To ride a bodyboard, lie with your hips near the tail and your fins under water. As the wave arrives, push the nose down with one hand and paddle with the other while you kick. When the wave takes you, slide forward, arch your back and grip the top corner of the board on the side you are going.
This page covers riding the wave itself. The steps come from eBodyboarding’s “How To Ride A Bodyboard” by Jay Reale, a former professional bodyboarder who runs the shop in San Clemente, California (read on 2026-10-21). WaterSportHQ editors have not taught or filmed these moves. If you have never been in the surf on a board, start with bodyboarding for beginners and how to use a bodyboard.
Where to lie on a bodyboard
Reale’s guide gives this position for kicking:
- Hips near the tail, far enough back that your feet stay under water when you kick. Fins that slap the surface waste energy, he says.
- Elbows on the board, not hanging off the edges.
- Back arched, hands gripping the top corners.
To switch to an arm paddle, he says to move forward until your legs lift slightly and the nose dips a little.
Reale says the right size board is crucial for the take-off position below. See bodyboard sizes.
How to catch the wave
Reale’s take-off steps, as the wave comes up behind you:
- Scoot back until the tail is level with your hip bones, fins under water.
- Put one hand on the top center of the nose and push down hard. This keeps the board flat so it planes as the wave lifts you.
- Paddle deep with the other hand and kick hard.
- When you feel the wave pushing you, scoot forward fast, arch your back and lift your chest and head.
How to hold the board to go left or right
Reale sets the hands by the direction you ride:
- Going left: left hand on the top left corner, left elbow and forearm along the left edge. This holds your edge on the wave face.
- Going right: the same on the right side.
- Your other hand goes about a third of the way down the opposite rail, elbow raised.
He warns against putting the lead hand in the center of the nose or on the wrong corner, because it slows your changes of direction.
How to steer and set your speed
From the same guide:
- Push down on the outside rail with the lower hand to turn down the wave. Pull up to turn up the wave.
- Move forward on the board for speed, as far as you can without losing your edge or nosediving.
- Move back a little for control. In steep, hollow waves, he says to sit further back and further over on the rail so the board does not slide sideways.
He also says not to over-wax the chest and stomach area. Wax where your arms and hands go, so you can still shift your body quickly.
The cutback: your first turn back to the wave
Reale describes the cutback for a rider going left: slide your body quickly to the right side of the board and back a little, keeping your hands in place, and the board turns back toward the wave. Then shift back to the left side and forward to regain speed across the wave.
What to learn after that
eBodyboarding’s buyer’s guide describes the steps riders usually go through:
- Beginner: rides straight toward the beach on broken waves, often without fins.
- Intermediate: wears fins, angles across the unbroken part of the wave, and tries cutbacks, 360s and el rollos.
- Advanced: duckdives, rides waves of different sizes and works on moves such as dropknee riding.
For the half-standing stance, see how to drop knee on a bodyboard.
Gear that changes how the board rides
- Fins: eBodyboarding says fins help you catch waves and steer. See the bodyboard fins compared.
- Leash: see do you need a leash for a bodyboard.
- The board itself: see the best bodyboards by rider size.