Learning to surf has definitely been challenging. It’s a tough sport to pick up and progress with, not helped by all the face planting (read ‘pearl diving’ in surf speak). But it’s definitely worth it! You will be best starting off catching smaller waves that have already broken so they give you the speed needed to cruise towards the shore. You’ll get loads of experience popping up and balancing before progressing to waves that haven’t yet broken. With those, green waves, you will be riding the face of the wave.

Here’s a collection of instructional videos that have been really useful for the beginners’ stage:

1. To start learning to surf, check out this great summary before you hit the beach.

Note that this video has an ambitious title and nobody is going to surf like a pro in such a small timeframe. It’s a great video because it gives you something to think about for board selection, with some useful starting tips. Remember, a longboard is the easiest to begin with but a “fish” will be fun and versatile for longer. After the first 10 minutes the video gets quite advanced and is useful to refer back to as you progress. A great first video.

2. This video is excellent for choosing a first board to match your preferences, body type, and goals.

Ultimately, you need to decide how challenging you want your first board to be. This partly comes down to how often you are willing to wipeout and get back up and try again. Think resilience because that’s exactly what you’ll develop. A fish board is a good choice for a lighter surfer or for someone looking for more of a challenge and manoeuvrability.

Compared to a longboard, a fish has still got a lot of buoyancy but for a heavier surfer it won’t be as supportive so will require paddle power and persistence. A longboard will give you the most experience popping up and standing at the beginning. Longboards are also great for catching small waves. Most people would steer clear of a short board until you have accumulated more experience – first on a longboard, then a fun board. Short boards look cool but are less buoyant and more unstable. It won’t be as cool constantly wiping out on them.

3. Check out this video tutorial on how to avoid wiping out when you ‘pop up’ and stand on the surf board.

Pearling is when the surfboard nose digs into the water as you start to catch a wave. Powerful waves can then catapult you into a wipeout. Everyone gets caught out by these sometimes but the video above helps lessen the likelihood. Important points are: paddle 8 times before the wave reaches you, move further back on the board, pop up quickly.

4. This video is really useful for getting through waves and out into the sea without losing your surf board.

These guys are entertaining and really good at breaking down three techniques to go out through the waves. Remember them all and you’ll be ready to navigate waves on a longboard.

5. Etiquette – everyone needs to learn the basics of how to get on with other surfers or at least what is going to make them angry. This video covers the ground rules well.

It helps to know surfing etiquette, that way at least you know who should be apologising when you inevitably end up sharing a wave with another surfer. Starting out with a foam longboard lessens the chance you will injure anyone if you do collide on a wave, but apologising has been shown to be the best option to avoid any agro. Surfers can be territorial over a good wave, so it’s best to wait your turn. However, if someone is being a pain after apologising then feel free to ignore them or move to a better surf spot.

Happy surfing!