The Beginner Surfers Wipeout Survival Guide 

The wipeout is not always the worst part; it is the paddle back out without even catching a wave

If you ever get wiped out, the most important thing to do is relax, when you relax it's so much easier to hold your breath. Just curl up in a ball and let the wave do it's thing. You will come back up to the surface!

Agreed, relaxation is a must, but there is more. We tend to be fixated with getting out the back again, to safety or to catch another wave. However, in challenging waves with a series approaching you after your initial wipe out, it may be safer to allow yourself to be washed in out of the impact zone. Relaxing and letting the wave take you is key. Resisting uses more energy and may set you up for a series of energy draining poundings. In crowded conditions it is even more dangerous.

Best thing to do when wiping out is to curl up like a ball and relax!

Very helpful tips! I am a scuba diver and skin diver -- the skills from which have been very useful to me when I get wiped out while surfing. Your channel offers a fantastic refresher course. Keep those lessons comin'. Thanks, guys!

How to wipeout in bigger/challenging conditions ( Barrels, big waves e.t.c ) Keep up the great vids, this one helped heaps!

First real hold down was in double overhead hurricane surf in Rhode Island. Probably only lasted 10-15 seconds, but I only got one breath before the 2nd wave. Strong dose of reality as to how strong water can be

Hey guys, would love to see a vid on what to do when you get caught in the 'impact zone' during a big set of waves. Some tips and advice would be great 👍

Great vid, as usual, thanks! I'd love to see a video about the actual wipeout. Best techniques to go through broken waves, big whitewashes. You know, when those big sets break too far out, wash everyone out and each surfer tries their best to go through. Some try duck diving, some leave their boards and deep dive, some just go down heads up holding their leashes for life... Also, how can we avoid being at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Guys, I love your kind and egoless way to share information. Thanks a lot🧡🌊

Great exercises for breath holding, but my big question is how to take the tumble. If you're stuck in a Spin cycle, should you be in a tight ball, or have your body more spread out?

Hi Ryan! There are 3 aspects I want to comment about surf, your lessons and surfing places: 1- I live near the Mediterranean Coast and when the water is calmed or wavy but not for surfing, on summer I practice scuba and swimming, just to train in the water for my surfing sessions. Is that good? I need to learn more about floating on the surface. 2- I'm extremely curious about where is located your surfing school! I hope one day I would come to the antipodes and learn more! 3- Meanwhile I go to Zarautz, in The Basque Country (Northern Iberic Peninsula), close to France. My surfing baptism place, good waves and excellent "pintxos" (food). 4- Thank you so much for this lessons! Aloha!

You guys are the best

I needed this. I once went out to surf on WAY to big waves and after falling i almoset drowned. After I got out to the surface I was coughing for like 2 hours

Excellent, intelligent video, thank you so much🌊

I love your videos. You will train a lot of great surfers! Keep it up!

Thanks for the vid! a second part would be cool, like knowing where and how to whipe out correctly.

thanks for the tips guys, I found this video really usefull. Greetings from Argentina

Well done guys great video!

I practiced holding my breathe during this video, I think it helped

Hey! I really enjoy your videos and have a question to you. Since I started surfing 6 years ago (but had a break till today just with a few surf seshs in between), I stand with my left foot in front. But the thing is that my left foot is stronger and when I e.g. play football, I always use my left foot. And I even prefer the left handlers. Is that normal? Shouldn’t I stand with my right foot in front then? I’m afraid that I learned it the wrong way and will never be able to improve and properly surf...

‘Take yourself to a happy place’ The ocean is my happy place 😄

I was surfing in some left over storm waves upto 8ft yesterday. I wiped out badly on a big wave and it took my sup surf board with it and felt like it dragged me under for a good 15 secs.... I didn't get a chance to take a big breath of air before being dragged under. It felt like I was getting close to not being able to hold my breath any longer. I was wondering what I could have done to help the situation like swim etc, but had no idea what was up or down and super murky water....?

Awesome Ryan, Did you see the recent video of nathan Florence explaining his wipe out at teaupo'po?

Good teaching!

excellent video

Nice vid !! Gretings from chile!

