Lately ive been going bigger waves then usual and i thought i was ready for them but today i got worked by a pretty big one over a really shallow sandbar and scraped myself pretty bad. Anyone know any ideas on how to avoid damage to urself whilst taking a fall?
My advice, you cant really avoid getting hurt really sick super sucker tumbledryer, but what help is to retract any limbs, like ur fingers and arms, and cover your heard with your arms and try curling into a ball with your arms and legs...and most importantly stay calm.
If you wanna go big, the wipeouts are even bigger and badder
BOWL GROM December 2007
also wat helps is to go ragdoll and just relax totally
dcmike December 2007
I must admit, I have a bit of a different take on this... We're talking shorebreak here so rolling into a little ball just increases the depth to which you penetrate when you get worked or go over the falls. Well, that's my theory anyway - haha! Surfing Llans middle peak when the rip is draining the beach is my fave place to be. I prefer to keep my arms close to my body, fists to avoid damage to fingers and the snaking leash and then pull a full on pancake move - land as flat at I can, preferably parallel to the wave so you roll instead of going head over heels. Definitely the most important is to stay calm. If you tense up, that's when things go wrong. Either way, the bigger the wave the harder the beating...
StJohnLombard_Bodyboarder March 2008
If you get scared and like stiffen up all your muscles your gonne pull one. and hurt yourself. just relax, and think about something else besides the fact that your in the "washing Machine" it also helps you to keep your breath for longer.
peterbee March 2008
If you're talking shorebreak, then there are different situations to handle.
Like if you're going super fast in the barrel and it's about to body-slam you down on the close-out (e.g. the left on Krans), try keep your board horizontal, between you and the sandbank - that way you get drilled flat onto your board, which gets drilled flat onto the bank and it all holds steady - no rolling around dislocating your shoulder like Colin Matthews but I'm not mentioning names here - and then you float up afterwards and BREATHE again, no problems!
But if you're going over the falls or something, stay calm (as the others say), and then you can make a decision: is there enough space to land and ride into the close-out, even if only a meter or two (that way you're in semi-control), or if there is no way of controlling the situation, staying calm means you can think about how to protect your neck etc when you hit.
And then whatever happens, happens anyway ... after all, it's a shorey!
lyle March 2008
ENJOY IT!!! GET UP AFTERWARDS AND LAUGH YOUR HEAD OFF AND DO IT AGAIN!!!!
works for me i must be an ass!! but beating are fun.....well sort off. if they on sandbar.
