Navigating Your Board    Duckdiving    Practising on the beach    First Tube
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				WRONG HEADER!! You’re not going to get tubed this session. You’re not going to bust an air. But you will, if you try hard enough, stand up. You are moments away from something very special. But, before you get out there, you must practice getting to your feet. The transition from lying to standing on your board is your first obstacle. Practice doing it on the beach first (push your fins into the sand so they don’t crack or break). Rattled about practicing on the beach where people can see you? Don’t be. This is the fastest, safest way to learn. Other surfers will respect you for it. advertisement advertisement Lay on your board with your feet hanging over the tail. Bring your hands up near your shoulders, and lightly lay them on the deck just inside the rails. You’re going to place most of your weight between the bottom knuckle of your index finger and the inside heel of your palm. Now, quickly do a push-up, bringing your front foot under your chest to take most of your weight as you start to stand. Drag your back foot over the tail in a smooth motion and put it down about a third of the way up the board. Your front foot should be just past the middle. Both feet should be across the stringer. Do this 10 times. Um, which one is my front foot? If you’ve ever snowboarded or skateboarded, you will know whether you’re goofy or natural. A goofy has the right foot forward, a natural has the left foot forward. There is no known advantage or disadvantage of surfing either way. Neither is there likely to be one stance that suits you better. You are about to learn a combination of skills in which each leg, foot, arm and hand performs a unique function. As soon as you have chosen a stance – goofy or natural – the long learning process for each limb begins. Walk into the surf until the water’s waist-to-chest high. This is where you’ll be catching your first wave. You’re just starting, remember, so don’t go too deep. You’re looking for a broken wave. When a wave is about 20 feet away, point the nose of your board to the beach and paddle hard. Don’t let the wave hit you sideways. Hopefully the wave will pick you up and push you along. If it passes you by, you didn’t paddle hard enough or you were lying too far back on the board. If your board dived and slid from under you, you were too far forward. If neither of these happens, though, and you find yourself being propelled by the wave, grab the rails and chill. Don’t stand up yet. Enjoy the rush. Lean on each rail and feel how it makes the board turn. Do this a few times till you’re ready for the next step. Now, all you have to do is exactly what you did on the sand. Jump up. Keep your feet across the stringer and concentrate on staying on for as long as you can. This is where you will thank me for advising you to buy a board that’s not too short. When you get to your feet, keep your knees bent. Point your front arm to the beach, back arm to the wave. If you fall, it’s usually because you’re leaning too far in one direction. Don’t worry. Eventually you’ll find the center of the board, and stand on it with confidence, if not style. Now, let me get a little poetic here. When you finally get it right, resist the urge to paddle straight back out for another one. Instead, take a moment to etch every second of your first ride in your mind. Why? Because this, my friend, is the moment when your life changes forever. You’ve just tasted the magic of riding waves! No matter how good you get (and, with persistence, you will get good, very good), this stumbling, clumsy ride will remain a cherished memory as long as you live. Don’t let it fade.
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