Tips for New Surfers from Two Women Who Know -- Get the Lowdown from Louise Southerden and Sunshine Makarow! "Surf's Up: The Girl's Guide to Surfing," is a great new book that does a lot to answer the questions of want-to-surf girls around the globe. When author Louise Southerden came to town from Australia, we knew we had to talk to her. Sunshine Makarow, publisher of "Surf Life for Women" magazine joined in, too. Sunshine loves Louise's book because "it's basically like 10 years of magazine tips in one place!" Here's their expert advice on beginner hazards like learning to surf without breaking the bank, and finding a wetsuit that makes you look like Catwoman! Louise Teaches Coolgirls How To Ease the Learning Curve: Find a teacher who suits your learning style: It's really important to find the right teacher for you. Some people like to be pushed and have someone who's yelling at them, saying "go, go," because it does kind of wake you out of your dream, and you think, "Oh! Ok." It can give you that confidence to stand up when the teacher screams "Stand up now!" and that can be good. If someone's telling you, you might sometimes do something without thinking, and if you don't think, you won't have that thought: "I can't do it". It might cut through that. But for other people, it's important to have more of a 'gently, gently' approach, and have someone who's supportive, and says, 'enjoy it, it doesn't matter if you don't stand up at this first lesson' You know, it's more important to enjoy the process. Remember, it's not just you: There are things that beginners, especially women, find difficult, like paddling -- not only getting out there, but catching waves and getting the confidence to get out there and feel they have a place out there as much as anyone. Women want to know how to condition themselves so they don't get so tired -- because naturally, women aren't built with upper-body strength. Our strength is in our hips. So that's one thing women like to know: Should they do swimming, should they do weight-training, should they do yoga? You know, "What can I do so I can get myself up to speed to make myself stronger for surfing, so that I can enjoy it more?" Other things that girls worry about are getting in someone's way or being injured, which is fair enough, since surfboards are dangerous things. They've got 3 pointy fins, and a pointy nose on them, and they're hard enough to kind of pop you on the head! Realize girls have their own learning style: I think girls learn things differently to guys, learn surfing differently. When I've taught kids, and even older teenagers and adults, it seems like the guys want to get up on the board and go, especially when they reach a certain age, like 12 or 13 or so. They don't want to listen to any authority figures anymore. They don't want to be seen to be learning and doing what the instructor says, they just want to be out there with their mates. That's often the best way for them to learn, whereas girls -- In a mixed class, the guys will be mucking around and kicking sand at each other while the instructor's explaining how to stand up, and the girls will be eagerly listening and practicing. I guess we're taught to do that from an early age. We're taught to listen and to pay attention, but also, I think the girls like to know what they're doing before they start doing something,. Girls also have more of a self-consciousness about getting in other people's way, and maybe looking kind of silly, just being embarrassed about how they look, especially when it's a male-dominated world out there, thinking, "Am I going to look stupid in front of all of these cute boys?" I think a girl's surfing guide will generally sell better than a guy's surfing guide, because I think girls want to read and understand how things work, before they plunge into it. It's smart to surf with other beginners: It's often really good for people who are learning something to hear from people who are just a little bit ahead of them instead of the expert in something, because they know what the problems are and they often speak the same language and they know what the problems are right at that stage. You can Improve, Even When You Don't Have $$ For Lessons or a Board If you do have a board, but can't afford private lessons … Louise recommends that "if you can find a girl to surf with, go out as often as you can. You can go out by yourself, but often, it's better to have someone to surf with. If you live near the beach, go out every day, no matter what the conditions, because every time you go out there, you learn something, even if it doesn't feel like it. You can also skateboard or do something like snowboarding that requires balance." Sunshine suggests, "Look for surf clubs in your area, because a lot of surf clubs have a lot of beginners." She adds that with enough time in the water, you can develop "a sixth sense with the ocean, feeling when waves are coming, where they're going to break, that kind of thing. It's really a hard thing to teach. It's one of those things that you just gain through experience. Some people pick it up faster than others, and then others, you're just sitting there going like, 'ok, where is the wave breaking?! I thought it was going to break here, but it broke way over there …" If you don't have a board … Louise says, "even if you don't have a board, you can go out and body surf or watch the waves, because at least half of surfing is wave knowledge and understanding how the ocean works, timing and things…. Part of surfing is standing up, but that's really only a small part. You can kind of just teach yourself that by going out and watching the ocean and watching how other surfers read the waves, and where they paddle out, and where they sit, and are they riding the waves to the right or to the left? So there's all that sort of stuff, and even when you do that, you're learning about it. Getting that intuitive sense about how the ocean works is really important, because often, after you're experienced, you can just see a wave coming and intuitively know how far out you need to be to catch it, and how fast you need to paddle to catch it, and whether it's going to break right or left. This is all on a subconscious level, really. You're not really conscious about thinking about this stuff and yet it all happens when you're judging how to take the waves." Why Catwoman is A Good Role Model If you hate being cold in the water, it's time to get warmer gear, especially a better, tighter-fitting wetsuit, since loose wetsuits let in too much water. Sunshine recommends, "You want the suit really tight on you -- basically, think of Catwoman or something you would normally never wear out of the house. It should be just loose enough so that you can move your arms. You need someone to watch you put it on, and they can look at all the different areas and tell you when to try the next size." If you've got the right gear, you'll be toasty warm in any weather. Louise says, "I was just down in San Onofre with girls from Northern California, and they surf all-year-around up there: they have the booties and the wetsuits and the gloves." She knows that wetsuits can feel uncomfortable: "it's just a matter of getting used to it, because it is harder paddling against this rubber that's restricting you. But as you get more physically conditioned to surfing and your muscles develop, then it doesn't really bother you so much." Tip of the Day * from Louise & Sunshine How To Avoid Salty-Eye Sting If the ocean saltwater feels like it's stinging your eyes, your sunscreen might be getting into your eyes when you push your hair out of your face. It can also bleed into your eyes from the rest of your face, even if your hands don't touch your eyes directly. So try out different sunscreens, and try putting your sunscreen on earlier and letting it fully dry before surfing. Also, wash off your hands before going into the ocean. [Avra's note: I tried this and it worked!] If stronger measures are needed, Sunshine suggests using "eyedrops, not Visine, but something like Naphcon, because the regular Visine that the stoners always use is more like a stimulant, and that's not good! The natural kind is better. My eyes get really red all the time, not itchy, but that helps. Oakley also makes these water sunglasses that are kind of like a cross between goggles and sunglasses. I haven't tried them, but that might help." With all this good advice, it's much easier to get out there in the water and have fun! Thanks to "Surf's Up: The Girl's Guide to Surfing" and "Surf Life for Women" for their encouragement to the female surf community. ~Avra