Bodyboarding Moves

This contains both beginner's and advanced moves and tricks, and they get harder as you progress. But remember, the key to everything is practice. Even if you keep wiping out at first, stick with it. So long as you are enjoying yourself, the skills will follow naturally.

The essentials for bodyboarding are much the same as surfing eg. wetsuit, leash, etc. Have a look at Surf Essentials and Bodyboard Equipment first. Perhaps the difference is that bodyboarding is a lot easier to pick up - you can catch your first surf straight away. A body board is also a lot cheaper - you can get a cheap fun board which is great for just having a laugh for less than £20!

So here are the moves and techniques:

Taking Off

• Your first step is to choose an appropriate wave and paddle towards it. Once you are in a position to be able to catch it, turn around to face shore and begin to kick hard as the wave starts to push you along. While you are kicking you may want to paddle with either two arms or one arm while the other holds the nose of your board. Often it's easier just to paddle with one hand and use the other hand to steady the board and place some downward pressure on the nose of the board.
• If you choose to paddle with one arm, choosing which arm does what depends on the direction intend to be travelling. If you are going right, your right hand should be on the nose while your left arm paddles. If you are going left, the reverse applies.
• Once you start to feel the wave pushing you down its face, stop paddling and put your paddling arm onto the outside rail about a third of the board length back from the nose. If you feel that you might not have the necessary speed to stay on the wave then you can place both hands on the front of the board, applying your weight to the front of the board and causing the front of the board to be pushed down the wave.
• Now slide back slightly and angle your board in the direction you have chosen. If it is a steep drop it may be necessary to pull up on the nose to prevent the board from pearling.
• Once you have made it to the bottom you are ready to set up for the bottom turn or trim line.

Bottom Turn

The bottom turn is an essential part of riding a bodyboard. A good bottom turn can set you up with plenty of speed and projection for the rest of your ride.

• To set up a solid bottom turn you must get into the wave early. As you gain momentum down the face of the wave, lean to the inside rail gradually. This in turn will cause you to pull up on your outside rail.
• You should be careful not go too far into the flats before you make your turn because this will cause your board to bog and cause you to struggle to make the wave.
• At this point you can project across and up setting up for a barrel or gaining down the line speed for a move.

Trimming

• Angling your board across a wave is known as trimming. If you are angling right, your right arm should be placed on the front of your board while your left hand should be on your outside rail, about midway down the board.
• Once you are trimming, your main aim is to pick up speed so you can keep up with the wave and make it to the next section. Try moving your weight up and down the board until you find the position that gives you the most speed.
• Pulling your legs up just out of the water reduces your drag and greatly increases speed.

Forward Spin

• To start the spin, you need to make a small turn up the face of the wave while at the same time releasing your inside rail.
• To keep the momentum of the spin going, move your weight to the front of the board and keep it flat to the wave. Pulling your legs up will keep you from digging in by moving your centre of mass further up your board and will also help speed your rotation.
• After you have completed the 360-degree spin, move back on your board so you do not nosedive on your descent back down the face of the wave.
• Having completed the spin you are then ready to make a bottom turn and prepare for your next move.

Reverse Spin

The reverse spin is a basic manoeuvre which, performed in a critical section of a wave, will look impressive as well as being functional. The idea of the reverse spin is to allow a rider to reposition themselves back towards the power source with a bit of finesse.

• To begin with, you must cut back by turning your board towards shore.The ideal position to begin the move is on the wave's shoulder.
• The initial carve should create enough momentum to begin rotation. Just past midway through the cutback, begin to slide forward on your board and start the spin.
• Your initial momentum from the cutback should allow you to spin smoothly. Once in spin mode, remain flat on your board while arching your back slightly and bringing your feet up above your backside. It is critical to make sure your weight is centred over your board otherwise you are likely to catch a rail..
• Rotate until you are once again facing in the direction in which you started, though you are now much closer to the wave's energy.
• From here you should reposition your weight and regain your speed.

