ANSWER: Check the used boards racks in the surf shops. This might take some time, but it's the best way. You don't need a pretty board, and a few dings is okay. It's not the glass job that's important when finding a board, the important thing is the shape of the board. You can also get a softboard, which are a lot easier to learn on.
WHERE SHOULD I SURF?
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| ANSWER: THE WHITEWATER AWAY FROM OTHER SURFERS: Head off down the beach away from any surfers. What you need when you start is whitewater, the wave after it has already crested and broken, and is rolling in long even white lines toward the beach, as in the photo below. |
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| WHY THE WHITEWATER: Everyone starts in the whitewater. That's where you practice standing up and keeping your balance. Once this gets easy for you in the whitewater, then you can go "outside" to the unbroken waves on the smaller days, like the wave in the background of the above photo. |
| WHY AWAY FROM OTHER SURFERS: It's a safety issue. You're going to find that moving the board around the way you want is tough at first, and until you can paddle and move the board around quickly to where you want to go, it's best to stay out of crowds of surfers. A good part of surfing is just being strong and agile and being able to move the board around in the water quickly and with some degree of control. |
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THE GOOD NEWS: The whitewater down the beach from the crowds of surfers is always uncrowded, and it's just as much fun as more advanced forms of surfing, and especially fun if you've never surfed before.
HOW DO I GET MY SURFBOARD OUT THROUGH THE WAVES?
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| ANSWER: Go straight out through the oncoming whitewater. |
| WHY: Because a surfboard reacts just like a boat when going out through the waves. A surfboard is kind of like a boat without sides, and with a real narrow bottom. The same dynamics of a boat applies to a surfboard when taking it out through the surf. You wouldn't take a boat out through the surf at an angle and expect to have much luck, and it's the same with a surfboard. |
ALWAYS TAKE THAT SURFBOARD STRAIGHT OUT THROUGH THE WAVES
| HOW DO I STAND UP? |
| ANSWER: There are two methods of standing up: "The Monkey Method" and "The Knee Method." |
THE MONKEY METHOD
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| 1) LIE FLAT ON THE BOARD, RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER OF THE BOARD, WITH YOUR FEET JUST TOUCHING THE TAIL END (OVER THE FIN) OF THE BOARD. |
| TRY IT ON THE BEACH FIRST: Lie down on the board, right down the center, with the toes of your feet just touching the tail-end (called the tail block). Think of the sand as the water, and see how your surfboard lies perfectly flat on the sand with the front (called the "nose") of the board just a few inches above the sand. It has to lie this way out in the water, too. That is flat on the water, with the nose just a few inches above the surface of the water. So if the nose is sticking too high in the air when you're lying on it in the water, then slip forward a little to get the board flat on the water. Likewise, if it seems like the nose is down touching the water or close to it, slide a little back on the board until it's flat. |
| Also be sure to lie right down the center (from nose to tail) of the board, and the board is not tilting either to the right or left while you're lying on it. |
| 2) WHILE LYING ON THE BOARD ON THE BEACH, DO A PUSH UP ON THE SURFBOARD, WITH YOUR HANDS ON THE SIDES ("RAILS") OF THE BOARD. | 
THE STAND UP |
| 3) IN THE UP POSITION OF YOUR PUSH UP, DRAG ONE OF YOUR FEET UP UNDER YOU, AND PLANT IT RIGHT UNDER YOU IN THE CENTER OF THE BOARD. |
| 4) PUSH UP ON YOUR FRONT FOOT INTO A STANDING POSITION. |
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 |  |  | You are using your arms like legs as you drag your foot up under you, using your arms like legs just like a chimpanzee or gorilla does, which is why we like to call this method of standing up "The Monkey Method". |
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| You know how a gorilla walks, and that's what you have to do. Put all your weight on your arms, all your weight off your legs, as you drag one of your feet up under you and plant it in the center of the board. |
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| 5) YOUR STANCE ON THE BOARD SHOULD BE JUST LIKE STANDING AT BAT AT SOFTBALL, WITH YOUR FEET LIKE IN THE DIAGRAM BELOW: |
 | YOUR FEET SHOULD BE SIDEWAYS ON THE BOARD, MAYBE POINTED A LITTLE FORWARD IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT, AND YOUR FEET HAVE TO BE RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER OF THE BOARD. |
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 |  |  | Stay flexible in your "softball" stance with your knees slightly bent, and your feet far apart, but only as far apart as is comfortable for you, given your height and the length of your legs. |
| TWO GIRLS FROM ENGLAND PRACTICE THEIR STANCE ON THE BEACH | ONE OF THE GIRLS FROM ENGLAND STANDS UP AND RIDES ON HER FIRST WAVE! YAY! |
