How To Body Surf - Catching the Wave

A little intro into catching waves with just a pair of fins and your body ( and possibly a hand plane too)
This video is more focused on the initial trajectory to set you up for a good wave.

[@danglybit1]

By far the best body technique video around thanks Tyson

[@andrewrivera4609]

Hey Tyson, thanks 4 sharing your experience, I'm 68 and keep swimming in international events and bodysurfing, ALOHA

[@annahayes7075]

Get under the wave right before it starts to break. Then swim like hell. The wave grabs your body and you become one with the wave.

[@thestereokid6073]

the 600th like on your vid and comment 67 - I'm looking for a video to show my friends tips on body surfing before we compete in a bodysurfing wavejam this weekend so this is a perfect start, thanks a lot!

[@tomtyrrell4515]

Excellent vid, the best I've seen. I've bodysurfed with a handplane most of my life but let it go about 8 or 10 years ago. I looked around for my stuff; I have 4 different planes of all sizes. I'm gonna try it again. Trouble is, unless you live in the Point Panic neighborhood, you have to have conditions. It's like skiing or boarding.

[@TheHopey8]

Great vid! just getting into and looking forward to exploring it 😊 🤙🌊

[@jaymax6127]

Great video brotha! Cheers from So Cal!

[@Strandjutter]

Good instructive footage and well presented.

[@phillipsanchez4192]

Thanks for this video. Will give your tips a try today in Lombok, Indonesia.

[@daviddorsey3342]

Great vid. Thanks for posting.

[@joellewis759]

Thanks man! Body surfing is awesome! 🤙🏼

[@Nickporter17]

Thanks for sharing this video Tyler! It'd be great if you kept going with the series. I surfed for pretty much my whole life but had a recent neck and back fracture and so I'm taking up hand planeing. A lot of the stuff you shared makes sense and transfers over from surfing like positioning yourself to catch the wave and saying hi on a way for speed. But I need simple stuff like whether or not to paddle with the plane and how to swim with kick fins. I find I'm not generating very much power at all.

[@adnanefatine8443]

Thanks, great video 🤙🏼

[@johnwatson8192]

Excellent tips so well illustrated! I'm going to make a handplane ready for next years holiday. The surf on this years holiday has changed from good for the first couple of days on the bodyboard to poor since then so my new bellyboard has been a good choice but even then there is little power in the waves. Revisiting bellyboarding after 55 years, making mistakes and ending up getting a nosewash and mouthfulls of water but plenty of howls of laughter - isn't that what it's all about - enjoyment?

[@davidfarrell7515]

Great tips. 👌🏼

[@RicardoHernandez-wl7ut]

So rad thank you 🙏🏻

[@gjcarvalhais]

Thank you for the vid!

[@rubenflores7473]

Great video 👍🏾

[@BethMannPresents]

Sweet....like watching a water dancer.

[@MrFreezook]

Cool , Thx for sharing 🤙

[@jetipre1839]

Articulate and sensitively presented: positioning, acceleration, taking a line... One of the Malloy brothers in "Come Hell or High Water" is the only other source for this useful information, at least known to this observer. Well done!

[@tysonhunter__]

thanks you for your very kind words!

[@exxumma]

Great video Cheers

[@anotherworldviewispossible]

Your user photo got my attention. Clean shot. And your page header looks like Zeros beach in LA...

[@tysonhunter__]

It is Zeros in LA! That's where I grew up. I'm living in Hawaii now, that's where all these shots came from

[@keithlewis9691]

Good stuff. At 2:41 you say, "with good technique, you'll have lots of speed." Can you tell us more about what good technique is? Thanks!

[@slimjoneslocker]

Hey Tyson - can you do any safety-related tutorials? Specifically on bailing on waves, etc

[@mattvaisey9733]

Cheers mate, very helpful

[@tysonhunter__]

Glad I could help. Anything in the realm of bodysurfing you would like to learn about?

[@mattvaisey9733]

Just technique and maybe handplane ratings 👍🌊

[@granta3044]

You can do all the bodysurfing your doing without any handplane or fins. Its all about body positioning on the take off. If you angle your body downwards on the take off you can easily catch the wave and maybe pull a rollo on the drop.

[@tysonhunter__]

dave rastovich style

[@haydennick6975]

I agree but sometimes the fins helps a lot with the speed

[@javierbautista9385]

Handplanes especially the sylde one give you a way faster and cooler ride. No fins for me though they kinda suck and hurt my swimming more than they help

[@granta3044]

@@javierbautista9385 but you can do way less tricks with a handplane. Way less. Its like training wheels.

[@javierbautista9385]

@@granta3044 I disagree with the training wheels. It's different but I do, do both you need a slyde its not your grandad's wood plane. These are high tech made for us bodysurfers but it's more fun to me. Not to sound ignorant I'm genuinely asking. What tricks beside twists are there?

[@rheapots5139]

Thanks!

[@MMABeijing]

great, ty sir

[@Taiwandragon0828]

I used my body in Zihuantanejo, not no fins n stuff, it's why it's called body surfing, and waves were double that size.

