Physical Insights

A good surfer not only has courage and persistence, but also must know well of the physical insights of surfing.

When a person is standing on the board and surfing in the waves, he experiences three forces, his own weight, upthrust force and impulsive force created the waves. A surfer must find the right angle between the wave and the board, and balance himself within the three forces. Taking advantage of these three forces, he moves forward without further use of propelling power.

Since the speed of sliding from one wave to the next is high, the strong inertia force will push the surfer to the next wave. The surfer just needs to balance himself, trying to stay longer on the wave peak to enable himself to surf in the waves.

Equipment

Surfing can be done on various pieces of equipment, including surfboards, bodyboards, wave skis, kneeboards and surf mats. Most modern surfboards are made of polyurethane foam, fiberglass cloth, and polyester resin.

Other than these, a leash is used to keep a surfer's board from washing to shore after a 'wipeout', and to prevent it from hitting other surfers, surf wax or traction pads are used to keep a surfers feet from slipping off the deck of the board, and fins which are also known as "skegs" can either be permanently attached or interchangeable to protect the board whilst traveling.