How to Bodyboard

Getting Started

Put safety first. If you want to be able to body board, then you should already be a good swimmer. You'll need to use a lot of the techniques you use for swimming to propel your board, and furthermore, you'll need to be a good swimmer to swim without your board if you wipe out. Additionally, you should only try bodyboarding if you know that the sea conditions are safe and that there's a lifeguard on duty. You should try bodyboarding with a friend or an instructor instead of by yourself. Once you get more comfortable with it, you can go at it alone.

Get a leash. You'll need to attach the leash to your upper arm. This will prevent you from losing the board when you wipe out. Attach the strap to your upper arm tightly, but loosely enough so that your arm is still comfortable. The leash will keep your arm and the board secured together.

Get a wetsuit or a rash guard. If you're swimming in colder water, you'll need a wet suit to keep your body warm. A rash guard will also do, keeping your body from getting irritated while you're bodyboarding, and protecting you from the sun. They are made of Lycra and can also be worn under your wetsuit to keep chafing or rubbing to a minimum.

Get fins and fin socks. Get some fins with tethers and attach the tethers firmly to your ankles. You'll need fins to help you kick with higher speed, making it easier for you to catch a wave. You should also consider getting a pair of fin socks to wear under your fins, to add an extra layer of warmth and comfort for your feet.

Practice the correct position. Before you try to catch a wave, you should have a strong sense of how you should be positioned on the board. Get in the sand and lie on the board with your hands at the top (nose) of the board, and the back (tail) of the board under your lower belly. Keep your weight centered on the board. Once you're in this position, you can practice paddling. Paddle your hands at the side of the board, like you're scooping water towards you, or as if you're doing the free stroke in swimming. Kick your feet under the water for the best propulsion and faster movement while bodyboarding.

Walk into the water. Walk into the water with your board until it's about knee deep. Lift your feet high with every step to avoid getting stuck. You should start looking for white water waves that go straight into the beach.

Catching a Wave

Paddle out. Once you've gotten past knee-deep into the water, get on the board in the correct position and start paddling out, toward the waves. Use the paddling motion with your hands and kick with both your feet just below the water's surface for the strongest propulsion. The nose of the board should be about 1-2 inches (2.5-5 cm) above water.

Find your wave. If you're just starting out, you should avoid any waves that are too high and fast, or generally out of your comfort zone. Pick waves that are headed straight toward the beach and that won't make you travel too high or too fast. Once you've found your wave, you should turn toward the beach and start kicking toward it, waiting to be brought forward by the current of the wave. The wave should be steep enough to move you forward, but it has to not have broken yet. To improve your chances of finding a good wave, look out for the place where most of the waves are breaking. You should wait for the waves about 5-10 feet beyond that location.

Get close to the wave. Once the wave is just five or so feet behind you, you should start kicking as hard as you can while paddling hard. You can also lean forward to gain some extra speed and to make sure you've really got a hold of the wave. Some people prefer not to paddle with both hands, but to keep one hand on the board and to paddle with the other to maintain more control. If you want to move to the right, you can hold the board's nose with your right hand and paddle with your left hand; if you want to move to the left, then you can hold the board's nose with your left hand and paddle with your right hand.

Travel down the face of the wave. You should feel yourself traveling faster as the wave approaches you. If you want some extra speed, you can push down the nose of your board slightly to move even faster. If the wave is moving too fast for your comfort, then you can do the opposite, pushing the nose up an inch or two to get some friction and slow yourself down. Continue to kick your feet as you travel down the face of the wave. You can also lean slightly into the wave to improve your speed. You can also choose to go right or left here. To go left, lean your hips toward the left side of the board and place your left elbow on the upper left side deck of the board, while holding onto the upper right edge of your board with your free hand. To go right, do the opposite.

Ride the wave until you reach the shallow part of the ocean. This is considered anywhere that is below knee-deep. You can step out of the ocean and take a break, or go right in and catch another wave. You're free to keep on riding waves as long as you don't feel cold or tired. Once you've caught your first wave, the fun has just begun! As you ride the wave, remember that your goal should be to achieve "trim," which means the point where your board is riding flat on the surface with as much speed as possible. You'll need to work on leaning forward enough to gather momentum, but not so much that your board doesn't go under. This will reduce your drag and will give you more breathing room.