Off-the-Lip

• As with all aerials, off-the-lips need a good bottom turn and plenty of speed.
• You need to head towards the lip at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. The hollower the wave, the steeper your approach must be to compensate for the actual impact of the pitching lip.
• For maximum projection, try to hit the pitching lip of the wave as the wave reaches just past vertical. Aim your body towards the beach, this way you won't sail off the back or get pressed in the impact zone. oUse your hip, elbows and hands to help absorb the shock of landing.
• If you land where the whitewater is exploding then you can reduce the impact.

Stalling

The key to a good tube ride is often in the ability of the rider to stall effectively for the lip to overtake. There are two easy methods to applying the brakes:

• Dragging your legs will slow down your momentum and moving your hip to the inside rail can also create drag.
• Pulling up on the nose of your board will slow you down. This action causes the tail to dig in, creating a strong resistance and almost a complete stop. As the lip begins to throw, it's at your own discretion when to release this type of stall. You have to be careful that you don't stall too heavily and lose too much speed.

Cutback

The cutback is one of the most fundamental manoeuvres in bodyboarding. But if performed correctly, it can also be one of the most radical. Follow these five key points to get yourself on the right track to cutting back.

• The first factor in a good cutback is speed. To gain the speed, do a hard bottom turn and project yourself out of it by moving up to the middle of your board. If you are already in trim, you can maintain your momentum by simply staying on the upper half of the wave. You should make sure your stomach and hips are on the deck and that both legs out of the water so you are gaining maximum speed.
• Now you have the speed, the next step is your positioning on the board. The cutback is just like a bottom turn. So if you're going right on the wave, set yourself up like you would for a left bottom-turn. Slide your left hand up to the front corner of the rail. Move back a little on your board so that your stomach and left hip are on the back left corner of the board.
• Go into your cutback gradually to stop your board skiping out of the water. When you're going right, apply pressure on your left rail and smoothly lift your outside rail out of the water until you are turning almost completely on the back left corner of the board.
• To add some carve to your cutback, throw your weight into it. Remember to start your turn gradually, but then throw your hips up and out towards where the lip should be. This will cause the back corner of your board to dig in and make the carve. You want your centre of gravity directly above the back corner on which you are turning.
• When you're doing your cutback you are going to feel a decrease in speed. So, as your speed decreases, increase the depth and severity of your turn until you finally feel yourself being propelled back into the wave in the opposite direction. Slide up to the middle of your board so as to release the inside rail and gain some speed.

Wiping Out

The easiest manoeuvre in bodyboarding is wiping out. Everyone does it, but here's a few techniques to help prepare you for those mean, drilling waves that we all have to face at sometime or other:

• Practise holding your breath.
• Make sure you always stay calm. Try not to fight the wave to hard, thrashing about trying to reach the surface simply uses up your precious oxygen.
• On reef breaks, roll into a ball with your hands and arms over your head to protect your head from hitting the bottom.
• Don't ride waves you are not ready for. Know your own limits and you'll be back to surf another day.
• Don't fall on the shore side of your board if you can help it. This will allow plenty of room in most cases so the lip doesn't land on you. Fall into the wave if possible and dive through the back.
• Always be aware of how deep or shallow the waves are breaking. This will determine your landing procedure. If they're deep, dive deep and penetrate the back of the wave. If they're shallow and you're in an uncontrollable situation, spread your body out so that on impact you have to move more water, allowing a shallower landing.
• Most of the time you're head first, and penetrating the wave is much easier because of your forward speed. It's often wise to put your hands out in front of your head and dive shallow at the base of the wave and arch out the back. oLeashes and leg ropes can aid or hinder in different situations. If the waves are super shallow and you're a competent swimmer, wearing a leash can cause you to be dragged across the bottom. This is OK if it's a sandbar, but a reef is a different story. Your leash should have swivels on it to avoid twists which can wrap around your neck, legs or arms, sometimes making it impossible to swim.

