paddling speed, you are ready to hop up.

Step 2 – With your hands firmly grasping each rail push up quickly.

Step 3 – Simultaneously, extend your arms completely and pull your knees quickly up to your chest. Be sure to keep your weight centred with just a little slant forward.

Step 4 - Place your feet firmly on your board, one foot near the tail and one foot just above the midpoint of the board.

Step 5 – Don’t stand up completely erect. Keep a low centre of gravity by crouching down and focusing your weight on the midpoint of the board. Keep your arms out, your eyes looking forward and balance.