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| And Remember, THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN KEEPING YOUR BALANCE ON THE BOARD, IS THAT YOUR FEET HAVE TO BE RIGHT DOWN THE CENTER OF THE BOARD. So however you end up getting to your feet on the board, just remember that you need to get your feet across the center of the length of the board in order to ride. |
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THE KNEE METHOD
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| GET TO YOUR KNEES ON THE BOARD ANY WAY YOU CAN, THEN PULL ONE FOOT OUT AND PLANT IT IN FRONT OF YOU IN THE CENTER OF THE WIDTH OF THE SURFBOARD. THEN PUSH UP ON YOUR FOOT INTO A STANDING POSITION. |
| It is also important that in both the monkey method and the knee method, that you START OUT WITH YOUR BOARD FLAT IN THE WATER, AND RIDE THE BOARD FLAT IN THE WHITEWATER. If the nose of the board seems high while you're riding, lean forward or try to scoot your feet forward until the nose of the board is down and the board again flat in the water. |
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| HOW DO I CATCH WAVES? |
1) Take the board straight out trough the whitewater to between waist to chest deep. Remember to take the board straight through the waves. The board will react just like a boat, and you wouldn't take a boat out at an angle through the waves, now, would you?
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2) Turn the surfboard around so the nose of the board is pointing toward shore, while still in the whitewater. Also be sure to stay away from other groups of surfers in the water. This is a safety issue, because you're going to find that moving the surfboard around in the water is difficult at best, and until you can paddle around quickly through the waves, it's best to stay out of crowds. (see"Where should I surf")
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| 3) Wait for a long even strip of whitewater to approach you, then get on your board so that it's flat (from nose to tail) in the water, and flat across the width of the board, and at least start out in a stable position on the board. |
| 4) So now you're laying on the board pointed toward shore, with the whitewater fast approaching your feet. When the whitewater gets about 2 feet behind you, give the board a couple paddles, and if the board is big and buoyant enough, it should almost catch the wave on its own. At first the wave will bounce you a little. If it bounces too much, wait until you're riding smoothly along on your stomach on the board, then go ahead and stand up. |
| THE RULES OF SURFING |
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DON'T TAKE OFF IN FRONT OF SOMEONE ELSE
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| The surfer who takes off nearest the peak and catches the wave first has the right of way. Once someone is up and riding, do not attempt to catch the wave if it will place you in their path. This is the number one rule in surfing, and breaking this rule is the biggest cause of altercations among surfers in the water. |
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WHEN PADDLING OUT, STAY OUT OF THE WAY OF RIDING SURFERS
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| If you are paddling out, and another surfer is riding, it is your responsibility to get out of the way and not ruin the surfer's wave. For example, If the surfer is riding toward the left on the wave, it is best to paddle right, parallel to the oncoming wave and out of the rider's way, instead of trying to paddle over the green, open face of the wave and potentially in the path of the rider. |
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DON'T RIDE A LONG BOARD AMONG SHORT BOARD SURFERS
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| If you are riding a "long board," it is always possible to sit further out than the riders on "short boards" and catch the wave way before the riders on short boards have a chance to catch it. There are some long board riders who ride long boards just because they are not skilled enough to catch waves on short boards. Then they ride in spots where only short boarders ride, and catch the good waves on a regular basis. What they are doing is stealing waves from others, and should be held in the same contempt as horse thieves of the Old West. |
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FIND YOUR OWN SURF SPOT
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| As a beginner, when you are still gaining knowledge about moving the board around in the water and catching waves, it is best to find your own spot away from a break that has numerous surfers riding it. When you surf a part of the beach which no one rides, it is like going back in time to beginnings of surfing when there weren't a lot of surfers in the water. |
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IT'S OKAY TO BE A BEGINNER, BUT DON'T BE A "KOOK"
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Everyone starts as a beginner. But as long as you follow the rules, show consideration and make efforts to stay out of the way of others, you will never be a kook.
*Note :
This take from |
http://www.howtosurf.net/Thanks |
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