RealSurf Surfers' Forum

i have a 6'2, and thats one of the only things that puts me off surfing- duck diving. I guess ill just have to hope the surf is smaller than a foot, haha

hey wat r u sposed 2 use wen duckdiving? i use mty knee but lately iv bin heariing bout ppl doin it witht heir feet? iv tried it since with my foot but i just go all unco n get dragged back 3 metres from where i started

I've been trying to learn to duckdive and ain't getting very far. I am 5'2, weigh 52kg and I have a 7'0 hybrid board. I can get the nose down but it's almost impossible to sink the tail down. Are these boards duck dive-able?

If you're 5'2 and riding a 7'0 board you will struggle to sink the whole board, I mean that's almost like riding a mal but overtime your technique will improve.

In relation to the knee versus foot methods, it depends on the situation. The main factors are depth and stability. The foot dive can give you a little more depth when executed correctly however you are little less stable.

If you're not going under the break head on, for example your paddling up or down the section and the set comes thru, then a knee dive is going to give you better stability when you meet the wave at an angle, doing a foot dive in this situation would result in you being rolled.

Now if you're out in 6 foot plus super hollow tubes and you're paddling out, you nearly make it out the back but the set comes thru and the first wave is going to crack right on your head. In this situation there are no stability issues, the wave has not yet broken, the lip is above you. The most important thing here is to get depth and not go over the falls and to punch thru with enough force so that you can clear the rest of the set. A foot dive is perfect in this situation.

It's all practice.

GAwd, how hard is it to duckdive?