Beginer's Guide To Surfing Step 3 - Master Getting Out There
Rodney Lister
By now your comfortable on your board, and your ready to tackle getting out. Head out in a section of water where it looks calmer and there is not as many breaking waves. A good section to head out in is a rip, it can help pull you out, plus the waves don't break as often.
If your just beginning you might want to stay in the shore breaks, or find a nice headland, the waves are easier on a headland, because you can stay wide of them when paddling out.
So now you have to go through the waves you can't get over. The first thing you should practice, is rolling. This will be all you can do if your board is very large anyway. A large board makes it easy to paddle, float and stand up on, but has the disadvantage of being too buoyant to push under the wave. So on approaching within a couple of feet of the wave, grab the rails and roll the board over.
As you roll the board over, you will go under water while holding the rails. The wave will pass above you, and over the underside of the surfboard. You should now continue to roll the board back over, as you surface, the wave should now be continuing behind you, and you can start paddling again.
The next thing to learn is duck diving, this might not be possible till you get a smaller board, but lets cover it anyway. For the best results, you should build up plenty of speed, to let the momentum push you through. As you come within a couple of feet of the wave, grab the rails half way between the center of the surfboard and the nose.
Push up rising your chest and head, so you transfer or push all your weight and strength down on the nose. As the nose goes under water, point your head back down and bend your dominant leg. As your head goes under water you should push down the knee of the bent leg, pushing the tail under the wave as well.
Release the weight from your hands, allowing the nose back up, the buoyancy of the board should push you back out of the water nose first. You should quickly pass under the wave and surface behind it, regain your balance and continue to paddle.
Don't get frustrated with the surf, getting out is the hardest part for everyone. Begin in small swells, and just keep practicing, you will get better, fitter, and stronger with time.
Make sure you read the next article, for the start of the fun stuff, catching your first wave.
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