Body Surfing - A ‘How To’ Guide
Body surfing is a handy skill to have. Although not a necessity in triathlon or ocean swimming, there’s the occasional race with a wave at the end and by being able to body surf properly, you will not only go faster, but retain energy for the run up the beach. Best of all, it’s great fun to learn and practice.
Below I’ve described how to catch a wave, but the tricky part is how to stay on it and milk it to the shore.
What sort of waves should I catch?
Waves that break in onshore winds – blowing from the sea to the land – are safer and easier to body surf because they break in deeper water and the wave spills down the face, allowing a nice gentle ride or a less-dramatic fall. Taking off on these waves is a lot easier.
Be careful of dumping or plunging waves which break in very shallow water. These are more prevalent during offshore winds – blowing from the land out to sea – and make the conditions nice and clean. These waves form what’s called a tube or a barrel, which are great waves for experienced surfers, but not for weekend warriors. Barreling waves can pick you up and drive you into the bottom, risking neck and back injury.
If you are a less-experienced body surfer, become comfortable with surfing in the whitewater before you venture out the back. This will help you learn correct technique. In reality too, there is a larger chance that you won’t be in the perfect position in a race to catch an unbroken wave so you should practice catching, or at the very least, getting as much push from whitewater as possible.
How do I body surf in white water or a broken wave?
Stand in waist-depth water facing the beach and turn and watch the waves come toward you. As the wave reaches your body, push off the bottom as hard as you can and dive forward, landing on the surface to try and reach the same speed as the wave. Don’t try and swim here, as it’s all about your body position. Keep your head down and hold your breath. Keep your body straight and stretched out from the belly button, but still relaxed. Your arms should be outstretched in front of you. Become part of the wave, by feeling all your weight forward of your stomach and on your hands. The feeling you have when you are properly catching the wave is that you are being pushed along by it with your head and shoulders in front of the wave. You are not going to be able to stay on the wave if you are at the back of it among the white water. When you feel like you are on the wave you can take a breath – by using a quick one-armed freestyle stroke or, if you are advanced, tilt your head forward, without moving your body weight backwards.
The smaller the wave becomes (as it heads toward the shoreline), the more streamlined you will need to become, by keeping your head down. The most common mistake people make when body surfing is to lift their head and their body, making a banana shape, losing the streamlined position in the water. As the wave loses strength it helps to kick your legs hard to propel yourself forward.
Catching a broken wave in deep water is very difficult and only the best body surfers can do it, so don’t lose faith if you can’t catch everything.