Going the Extra Mile

Learn the wave terminology. Understanding the different parts of a wave will help you develop skills and learn tricks, because you'll know what to look out for. Here are the parts of a wave that you should know: The lip. The breaking part of a wave that moves from top to bottom. The steepness of the wave determines the shape of the lip. Whitewater. This is the part of the wave that has already broken. The face. The unbroken, walling part of the wave. The shoulder. The part of the wave that is just outside the breaking section of the wave's face. Flats. The flat water you see in front of the breaking wave. Tube. The hollow hole between the throwing lip and the wall of the wave.

Learn the parts of the board. You'll need to know what the different parts of the board are so you can follow along and learn a number of skills and tricks. Here's what you'll need to know: The deck. The part of the board where you lie down. Slick bottom. The bottom of the board that has a smooth or slick surface. The nose. The front of the board that you hold. The nose bulbs. These are the small bumps on each corner of the board that you will hold with your hands. The bumpers. The extra foam layer that runs through the nose and tail, helping to keep the slick bottom from peeling. The rail. The side of the bodyboard. The tail. The back end of the board. The channels. The areas on the bottom of the board that reduce drag and speed you up. The stringer. The rod that keeps the board stiff. The template. The shape of the board. The rocker. The level of flatness of the bodyboard.

Do the Forward Spin 360°. This is one of the first tricks you will learn once you've mastered the basics of catching a wave. To do the Forward Spin 360° correctly, you'll have to make a full circle on the wave in one smooth motion. Here's how you do it: Focus on the direction you want to turn. Turn back up the wave face in that direction. As you turn, release your inside rail by sliding your weight forward toward the nose of your board. Keep your board flat on the surface of the wave to reduce the drag. Keep your legs raised and crossed as you turn. Once you've turned a full circle, slide back on your board and center your weight again, continuing to ride.

Do the Cut-Back. This is another one of the first trick tricks you'll learn. The Cut Back is the easiest way to set up your board closer to the power zone of the wave, which is close to where the lip of the wave is breaking. Here's what you do: Move faster toward the shoulder section (the part just outside the breaking section of the face) of the wave, picking a point where you'll get enough time to start a rounded slow turn. Begin the rounded slow turn while leaning your board and shifting your weight to the inside rail of the board, starting to cut a path with the edge of the board. Keep both hands near the nose of the board, on either rail. Use your arms to pull, creating a smooth arc. Push down with your hips while extending your legs, to help maintain your balance. Once the wave catches up to you, center your weight again and continue riding the wave.

Do the "El Rollo." This is another trick for relative newcomers to bodyboarding. You can do this trick in any size wave. To do the "El Rollo," you have to travel down the wave and do a full flip with your board, using the strength of the wave to carry you in an arc. Here's how you do it: Drive off the bottom of the wave, focusing on the breaking lip ahead. Move up towards the lip of the wave. Use the wave's power to throw you out with the lip into a perfect arc. Let the wave move you in a roll while you steer the board and work on finding a place to land it. As you drop down, you need to center your weight above your board, bracing your hands, arms, and elbows to absorb the downward fall. This takes some of the pressure off your back. Try to land horizontally in the whitewater, not in the flats.

Learn to duck dive. This is more of a skill than a trick, which allows you to get your board under a breaking wave that you don't want to catch. It helps you get through all the whitewash towards the waves you do want to catch. Once you get it right, you'll be able to get to the line-up, or the waves, much more quickly. Here's what you have to do: Paddle toward the wave to pick up more speed. When the wave is about 3-6 feet (1-2 meters) away from you, slide forward and grab the rails of the board, about 10 inches (30 cm) down from the nose. Push the nose of the board under the surface by arching your back and pushing down on the nose with your hands. Get as deep under the water as you can. Use your knees on the deck, near the tail, to keep it moving down and forward. Dive underneath the wave, pulling your body closer to your board. As the wave passes over you, move your weight back toward your knees, lifting the nose of your board up and out the back of the wave, until you move toward the surface of the water.

Learn to stall. Stalling is an important skill for any bodyboarder to have. You can use stalling to brake in a number situations, such as when you need to slow down the tubing section of a wave. Here are the two ways to do it: Drag your legs in the water to slow you down, or move your hips more to the inside rail of the board. Pull up on the nose of the board while applying downward pressure on the tail with your hips. Hold the board at a downward angle of about 30-45° until you reach the speed you want. When you finish stalling, slide up on the board to pick up speed and then set your rail and continue moving forward.