Learn How to Surf for Beginners | Surfing 101 Part 3

Hey everyone, it's Erin here and welcome to Surfing 101 part 3, where I will take you guys through a lesson to teach you how to surf. So today we're going to use this WaveStorm. It's a foam board perfect for teaching beginners how to surf because it's easy to paddle, easy to catch waves, and it won't hurt you or anyone else in the So first I'm just going to go over some really basic anatomy of a surfboard so that you guys will know what I'm saying as I give you instructions. So here is the deck of the board. This whole top part up there is the nose. Down there is the tail. The sides are called rails. These are the fins. I've got a tri-fin set up right now. This is a traction pad and this is a leash. So if you're trying to learn how to surf in real life, chances are your instructor will give you instructions on the beach before you even hit the water. So I'm going to kind of do the same thing. Right now I'm going to teach you proper body positioning when you're on your surfboard. When you're paddling on a board, you want to make sure you are centered at a point where the nose stays above the water. And when you're paddling, you want to take long, smooth, and powerful strokes. So when you're getting through the surf, there are two ways to get through a wave. The first option is the push-up option. You use this method if the waves are on the smaller side. All you have to do when a wave is coming is push up. You let the white water roll under you. You go back down onto the board and you keep paddling to get past the surf. Another method that you would use is the turtle method. And this is if the waves are on the bigger side where you can't get away with the push-up method. Paddling out, I see a big wave coming and it's about to break. I'll grab onto the rails of the board and turn over like this. And then I roll back over and start paddling again. So those are the two methods to get through waves. My boyfriend and I are going to demonstrate a couple different pop-up methods. The first one is to push up on your board like you're doing a cobra yoga pose and then to quickly pop up to your feet keeping a low center of gravity. Another method is to slide your back foot backwards onto the track pad and then slide your front foot towards your hands. That way, when you slide your feet, you are in the right spot and you keep a low center of gravity so that you're ready to ride the wave without falling. It's definitely going to take a lot of practice, especially if you're a beginner. But the key is to keep a low center of gravity so that you don't immediately fall off your board. So one last thing I want to mention before we get out in the water and actually practice how to surf. Safety is the number one thing that you want to be aware of when you're out in the water because there's so many dangerous elements. You've got your surfboard, you've got other people's surfboards, and you've got big waves. So one thing that I always teach my junior lifeguards is the hand helmet. I know it sounds really childish but this is something that I do every time I fall off my board. Anytime you wipe out, you want to immediately protect your head and your neck. It's really easy to flail around and panic when you wipe out, but you do want to make sure that you're wiping out, protecting your head and your neck, and you want to hold that position until you're back out of the water because it's possible that a board could come hit you. Okay, so this is a surfboard leash. As a beginner, you always want to wear one because it will keep you close to your flotation device. But depending on if you're goofy or regular foot, I'm regular foot which means my right foot is dominant. I put it on my right ankle like so and you want to make sure that the leash isn't in front of you for you to trip on. You want to make sure that it's always behind you and not tangled up at all. You don't even need to put your leash on until the very last moment so that you don't trip over it. Alright, so now that we've gone over the basics of surfing, it's time to hit the water and put it to use. Every time I walk on sand to get out to the waves, I do something called a stingray shuffle. Stingrays are commonly found in shallow sandy water in California and can be really painful if you get stung. To avoid that, shuffle your feet along the sandy bottom so that if a stingray is nearby, it has time to swim away. When paddling out, you want to time it where you're going out in a lull or a period in between sets when the waves are small because why struggle if you don't have to? You also want to stay out of the way of other surfers when you're paddling out. If there's a channel, paddle through there. If there is no other way to the surf than through the whitewater, then always try to paddle away from incoming surfers and always hold on to your board so it doesn't hit someone close by. When there's a lull, paddle out as fast as you can to the lineup so you avoid any incoming sets. As you can see, I'm using the pop-up method to get through the little waves rolling in and there's no break from the time I push up through a wave to starting paddling again. So as a beginner, you want to where waves break slowly over a semi-shallow sandy bottom. You don't need perfect waves. You can learn on knee-high whitewater. The key is to find a place that's not too crowded and where you can just practice paddling and feeling that sensation of catching a wave and popping up. Luckily, there wasn't anyone else out surfing when I was filming this because the conditions weren't very great, but usually you'll paddle out to the same distance that other surfers are and that's called the lineup. And I would highly recommend to just sit and watch for a little bit to see what the more experienced surfers are doing. When you're out in the lineup, keep your eyes on the horizon to see incoming waves. When you do see a wave starting to form, paddle towards the peak, then turn around and face the nose of your board towards the shore, then begin paddling while making sure that your nose is barely grazing the surface. After a few strokes, look over your shoulder to see where the wave is while continuing to paddle. And once you feel the sensation that you've caught the wave and you feel this burst of momentum, it's the right time to stand up. You also want to make sure that the nose of your board doesn't go into the water. That's called purling and you will definitely fall if you do that. So when you stand, look ahead and commit because hesitation creates instability. Then just keep your knees bent with more weight in your back foot, hold your arms out to balance, and there you go, you're surfing. As a beginner, the key is to be patient with yourself, to be safe and respectful towards other surfers, and to have fun. Thank you so much for watching. I hope you guys learned something. If you want more videos like this, comment below and let me know, and I will see you guys in the next video or in the lineup.