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If you are too far forward on the board you will find
the nose of the board keeps dipping underwater making
it hard to paddle, and will find yourself always tipping
forward. Too far back and you will find it harder to paddle
and your board will keep popping out in front like a torpedo
(much to all your friends amusement!). It takes a little
time to find the most comfortable position, and will depend
on your height, weight and length of your surfboard. Paddling
the board takes a little bit of balance. To begin with
you will probably find it easier if you have your legs
slightly apart when paddling, giving you a little bit
of extra balance. Reach out with one arm at a time, stroking
your way through the water. You do not have to dig your
arms too deep. Keep the movement of your arms nice and
smooth, pulling the board through the water. Simple eh!.
Make sure that the nose of your surfboard is not dipping
under the water at any point. On a nice flat day you should
be able to practice without the interruption of waves.
Sitting
On Your Board
If you have seen surfers when they are beyond the breaking
waves, waiting for their next wave, you may have noticed
that they are no longer lying prone on their surfboards
but are sitting up on them. This is to enable a surfer
to get a better look at the oncoming waves. The next thing
to learn is how to sit up on your board, and get ready
to paddle for a wave from this sitting up position. Lie
on your surfboard in the paddling position as though you
have just paddled to the line-up. When you are comfortably
balanced, take hold of your board with each hand on the
rail as if you were getting ready to do a push up. Draw
the board from underneath you, pulling it forward through
your legs. As the board is sliding underneath you (making
sure that you do not let go - your surfboard will ping
out in front of you as if it had a mind of its own) bring
your knees up and arch your back into a sitting position.
Here, as with everything else in surfing, it is a question
of practicing balance. To smoothly sit up on your surfboard
as the waves are rolling past you takes practice. Use
your legs out on either side of the surfboard to aid your
balance and hold yourself upright. Lean too far to the
left or right and you will fall off your board. Lean too
far forward and the surfboard will disappear out behind
your - make sure you have got your mouth closed for this
one!. Lean too far back and we encounter that torpedo
effect again. It should not be too hard to master this,
but it does take a little bit of practice to become competent
at getting into the sitting position.
How
to Catch Waves
Place your board at your side, nose facing into the beach.
Keep an eye on the waves that are coming towards you and
pick one that looks like it is big enough to pick you
up and take you in. If you are on the ideal beginners
board the wave will not have to be that big, and you will
hardly need to paddle at all. On a very small, light board
you may have to work a little harder. Just as the wave
is about to reach you, push the surfboard towards the
beach and at the same time pull yourself on to the board,
so you are lying flat on top of it - not too near the
nose of the board or you will end up going straight underwater.
When you are lying on top of your surfboard, paddle with
both arms as the wave starts to pick you up. You should
feel the board rise in the water as the wave picks you
up and your speed in the water increases. With a bit of
luck you should have caught your first wave.
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