just wondering. i've never surfed and it looks easy but of course l know that it is not but anyways when you fall off is it hard to get your board back? where does it go? if you're out far? if you're not out far? what is it like to surf at the beginning? frustrating? feel free to share stories or compare the difficulties of surfing as opposed to another activity...skateboarding l suppose.....

you have a leash connecting your surfboard to you ankle. if you are surfing without a leash then the wave usually takes it into shore and you have so swim in and get it.

sometimes

its not that hard to get back on a board in the open water. the board is bouyant but also submerges when u push down on it so u can slide yourself on. of course its definitely easier to boost yourself up when youre in shallow waters & can stand on the floor. have u ever tried getting on top of a towable tube at a lake? thats hard.
i learned the basics of surfing in a pool actually- like how to pop-up, standing position.and l caught on pretty quickly. but going out to the beach was totally different. u definitely have to get into the rhythm of things like when to take off on a wave. never went skateboarding so cant say anything about that.

The first time l tried surfing was fun but a pretty scary experience. l am from AZ, so of course l had know experience prior to this. l surfed Huntington Beach in CA, & there were GIANT swells that day, according to the surf instructor.
My advice from that whole ordeal is to not expect to stand up ur first time, because chances are, u wo not unless you're good at other water sports. Also, it may seem obvious, but always be aware that there is another wave coming. You can not afford to pause at all, because if u do, u will get taken out & u will end up getting washing-machined for a while & then u will end up at the feet of some nice tourist family, twisted like a pretzel.

First of all, go to the resolved questions in YA surfing. There is a Ton of good Information in the old (some BS, too, but the ones picked best answer, more often than not r at least right, if not best). l started surfing 42 years ago, before there were ''leashes'. On a big day, if u lost ur board, a long rugged swim would follow. Leashes have solved that problem, but l have noticed they have made lots of surfers (unfortunately, me included) a little sloppier on how we end our rides.

l am gld u r interested, & l could fill a lot of space answering you, but l have already answered enough similar questions (and so have some other really smart folks who answer on this site) that if u check the resolved questions, u will find out all u want to know, & more. Check some of the links l have put in with my .Good luck!

Ok. It is not difficult to get on ur board if u fall off, provided you're not in some crazy wave-pounding, life-threatening area (which, u should not be surfing there anyway as a beginner).

l started surfing four years ago, & in one weekend l got beaten, sunburned, fin-chopped, bruised, & thoroughly exhausted. And l had the time of my life! It is hard when u get started - l suggest u go out first with a few people u trust not to mock u when u fall off the board the first 100 times :) l went out with my little sister & her father. It takes time & practice, & u MUST be a strong swimmer (for safety reasons), but it is well worth it. Even if u do not catch a single wave, or u wipe out, the people on the beach do not know that. ;)

LOL! the leash on the back of the board is connected to your ankle,there usually 6-10 foot long

Obviously a surfboard leash (or ''leg rope'' in some parts of the world) is connected to the ankle of ur back foot. This will keep u connected to ur board.

As for surfing ''at the beginning'' - most people find that they can improve their surfing abilities greatly if they do the following:

1) Go surfing more than once a week for the first year. Surfing once per week may maintain ur abilities, but u may not advance ur abilities unless u can go surfing more often.

2) Find an excellent wave to surf. The problem with this is that many of the ''excellent'' waves in the world r very popular with experienced surfers. And, unfortunately, the sad fact is that many novices find it difficult to get waves in the company of experienced, aggressive surfers. Check out wannasurf.com for a list of really nice surf spots in ur area of the world.

3) Find an instructor. This may be paid lessons, or it may be an experienced surfer willing to lend a hand. The important thing is that u learn (from an instructor) how to QUICKLY get from a prone position to ur feet, in one quick motion.


Finally, have fun with it. All surfers were novices & know how frustrating it is. l always point out to beginners how the limited amount of ''practice time'' in surfing makes for a very long ''learning period.''

For example, a skateboarder can get good at skateboarding by skating a ramp or a skate park for 6 hours a day. The skater will get very good, & will probably get about 4 hours or so of ''skating time'' during that 6 hour session.

A surfer, on the other hand, can rarely spend more than 3 hours in the water, & for a novice (with undeveloped paddling muscles), an hour is probably tops. Additionally, the surfer will only actually get about 20-30 seconds of ''practice time'' over this 3 hour session. This is because the surfer must a) understand waves to know which wave to catch, b) have strong paddling muscles in order to catch the wave & then c) ride the wave for as long as possible to ''practice'' surfing.

That is why surfing an excellent, uncrowded wave with an instructor can really accelerate ur surfing skills. But, these surfing spots r often if far corners of the globe, unfortunately.