Thank you so much!! Today I learned how to do a top turn finally at snapper rocks! Without you guys, I would’ve been able to! Thank you!

This was really helpful :')

But when wiping out in deep water, how do I orient myself to know where is the surface?

I just had my first wipe out today! Question 1) When experienced wipe out and you fell, do you just hold your breath firmly or do you blow tiny bubbles like freestyle while you try to stay calm in the spin mode until then you can move your limbs and come up to the surface? Question 2) When you pop up, do you just shot straight up? is it okay to take the deepest inhale with your mouth before taking your board back?

Is it weird if i hold my breath everytime i watch a wipeout and estimate id have half the amount of breathhold due to thrashing around.

Where are those waves? They look great!

So for me it's not the initial wipe out that bothers me. It's the continuing sets that can come after when the waves are really pumping. Is there any advise you can give me on getting back past the break after getting slammed by a big wave and looking another wave dead in the face?

I don’t want to see any more LA Dodger caps in the videos. From a SF Giants fan ;) Great video, thanks!

I find it best to flail around and panic....it makes things dramatic and fun!

Great vid / great advice. I had one of my worst wipeouts in Bali. Luckily I had just run an event with big wave legend Andrew Cotton giving a talk on his experience. He talking about staying relaxed / not panicking during a big wipeout. This got me out of some serious trouble in Bali. I should put some advice out there for this on my channel.....

It not about holding my breath it's about the anxiety that I will hit the bottom and potentially hitting my head on the reef or rock. Please give me tips.

Where is this spot located ? It seems so nice

I'm ok to hold my breath but can u please do a vid on what to do when being tumbled and to get through a heavey wave when u can't duck dive at the time Eg. Curl up don't get to low or get as low as u can? There is actually nothing on the net for this.. I'm intermidiate more leaning to advanced but can't quite grasp the heavey sets. A reply would be amazing Cheers

Dude how can I learn or what route can I take to learn this stuff. I'm a veteran looking for therapy

Careful for blacking out when doing the swim training! -> -> "Freediving blackout ... a loss of consciousness caused by cerebral hypoxia towards the end of a breath-hold (freedive or dynamic apnea) dive, when the swimmer does not necessarily experience an urgent need to breathe and has no other obvious medical condition that might have caused it. It can be provoked by hyperventilating just before a dive, or as a consequence of the pressure reduction on ascent, or a combination of these. Victims are often established practitioners of breath-hold diving, are fit, strong swimmers and have not experienced problems before." Had a young guy die recently here in Australia because of this :/ He would have had no idea he even needed to come up for air before blacking out :/

Can someone name the song at 5:48

Don't you use a snorkel at water level?

Great video. Personally I fear more having to swim in after losing the board and with not much energy left...

Yeah but this is for one wipeout but in the sea they are endless, and everytime you try to leave them, they are taking you to the back and then crashing you again, so how surfers can survive even with "small" waves 😅?

Hey all, im a beginner surfer looking for friends lives in Australia in Sydney to go surfing with, I have no friends to go surfing with, if there any group for me to join would be great full 😊

1:14 is that a challenge?

I just experience it.. it’s scary! But I just keep my composure.. my leash snap so I swim back to the beach! 😦

This video might have been titled "breath holding 101" - I expected more of what to do... Position. How to set your body. How to find "up" with different types of waves. Hazards of a rip?

Your videos are great but you have way to much filler stuff it would be way better if you got straight to the points.

Fear of this... AND SHARKS!!!

That is a beautiful beach. Could you please tell the beach name?

10 Minutes pictures of turtles and a snorkler. What about the sheer power of a wave hitting your body, draging you under water, your board tumbling around, getting crashed on the shallow ocean floor, maybe a reef, seconds feel like minutes..... Your beginner tip: learn to hold your breath, control your heart rate and go to your happy place 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

My fear is from the board

1:55 - Don’t deal with it the way those dead people do.

Aha nah, Sharks were a bigger fear mate

my biggest fear is get Knockout by the board or the reef

My leashes keep breaking.

What about wiping out over reef?

Almost died at the wedge today so I came

I got slammed today

10 mins for saying that holding your breath and relaxing helps? There’s so much more..

How to RIP 💀💀💀💀💀💀