Pushing under waves is a great way to streamline your paddle out to backline. When done properly, it can look like the most graceful and effortless act in the whole world.
When not done properly, however, pushing under could look something like my first attempt at getting it right as a kid.
After carefully observing how quickly and easily the older guys would push under waves, I was convinced that it would be a piece of cake. I mean, how hard could it be, right?
So, paddling towards a sizeable foamy, I pushed myself up and, with all the force I could muster, I pushed down on my board – but instead of sinking it even so much as an inch under the water, I head-butted my board with such ferocity that I almost knocked myself unconscious.
To add insult to injury, I then got walloped by the approaching wave while I was still seeing stars. I guess I overestimated how easy it would be for my 30kg frame to sink my 6'4 boat. This extraordinary fail is an illustration of how NOT to push under a wave...
But pushing under really doesn't have to be that painful. If you're in any doubt as to the correct way to push under, try it on a flat day first, just to get the motion right. Here's how you do it:
1. When the approaching wave is a few meters away from you, push down on your rails with your hands and on your tail pad with one foot. Some people use their knee instead of their foot, but I wouldn't recommend doing this unless you want a bunch of pressure dings on your top deck. The reason you only use one foot to sink the tail is so that you can use the other leg as a kind of 'floating stabilizer'.
2. You can sink your board about 1 foot under the water and hold it there until the wave is pretty much upon you. You'll learn the right timing of this – you don't want to push under while the wave is still miles away because you'll lose all your forward momentum. You don't want to leave it too late either, otherwise that wave is gonna flatten you before you can sink your board.
3. When the wave reaches you, duck under the water and flatten your body against your board. The wave will push you down a little as it passes over you and then, with the help of your board's buoyancy, it'll pop you out the back of the wave.
4. When I'm under water, I like to grab my board near the nose and thrust it forward a little. I find that this pulls me out the back a bit better. On bigger waves you can expect the turbulence of the wave to throw you around a bit. Just hang on, relax and enjoy the ride.