Paddling

Like any new experience, paddling a bodyboard is a lot harder than it looks. Getting your body weight in the right position is the key to paddling well.

There are three methods of paddling a bodyboard:

Kick power:

• With the aid of a pair of reliable swim fins, begin to kick your feet with an even alternating flow.
• Try keep your legs reasonably stiff and remember to keep your fins submerged because this will give you more thrust than slapping. It is amazing to see the number of people that handicap themselves in the water by not keeping their fins under the water.
• Your body should be slightly back with your waist on the tail of the board and your elbows in a relaxed position with both hands gripping the nose.

Arm power

As a means of conserving energy it often pays to alternate between arm and leg paddling.

• To paddle with your arms it is necessary to slide forward slightly and recentre your bodyweight. Make sure you wax your board before you try this as otherwise the board will most likely just slide from underneath you.
• Arch your back a little and pull yourself through the water using both arms as if you were doing freestyle.
• Cup your hands and move your hands in an 'S' shape under the water. Try not to splash too much as this only wastes energy.

Kick and arm power

Combining both kick and arm paddling methods will help when you need to paddle out quickly into the lineups or just give your legs a bit of a rest..

Your body should be in the kick position, slightly back on your board. Instead of arching your back, use your chest to keep the nose of the board down.

Duckdiving

There's nothing worse than being caught inside by an approaching set. The most successful way of paddling through a whitewater lineup is by using a technique called the duckdive. The idea of the duckdive is to get you and your board underneath the turbulence of a breaking wave. Once you have the duckdive worked out you will realise how much easier it makes getting out the back.

• As the whitewater approaches, grab both rails near to the front of your board with your hands in a tight grip. A metre or so from impact begin to push the nose of your board underneath the surface.
• While trying to achieve depth, use your knee (either will do) to help guide the board underneath the turbulence by pushing down with it on your deck. Once you are underneath the whitewater explosion, begin to push forward in a scooping motion.
• As the wave passes overhead, with your knee still in position pull the nose of your board back towards the surface with your hands.
• The deeper the dive the more successful it will be and the less chance you will have of being hit by turbulence. As you return to the surface, lie on your board once again and continue paddling.

Note: You may have noticed that when a wave breaks it looks like it bounces along on the surface of the water. The spots where the water bounces in the air are spots of lower pressure. When duckdiving under waves it is worth trying to dive under the whitewater in these low pressure spots than high pressure spots. Having your duckdive coincide with the upward 'bounce' of the whitewater causes the wave to pass more gently over you than subjecting you to large amounts of turbulence.

ARS (Air Roll Spin)

The ARS is a dynamic functional move that combine a roll and spin together in one aerial move. If your air rolls are good the this is the move to be trying.

• As with all aerial moves, performing the ARS requires plenty of speed and projection and is just not a functional move unless you leave the lip.
• The first step is to launch off the lip into your roll projecting as high and as far in front of the wave as possible.
• About halfway into your roll you should begin you spin, spinning inward toward the face of the wave as you roll across it.
• It is best to try and complete the spin while in the air but if not you can always land it and then bring it the rest of the way around in the whitewater.

Backflip

• Backflips need to be launched from a reasonably vertical position on the face of the wave. Timing and positioning are crucial.
• Once you leave the lip, pull the board back toward your head and flip your body and legs over the top. This will feel awfully weird the first few times you do it, just being completely upside down in the air, but after awhile you get used to the feeling.
• Hopefully you will complete enough of the flip that you land flat enough so you don't plough straight through the surface of the water and under the wave.
• After the flip you will be facing the wrong way and need to complete half a spin in the white-wash to reorient yourself toward the shoreline.

Freefall - Taking the Drop

Part of being a bodyboarder is being able to take off on feral, sucky waves. To do this you need to be able to take the drop..

