Surfing - How to
Out of context: Reply #10
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- gramme0
Keep your head up, shoulders back, heels together when paddling. Dig deep for each stroke, and pull your arm underneath the board, exiting the water below your hip.
Always look out for other surfers, coming toward you on a wave or paddling out near you.
Avoid ditching your board. Pretend you don't have a leash and will be seriously screwed if it gets away. Otherwise you're a major liability in the water.
To duckdive under a wave: first off, on a longboard this is nearly impossible unless you "turn turtle," which is done by grabbing the rails, flipping over to one side, and continuing to flip as you punch under a wave and come back up.
On a shorter board, grab the rails near the nose, do a push-up, push the nose of the board down hard, immediately followed by a firm push of the heel(s) on the tail. This will make you dive under the breaking wave, and shoot out the back. It's a cool feeling when you do it successfully. Open your eyes underwater if you can stand it.