Surfing is a water sport that brings joy and a lot of challenging moments, making it great for anyone searching for a rush of adrenaline and amazing thrills. There’s something incredible with the ability to navigate the ocean’s raw power, and, at the same time, experiencing the tranquility and peace it offers. In this post, you will find a guide for Surfing as a Beginner.
If you want to get started with surfing as a beginner, you’ve come to the right place. While nothing beats the lessons you can get from a men’s or women’s surfing coach, below are the things you should know for your first surfing session:
- Pick The Perfect Beach To Learn Surfing
Choosing the best beach that’s ideal for beginner surfers is crucial to achieving great results with your surfing sessions. It won’t only help you learn in the right environment without placing yourself and other people in danger, but you’ll have more fun and get to improve your surfing skills in no time.
When searching for the best beach to learn surfing as a beginner, it’s helpful to look for a sandy beach that’s shallow and has few obstructions, like rocks and corals. This will let you be less fatigued during the learning process and would provide you a safe environment to practice. Other than that, you’ll also avoid getting in the way of experienced and professional surfers.
2. Choose The Right Surfboard
In any kind of water sports adventure, having the right equipment may help you perform better. Therefore, choosing the wrong surfboard may give you a hard time riding the waves. This is the reason why you should choose the proper surfboard for you.
It isn’t about having a brand new model and having the right rocker and volume. The volume is basically the measurement of how much floatation the surfboard has. It’s a function of thickness, length, and width. Generally, once you start surfing, you might like lots of volume. You may choose either a foam board or longboard.
3. Look For The Best Wetsuit
As a newbie in surfing, getting the best wetsuit is essential in your surfing experience. The wetsuit will keep you warm in the water when you’re surfing. It can also protect you from hypothermia and chills.
Take note that water is often cold and chilly. For this reason, you’ll need a wetsuit that would keep you warm to be able to enjoy surfing. At present, there are many wetsuit brands you can consider; you only have to shop around to find the best one for you. Also, you may consider renting one when you’re still learning how to surf.
4. Study The Water And The Moves Of Experienced Surfers
A big part of learning how to surf is basically understanding how the ocean and waves work. Before jumping into the water, take extra time to stand on the beach and observe the waves.
As a starter in surfing, it’s also a good idea to watch other experienced surfers in the water and observe how they ride the waves. It’ll help you understand the current beach conditions and would help you improve the way you surf.
5. Warm-Up Is Important
Surfing works a lot of muscle groups and you may hurt yourself if you don’t do proper warm-up exercises before you go out into the water. Paddling and surfing in the water use many body muscles that you don’t often use. This is why having a warm-up routine is important to ensure that those muscles are targeted before you go out for a surfing session. It may also be a great way to avoid pulling muscles.
Since warm-up exercises will only prepare your muscles for an intense activity, they don’t have to be too intense. You can ask your instructor or coach to teach you some effective warm-up exercises before surfing.
6. Understand Etiquette In Surfing
In surfing, it’s crucial to respect the more experienced surfers and locals. These people could have been all their lives and might feel a sense of ownership of surfing locations.
However, compared to other sports, there are unwritten rules that you should know in surfing before you get started. One of these is the golden rule of surfing, which is one surfer for every wave. With this in mind, it’s essential to look for a route to the lineup that won’t affect some surfers.
Another surfing etiquette to remember is to apologize if you make mistakes. Although mistakes may often happen to beginners, it’s important to show respect and apologize.
If you have a loose board, it’s best to avoid letting it go because it may endanger you and other surfers. If your board slips from your grasp, get it back as soon as possible. Remember that a surfboard is a hard object and may have the potential to injure anyone who’s in the water. So, make sure to always keep your surfboard under control when surfing.
If you want to learn more about surfing etiquette, here’s a video you must watch: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe_ZLwzh-73vuzoZesJJgkw/videos.
7. Be Comfortable With Paddling
A good way to find comfort in your surfboard is to plunge into the water and start paddling. Ensure that your surfboard’s nose is above the water while your toes touch the least string. It’s a great stance you may get in water. You should also paddle efficiently and paddle the proper way. You may achieve it by paddling to any length that you’re comfortable with.
8. Learn The Proper Technique Before Getting Started
Now that you’re equipped with proper surfing gear and you’re ready for your surfing sessions, it’s time to learn the right surfing technique first. If you’re not shown the right technique before you start, you might find yourself having more tough times progressing in the sport. So, before surfing in the water, learning on the land might make a difference.
One of the most essential skills for surfing as a beginner is to stand up on the surfboard effectively with good form. If you won’t work on your form, it’s important to learn it from an instructor or some experienced surfers you might know.
Conclusion
Surfing is never easy. Like any other sports, it requires discipline and practice to master it. So, if you want to be good at surfing, make sure to keep the above guide on how to surf properly and never stop learning to improve your surfing skills in the long run.
I am an Ambitious girl with a special interest in writing and sharing my knowledge. I love to hangout with nature and learn from it. My words will display the power of nature to the best as I love to write about the environment.
