How to Surf Blog

Surfing is no different from any other sport. It’s a competitive, athletic activity that takes practice and physical conditioning to achieve success. Like other sports, surfing has a list of rules, a playing field, worldwide organizations dedicated to staging contests for all levels and ages, and a computation system that makes it possible to quantify how “good” one rider is in comparison to another. However, that is only one layer of the complex nature of surfing.

“The board is the brush, the wave is the canvas, and surfer is, of course, the painter….”

Surfing is also an art. The metaphor goes like this: the board is the brush, the wave is the canvas, and surfer is, of course, the painter. Like in art, each artist is unique. Each stroke of the brush is an expression of an individual style, mood, and life experience. And most artists argue that true art can not be judged, can not be calculated, and can not be categorized.

But to muddle the definition further, surfing is a lifestyle that carries with it a style of dress, a regional and global dialect, and even an encompassing approach to life’s realities. While the stereotypical image of the “surfer dude” no longer holds water, folks who have made the move from recreational rider to a life-long waterman (or woman) have a tendency to put the pursuit of good waves above most all else, making their intense dedication seem almost religious.

Here’s some little tips about how to surf for the first time

• Get a surfboard and wet suit if possible by buying or even renting it. There’s nothing that can turn you off surfing quicker than icy cold water or losing your bikini while you’re surfing. Your first board should be a foam board; fiber glass ones can hurt people if you lose control of them. Longboards, 8 feet or more, are a must when learning.Try to get the cheapest board possible. It doesn’t matter if you got it at a garage sale or it’s all scratched and dented. Good deals are usually available on used boards.
• Practice lying on the board on the sand. Make sure you’re not next to the waves or they’ll wash you down.
• Lie belly-down on the board so that your body is lined up straight down the middle of the board. You should have a couple of inches between your feet and the back end of the board.
• Put your board down on the sand and practice the paddling motion and getting up before you head out on the water.
• Use your room, yard, or on the beach and so forth to practice standing
• When you’re ready to go out in the waves, walk your board out until you’re about waist- or chest-deep, then lie on your stomach on the board and paddle (using your arms the same way as when you swim freestyle) straight into the waves. Do not get going sideways even a little bit or the waves will knock you over. Stay perpendicular to the oncoming waves.
• When you get the feel for the speed of the wave and it begins to break, go through the motions that you practiced on the sand. Crouch slowly and stand quickly. You will probably slide off, but do not be deterred. You will eventually get it. Try standing on your knees for the first few tries to get the feel for it.

Surfing is about the interaction between you and your board, you and the ocean, you and your buddies at the beach. It’s about how much fun you have during these interactions. Surfing’s essence is found in that first time you stand on a board and how you dream all night about that moment. It’s the energy, the rush, and that tight smile across your face. Surfing is about traveling to other countries in search of waves, meeting wave riders in other cultures and realizing they are exactly like you. We, as surfers, all want the same things regardless of our colors, sizes, incomes, or geographical locations.

My thought

I love surfing in Costa Rica. If you are looking for the best places to surf in Costa Rica, I’ve put together my top ten selection of surf beaches on the Surfing Costa Rica page, complete with videos of each beach (published soon ). The best place to learn to surf in Costa Rica is at Playa Carmen which is in Santa Teresa and Mal Pais. Located on the southern tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, Santa Teresa is one of the country’s most beautiful coastal locations. It is not crowded, yet there is a great variety of restaurants and hotels to choose from with something for every budget.