St Ives Surf School

View Original

How to surf - Learning to duck dive

The duck dive is an essential technique in surfing when a surfer sinks their board under the water enable to dive under oncoming waves with the surfboard. It takes lots of practice to develop an efficient duck dive technique, so don’t get discouraged. Once you’ve got it, you will save lots of energy and catch more waves.

  1. Paddle towards the wave with speed.

  2. Just before the wave reaches you, hold the rails of your board next to your chest. 

  3. Push the board down and under the water by extending your arms.

  4. Get the nose of the board as deep as possible in the water. 

  5. Hold your breath.

  6. Bend your strong leg towards the tail pad of the board. Push down with your knee. 

  7. As you go under push your body down and forwards and use the other foot to kick yourself down deeper. 

  8. Slide your hands and body up the board as you hit the halfway point of your holiday under the sea. 

  9. Once you feel the wave pass by. Arc yourself upwards towards the surface. 

  10. Resurface and begin to paddle quickly as there may be another wave or you could get dragged backwards.