How riding wood is different.

Our bellyboards are made from sustainable plywood and are around 9mm thick - Bellyboards have no floatation, they act as a planing surface on top of water.

They are different to a foam boogie board which is designed to float you - bellyboarding sits between riding a foam boogie board and body surfing. Its the best feeling!

Stand In thigh deep water

Always bellyboard at a lifeguarded beach, between the red and yellow flags. Be safe!

Ideally you need to be in thigh deep water, this allows you to get a strong push off the bottom.

Push the tail of the board into your hips, while holding the board as close to the nose as possible. You may have to stick your bum out a little! Practice this at home if you need to get used to it :)

Wave Selection

Getting a good ride is all about wave selection and timing. It’s important to choose a good, powerful looking wave that will propel you forward with speed.

Try and choose a wave thats recently broken and has power left in it. Wave selection needs to be learnt over time and this comes with experience.

You’ll soon be picking the best waves of the set!

Timing

As the wave is just behind you (about 1 second before it hits you), you need to jump forward and out onto the water in front of the wave. If timed correctly, the wave will push you along and you’ll be bellyboarding!

Timing is everything! Too early and you’ll sink and the wave will pass over you. Too late and you will miss the wave. This can take a few attempts if you’ve never tried before!

You should hold the nose of the board with your arms stretched out-front of you. Your belly and chest should be on the lower half of the board.

Enjoy the ride

Wave riding is a lot of fun, enjoy the ride, turn around and have another go! That's Bellyboarding for beginners covered, we’d love to hear how you get on!

Find a green wave

Using flippers, head out into deeper water where the waves are breaking. You will need flippers to head out into deeper water, don’t try without!

Wave selection

Try and pick a wave that will not ‘close out’ - you want a good unbroken wave to ride along.

As the wave approaches, get yourself in position and board ready. Hold the board in the exact same way as normal (hands on the nose, chest/belly in the lower half)

Get up to speed

Kick hard as the wave is starting to get steep. You can use an arm too if thats helpful. As the board is flexible, it can help to push down on the nose to get you down the wave face.