[@pourattitude4206]

Seeing your hand plane made me remember a thing I had back around 1980 that was called HandJet. I've looked around online and found no references to it at all. Instead of wood it was made out of molded plastic, and parts of it were fully enclosed i think because i remember it was super buoyant. The huge advantage of it was that it had a scoop underneath it that would actually get the HandJet to pull you forwards when you were catching the wave, but it's shape didn't impede you at all after you caught it because you would still glide across the water when you started moving faster than the wave. If you know about this and maybe know how to get your hands on one I would be grateful if you replied here. I sure miss it and would love to have one again!

[@mriouss]

It sounds like you are describing the Morey Handgun. They produced a small run in the 70's and cannot be found. Unless of course the handjet was an 80s knockoff of the morey handgun.

[@pourattitude4206]

@@mriouss ya I just Googled it and it looks like the same one. Thank you. It's a shame that it can't be gotten anymore.

[@arianarassouli8014]

At 5:03, when you say you could've angled your body a bit better, can you give more detail as to what that means? Do you want to angle your shoulders or up the face of the wave?

[@tysonhunter__]

Lead with the hand and shoulder (your hips should follow) and point towards the shoulder of the wave instead of towards shore. this will help you draw a higher line in the wave. Kind of like how a surfboard uses its rail to get up the wave. Does that make sense? I'm working on another vid to explain some of these concepts.

[@ttamas701]

What kind of handplane do you use

[@tysonhunter__]

In this video I was using a wood one I made, but since then I've been riding a waw badfiish. Been on that for the last couple months and have loved it

[@brandongeurts8996]

Yeeeeewwwwwww

[@CARLOSGONZALEZ-kq1od]

Hey hunter does tides affect a shore break beaches ?? Thanks

[@tysonhunter__]

to my experience, yes. higher tides usually can cause some back wash and the waves won't barrel as nicely. but low tide usually makes for cleaner conditions

[@thestereokid6073]

It depends on each beach. Some beaches will need a high tide for the wave to make it all the way to the beachie without losing power on the first reef or sandbar, but some waves will be cleaner on low tide. These are only two small examples of what could be happening at any particular beach. Look for someone experienced to tell you about the local beach or just spend some time watching the waves. Watch what happens as the tide changes. Then there are still lots of factors that we haven't gotten into yet, like swell size, direction, and period. Check out videos on understanding surf/wave forecasting for a more detailed explanation and keep surfing!

[@nate6247]

How do you know whether to go left or right? Just watching the wave and seeing which way it’s breaking?

[@westoncaldwell_]

Yes

[@tysonhunter__]

Yeah pretty much. Whichever way gets you in the barrel lol.

[@aspieotaku3580]

Its easy swim with the wave, move with the under tow up the wave turn around and let it push you back to land, weee.

[@jamesthebond0072]

Never bee it was a 5hing I wondered why I I could always catch the waved though when I use to go to the beach to swim every day haha

[@styxrakash4639]

Bro was this filmed in the barracks?

[@jamesbain4596]

Great vid! Can we get more!?

[@tysonhunter__]

In the works! just trying to free up some time. Any specific suggestions?

[@jamesbain4596]

@@tysonhunter__ general technique, body positioning and perhaps the best way to read the waves i.e. going left and right which hand to lead with etc! Just a spit ball of ideas. great work though, keep it up!

[@edwardlbc562]

No dolphin kicks? 😮‍💨

[@helloiseeyou415]

Why no more videos bro? I'm in oahu and I got wiped out all day... I'm tryna learn! ha

[@tysonhunter__]

More coming soon hopefully. I'm working two jobs rn trying to stay alive in hawaii lol.

[@helloiseeyou415]

@@tysonhunter__ I feel it man... it really is a struggle to live out here. Best of luck to all your endeavors !

[@katharinabaendl1997]

Leaving Oahu tomorrow, got beaten down at Sherwood Beach, ha ha

[@helloiseeyou415]

@@katharinabaendl1997 nice ! haha next time try makaha (;

[@holzsmsf]

MAjic isnt it.. I surf the Gold Coast in Australia,, about 1hr down the road. Spoilt hey

[@eduardozanini7659]

Are you the guy from Dark? :o

[@tysonhunter__]

I didn't know what show that was, but after ta quick Google search I see the resemblance 😅

[@hulkstrongest839]

Bro I got no complaints about using a handboard but the word is bodysurfing using your body not a hand board because the technique for using a handboard and not is different and your technique on shorebreaks is different than an outside break

[@joshbrochill78]

This should be called handboarding.

[@tysonhunter__]

And surfing should be surfboarding

[@joshbrochill78]

@@tysonhunter__ ok, how about hand surfing?

[@aofathesofa2940]

thank you for the video. btw the painting in the background is crooked

[@tysonhunter__]

Lol sorry bout that. Anything you want to learn for the next vid?

[@kdoggarvey5835]

Tyson Hunter Edits how much do Finns matter for bodysurfing?

[@tysonhunter__]

@@kdoggarvey5835 I know guys that go with no fins, but they are usually great swimmers, like lifeguards. But even then it will hinder their performance (like wave count and initial speed). I think you will have a lot more fun with fins.

[@kdoggarvey5835]

Tyson Hunter Edits I body surf where I can stayed and catch the wave, really short break I usually just push of my feet then ride it is that ok?

[@tysonhunter__]

@@kdoggarvey5835 oh ya, in that case i wouldn't worry about it.