Surf Girls 53

SURFING LESSON 3

Now have you done your home work? Thinking about what you have done and what you have achieved so far goes a long way to your improvement. So down to the beach we go. Check out the waves and where it is suitable for you to go surfing. Not in a flagged area now, the clubbies get really angry, and besides all those people get in your way and what you have under your arm can be a weapon of mass destruction if let loose amongst the families. Look for where the waves don't seem to be breaking as much. It might even be an obvious gutter running back out to sea, this is where most surfers will paddle out. Any free ride out the back is more time for riding the waves, and if the surf is big it might be the only place that will let you out.
At this point you probably still wont have a prefence for the direction a wave is breaking, you are probably still on the straight aheaders. No preference is a good thing to hold on to. Many surfers while being competent on their forehand are shocking on their backhand. Forehand is when you are facing the breaking wave as you surf it. Backhand is when you have your back towards the wave. A good surfer shows no preference and is comfortable surfing either way. A right hand breaking wave or 'right hander' has a natural footer facing it, the goofy footer has his or her back to it. It's the opposite for a left hander. Some good surfers can switch stance (switch foot) but for me that's only in my dreams. So surf as many types of waves as you can and waves that break in either direction, most important.
Now learning to surf can take months before you can paddle out to the lineup and stake a small claim on the odd wave that might sneak through on the outside shoulder. So don't be perturbed about your slow progress, just keep practicing lesson 2 until you can feel comfortable paddling into the waves, move out and catch a wave that's about to break, and feel the rush as you belly down the face. If you nose dive the board, then maybe you are lying too far up the board. This is unusual for a beginner. They usually lie too far back on their surboards. Nose diving is usually caused by just being too vertical to the base of the wave. So think about a slight angle as you paddle and take off. Your surfboard is curved up, we call this this the rocker. Some boards have more rocker than others, but that's a bit advanced at this point of time. My point is that your surfboard will fit into the curl of the wave if you angle it a little as you take the drop, making nose diving a rarity. OK before wego to much further lets discuss paddling and getting out the back.chick_surfer_backhand

This surf girl is a natural footer riding back hand on a lefthand breaking wave. Showing a nice style. She is looking where she's going and angling her board across the wave. Most importantly she is well centred over the board, so she is well balanced.