• After the wave has started to pitch you out you need to outstretch the board away from you. This will allow you to absorb some of the shock of the landing impact.
• The board should be kept on an angle that is about the same as that of the piece of wave that you will be landing on.
• Your body should be landing on the back corner of the board.
• As you land, pull upon the nose and further angle yourself in the direction you want to go.
• There is a fine line to finding the write time and amount to turn. Turn too soon and you will slide out. Turn too late and you will lose speed and probably and get smashed by the lip. Either way if you don't fin a compromise prepare for a beating.

Dropknee Getting Up

There are a couple of different ways to get up when doing dropknee. They involve getting up in either one or two steps.

One Step

• To get up in one step you need to place your hands on the rails on either side of the board about a third of the way down the board from the nose and push your body up.
• As you're doing this, slide your back knee up on to the tail of the board while swinging your front foot around and onto the front outside rail of your board.

Dropknee Slash

• As in most manoeuvres, wave judgement is important. When attempting to push this manoeuvre to the extreme, look for an oncoming section that will pitch out far enough to pack some power.
• After squaring your bottom turn, keep your eyes locked on the section you hope to slash. From the moment you enter your bottom turn to the moment you hit the lip you should be concentrating only on that one section.
• Make sure you maintain your speed as you head up the face of the wave towards the lip.
• You should make your slash just when the lip begins to pitch out. When you hit the curl, make a hard, sharp turn. Plant your outside rail and turn around an imaginary point.
• To really hit it, your back leg will be pushing down the tail of your board and your tail will slide out. When this happens your board will begin to carve away from you.
• Concentrating on moving your body smoothly and following your board through the turn will help you maintain your balance. The best way to maintain balance is to make your turn a round smooth arc.

Dropknee Floater

• As you approach the section that you have chosen to float, perform a slight turn in the middle of the wave to project you up and over the cascading section of the wave.
• After completing this turn and just before riding up onto the lip, unweight, allowing your board to skim over the roof with the least amount of resistance.
• The easiest way to unweight your board is to do a slight hop' with the upper part of your body before riding onto the lip. Concentrate on making the peak of your hop right when you first begin to float along the curtain.
• Ride along the lip until it breaks below you onto the flats. This will produce a perfect cushion for landing.
• Now centre your weight over the back half of your board for control, and look for a landing spot just where the lip has struck the flats.
• This is the critical point in the manoeuvre, since one of the hardest part, of completing a floater is making the transition from the roof of the tube to the flats. As you're descending the curtain, turn your board so it will point straight towards shore once you've landed. While landing, use the exploding whitewater of the curtain striking the flats to break your fall.

Dropknee Tailslide

• Watch that wave: Catch a nice peeling wave, move into the dropknee stance and trim for speed.
• Eye that section: Choose a peeling section that's about to break. Watch it closely, then turn off the bottom with a clean bottom turn.
• Slide that tail: As you're projecting off the bottom and up the face, shift your weight forward and begin to slide the tail. Using your legs, slide your board around and twist your hips.
• The key: When dropkneeing, weight distribution over your board is the key to success. By shifting your weight forward you release your flipper and tail from the water, which allows you to slide with ease.
• Recovery: Use your arms to steady yourself and maintain balance, then bring your board back around, reassess your weight distribution and cruise on to your next manoeuvre.

Standing Up

Standing up uses many of the same skills as dropknee, but with less control because of the skegless nature of bodyboards. So keeping an edge requires time in the water. After all, the boards are three to four feet smaller than their standup counterparts.

It's crucial that you paddle into the wave as early as possible, gaining momentum from your buoyancy level and relying on your small surface area to carry you across the water. Setting your edge involves two factors: pressure more weight to your inside rail, and the counter balance of your forward foot.. Remember that keeping your board balanced horizontally will obtain and maintained edge placement.

The positioning of the feet is crucial to maintain an edge and making some moves. Check out the feet positioning on these pics, especially the top one.