Improve your surf fitness with this simple piece of training kit which can be used by all standards of surfers, from beginners to advanced, and right up to pro level.

When you’re having a good surf and surfing well, it breeds confidence. Likewise, when you’re confident you tend to have a good surf and so the cycle feeds itself. But what can you do in order to make sure you’re feeling like a proud, confident queen of the seas each time you paddle out? This is part two of a series, focusing on girls who can already surf and need more confidence to boost their wave count.

So you want to start surfing but you don’t know where to start, and you’re afraid of hurting yourself and looking like an idiot? Surf Confidence Part 1 will get you out there and having fun!

Knowledge, experience, fitness and knowing how to face your fears are some of the main things which will help you dramatically when you decide you want to push your limits and enjoy surfing in bigger waves. Kirsty Jones gives us some valuable advice.

There are no hard and fast rules in surfing – it’s not like netball, and we’re glad of that. But there are some basic points of etiquette which you should always follow.

So if you’re still waiting to take that first step or feel like you’re needing a push to get to the next level? Here’s some advice from SurfGirl surf coach Nat Fox.

- Don’t be too scared to take the first step – because the first step is always the hardest.

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Use the same technique to paddle into the wave, as you feel the tail of the board lift and you begin to move towards the beach, catching the wave. The first thing to do is push up with your arms. At the same time, slide the knee of your back leg up the [...]

Clean your board: Let it sit in the sun for a while or pour warm (not too hot!) water over the deck to loosen the wax. Now scrape it off onto some paper with one of those useless store cards or a wax comb. Wax combs are way better ‘cos they have one [...]

So you got to the bottom, dug your rail in and now what? LOOK at the wall of water facing you and get ready to hit it. Don’t think it’s going to hit you or you’ve already wiped out! Pick the spot ahead of you where you want to get to.

As you go [...]

The basic, fundamental basis of all surfing is the first bottom turn. A great bottom turn is always a beautiful sight and the deeper and more powerful the turn, the more speed and projection there is into the next move. This is especially true on your backhand.

With a bit of over-exaggeration of the [...]