Bodysurfing is Cross Training Right?

AquaRobAquaRob Humboldt Bay, CACharter Member
edited July 2012 in General Discussion
Anybody else dig bodysurfing? It's basically surfing for swimmers and/or poor people (hey that's me!). I'm much more enthusiastic than I am good (kinda like at swimming) but looking to get better. Anybody have web resources they use to learn more? I've tracked down a handful of sparsely populated blogs and a yahoo discussion group but that's about it... I think bodysurfing may be the one sport with less money in it than marathon swimming :)

With that said I highly recommend seeking out the film "Come Hell or High Water," if nothing else it's a beautifully shot film about a very grass roots kind of sport like ours that just stays a little closer to shore and has less stringent equipment requirements.

In the meantime I'll leave you with a bodysurfing video that stars none other than Olympic backstroke champ Aaron Peirsol

Comments

  • jcmalickjcmalick Wilmington, DEMember
    Hey I do that here on the east coast in Jersey but the waves are pretty small compared to those and it's more of a controlled(?) tumble! Great video Rob D...next you need to get Aaron to incorporate product placement with Rob Aquatics Square Cuts!
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    Looks like Aaron is partial to Vipers. Nice endorsement... wonder if they paid him? I have Vipers too, which I wear with neo socks.

    Rob, how do you like your Da Fins?
  • AquaRobAquaRob Humboldt Bay, CACharter Member
    Most of that crew seems to be rather pro-Vipers... that's the one fin I still need to buy and try out... I would like to see Aaron go pro as a bodysurfer, it'd be a pretty good retirement gig for a swimmer :)

    I'm digging my Da Fins. I borrowed a pair last year from a lifeguard friend and really liked them (besides the holes they put in my feet that day). I tried out my new ones on Sunday and they felt better on my feet and really let me power into waves and dig into faces. Surf was small that day though, hoping to test them out in something more substantial soon. How are you digging your Vipers? Have you been out charging campus point?

    @jcmalick the waves in the video are pretty absurd... I don't think I'd have a problem swimming out but I'm not sure I would be able to well up the balls to actually drop in on one of those things! (Not my video btw, just found it and thought you guys would dig it).
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    edited July 2012
    I like the Vipers... nice & stiff & powerful. Let's swap fins next time we hang out.

    I've bodysurfed Campus Point a few times. It's the turnaround point of my swim route from Goleta Beach. Only thing is, I don't bring my fins when I swim. But it's a nice bodysurfing wave this time of year - slow, curling, not too big. No UCSB students this time of year, either - just a few SUPers.
  • ChickenOSeaChickenOSea Charter Member
    I LOVE body surfing. That's what I did growing up instead of swimming. I'm also the absolute worst body surfer in the world.
  • AquaRobAquaRob Humboldt Bay, CACharter Member
    to add to @evmo's links, here's a few I follow...

    http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/bodysurfing/
    http://bodysurfnow.blogspot.com/
    http://hhhbodysurf.blogspot.com/
    http://teamblacksheep.tumblr.com/
    https://www.facebook.com/Chubascos

    there's a contest coming up the first weekend of August in I think Huntington and another the week after down towards SD if anyone is into that kind of stuff. I'd like to show up to a contest one of these days... I need to work on my moves first though! :)
  • bobswimsbobswims Santa Barbara CACharter Member
    edited July 2012
    I suppose it's time to ask this question:

    What are your favorite fins?

    I'm a traditionalist so my preference is a pair of Churchill fins
  • AquaRobAquaRob Humboldt Bay, CACharter Member
    oh.... look out :)

    I'm a bit of a fin enthusiast... I've used Duck Feet, Churchills, Da Fin, Laguna Surf fins, and Toobs Blunt Cuts for bodysurfing and bodyboarding. My feelings are transient towards different fins for different uses, but right now my preference is Da Fin for bodysurfing (nice and stiff but comfy with good edges on the fin) followed by my Churchills which have been my default ocean fin for a while now. The duck feet are good too but kinda heavy and not as fun. I keep the lagunas around as loaners because they're adjustable.

    If I'm bodyboarding I think my preferences run Blunt Cuts, Churchies, Da Fin. Unfortunately the ocean stole one of my blunt cuts in big surf so if anyone with my size feet needs just 1 fin I've got a deal for you!

    I still need to scoop up some Vipers to round out my collection...
  • bobswimsbobswims Santa Barbara CACharter Member
    I had a pair of original Vipers but dumped them. They were too stiff for my likes. In some heavy Hawaii surf I got my legs stuck behind me and got tossed around quite a bit. They also hurt my feet a lot and didn't allow sand to drain out of the foot pockets. I suppose fin socks would have solved that problem.
  • evmoevmo SydneyAdmin
    There's a fun creative bit starting at 0:19

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