Bodysurfing Category Listings

Still though, Teahupoo’s suited for bodysurfing ’cause it’s a big wedgy wave with a big shoulder, whereas somewhere like Cloudbreak is fun, but you’re gonna get caught behind. I’ve had great bodysurfs at Cloudbreak but it’s way more of a down-the-line wave so it’s not the perfect setup for bodysurfing.

Bodysurfing has become my preferred form of wave riding as well - but I don't really agree that it is more difficult than surfing ('surfboarding' as I like to call it). In addition to fitness and wave knowledge, surfboarding takes a lot of coordination, agility, and muscle memory to catch waves, stand up, and control the board in critical conditions.

Bodysurfing is the art of riding a wave without using any buoyant device or surf craft – it’s all in the name, surfing with only your body.

Bodysurfing is the sport of riding a wave without the assistance of any buoyant device such as a surfboard or bodyboard. Bodysurfers often equip themselves with a pair of swimfins that aid propulsion and help the bodysurfer catch, ride, and kick out of waves.

There’s a unique beauty in just grabbing fins, a handplane, kicking into anything that comes your way, and watching the show. We all love to use the hot-button words like soul, connection, and rhythm to describe surfing a wave. But bodysurfing is bright-eyed, unbridled adrenaline and should be part of any surf trip, surf session or day at the beach (ocean or lake).

The trick with the bigger waves is to keep on paddling and kicking until you’re are definitely on the wave , if you stop before this point you’re likely to fall off the back the wave and it will proceed unridden, and you’ll be left vulnerable to the next wave on the head. Once up and riding the principles of bodysurfing are the same as riding the smaller waves in that you want to trim across the wave, maintaining a nice high line.

Bodysurfing a wave — just a wetsuit and fins, no fiberglass or foam — involves kicking, stroking, sliding, bouncing, skipping, rolling, spinning, and the inevitable whomping at the end.

The 2026 IBSA Bodysurfing World Tour Finals are set to take place on the South West Coast of France (near Biarritz/Moliets) between September 26 and October 5, 2026, with specific locations to be confirmed based on wave conditions.

Bodysurfing is truly the purest form of wave sliding.

In essence, bodysurfing is meditative physical exercise in the ocean, and exercise is a natural antidepressant. Strenuous physical activities like bodysurfing stimulate the release of endorphins (feel-good neurochemicals) that simply make us ...

Bodysurfing is an ancient pastime practiced by coastal communities worldwide, with a rich bodysurfing history that predates written records.

Bodysurfing memories are mostly physical: the vast shudder with which the wave lifts you into itself, a sudden plunge down the face, the pressure on my hands when I hold them together in front of me, knifing through the white water.

It was around this time that bodysurfers began lengthening their rides by surfing horizontally (angling right or left) across the breaking wave face, as opposed to riding already-broken whitewater waves straight to shore.

Aloha fellow people who have found the innermost limits of fun. I am bald and clock a few marathon bodysurf sessions a month . I have tried the O’Neill rash guard but the hood visor gets in the way during long swims.

Perhaps the purest form of wave riding, bodysurfing is the art and sport of riding a wave without the assistance of any buoyant device such as a surfboard or bodyboard. Beginner bodysurfing takes place in standing depth water, propelling yourself off the sand into a wave.

With nothing but the waves beneath you, bodysurfing gives a raw, intimate experience that's hard to replicate. You feel and respond to every wave naturally.

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When out the back look for where the surfers are and aim to sit just inside of them (closer to the beach) as a bodysurfer you’ll be able to catch waves at the last second, so if its busy day you’ll be looking to pick up the waves that the make it through the surfers line up unridden.

Bodysurfing is the oldest and simplest form of wave riding, and prior to the invention of the surf leash in the 1970s, was once a prerequisite skill for any surfer swimming after a lost board post-wipeout.

When out the back look for where the surfers are and aim to sit just inside of them (closer to the beach) as a bodysurfer you’ll be able to catch waves at the last second, so if its busy day you’ll be looking to pick up the waves that the make it through the surfers line up unridden.