Bodyboard riding styles: a beginner's guide to technique

Prone, drop-knee and stand-up are the three bodyboard riding styles. Each one balances and steers the board in its own way.

The three bodyboard riding styles

Bodyboarding uses a short, buoyant board to catch waves. The board stays the same in all three positions. What changes is where your weight sits and which parts of your body steer it.

Prone, drop-knee and stand-up

Prone means lying face down with your chest slightly raised. Your hands control the forward rails and your legs trail behind. It is the usual bodyboarding position.

Drop-knee raises your torso. The back knee goes on the board and the front foot on the deck, and pressure through both does the balancing and steering. Your body sits higher on the bodyboard than when lying prone.

Standing and the difference from surfing

Stand-up bodyboarding puts both feet on a small board. You have less room to move your feet than on a surfboard in conventional stand-up surfing. Balance and control move from your chest, hips and hands to your feet: it is a separate technique, not prone riding done upright.

The three positions are not a compulsory progression by skill level. Stand-up is not an automatic next step after prone or drop-knee.

Names and recognised approaches

Boogie boarding is simply another name for bodyboarding. It is not a fourth riding style.

Competitions use the same three positions. The British Bodyboard Club recognises prone, drop-knee and standing approaches in its competition rules. The International Bodyboarding Corporation runs separate prone and drop-knee divisions and lists a 2025 rulebook.

Some surf vocabulary doesn't carry over. In stand-up surfing, "regular" means left foot forwards and "goofy" means right foot forwards. Neither term describes the standard prone stance.

How to ride prone and catch a wave

Prone is where the take-off starts, including the ones that end in drop-knee. Three things decide whether a ride works: your position, your paddling and your timing.

Set your position on the board

Before you paddle, your body needs to sit in the right place on the board.

• Centred body: lie too far forwards and the nose can bury. Lie too far back and the wave gets harder to catch, or the board loses speed.
• Raised chest: lift your chest enough to see ahead.
• Hips down: keep your hips on the board. Arching too much or lifting your head too high can become uncomfortable.
• Hands on the rails: grip the forward rails to steady the board and adjust the nose as the wave lifts you.

Paddle and kick into the wave

From that position, paddle with arm strokes and fin kicks together while your legs trail behind the board. For an efficient kick, move your legs alternately from the hips with relaxed knees. Keep the fins mostly underwater: splashing on the surface wastes effort.

Timing matters as much as power. Watch which way the wave is moving and how it is shaped, then position yourself where it starts to break. Build speed before it reaches the board, not once it is already underneath you.

Make your first controlled rides

Once the wave starts pushing the board, keep kicking briefly if you need to. Look ahead and stop the nose from digging in. As a beginner, start on small broken waves and ride straight towards the shore.

When those straight rides are consistent, try crossing an open face. Look towards the open face rather than the whitewater. Then shift your weight and press through a rail in a controlled way to travel along the wave.

Moving into drop-knee

Drop-knee starts from prone. You catch the wave lying down and only change stance once the board is already moving, so your prone control comes first.

Prepare and time the transition

Practise the stance on land first. Then try it on a manageable wave you can already catch prone. Build forward speed before you switch, because changing too early can stall the board or throw off your balance. As you move, grip the rails and plant your back knee against the inside rail.

Place your foot and hold the line

With the knee set, swing your front foot towards the nose in one controlled movement. Raise your torso gradually and look where you want to go.

Your back leg also helps with grip. Let the rear fin hang off the tail: it helps with edge control once your knee is against the inside rail.

Foot placement can add leverage. With the front foot towards one rail and the back knee towards the opposite side, you can resist sideways slipping. The exact position varies with your body proportions and the board's shape.

Build balance before harder turns

Once you are up, keep your weight centred. Too much weight forward can catch the nose, and sitting too far back can cost you speed.

Ride a straight, controlled line before you add a gradual turn. Leave tighter turns until the stance feels stable.

If you keep slipping sideways or falling forwards, go back to prone. Work on your balance and rail control there before you try drop-knee again.

Building speed and turning in each style

Every turn needs speed, and you build it before you turn. The difference comes down to which part of your body applies pressure in each style.

Trim across the open face

Riding prone, trim across the open face. Small weight shifts and rail pressure hold your line and build speed.

Your weight also works like a throttle. Leaning forwards can speed the board up and leaning back can slow it down. Overdo either and you risk burying the nose or losing momentum.

The same logic applies in drop-knee, but different parts of your body do the work. Pressure from the inside knee engages a rail, while your front foot and upper body steer the board.

Make controlled changes of direction

A bottom turn takes the board from the lower part of the wave back up towards its face. Look where you want to go, engage the turning rail and follow a smooth arc. A cutback brings you from the weaker shoulder back towards the whitewater or the stronger part of the wave, by switching rail pressure.

Standing up calls for subtler steering. Get the board moving steadily first, bend your knees and keep your centre of mass low. Steer with small adjustments rather than sudden movements.

Progress to prone manoeuvres

Prone riding goes well beyond beginner technique. It covers turns, spins, rolls, barrels and aerial maneuvers. For a 360 spin on a suitable open face, shift your weight forwards to free the tail. Lift the fins clear and start the rotation with your head and shoulders.

A re-entry turns the board near the crest as the lip stands up. Timing and control through the landing make or break it.

Choosing waves and staying safe

Every technique above depends on the wave you choose. A wave that suits a manoeuvre is not always a safe one to ride.

Match the wave to the style

Each style needs a different kind of wave, and some waves carry more risk than others.

• Prone practice: small, gently spilling waves or broken whitewater suit beginners.
• Drop-knee: an open section gives you time to rise, set your stance and steer before the breaking part catches up.
• Large, powerful waves: these are harder to ride and can cause injury.
• Hollow and dumpy waves: Surfing England warns that hollow waves can be powerful and shallow, and that dumpy waves break forcefully close to shore.

Conditions at a beach break also change with the sandbanks and the tide. A peak that worked in the morning may not suit you later in the day.

Check conditions before entering

Before you go in, check the local forecast, wind, tide, swell and water conditions. Ask the lifeguards about local hazards. At a lifeguarded beach, red-and-yellow flags mark the area for swimming and bodyboarding, and a red flag means do not enter the water.

The RNLI recorded 13 lifeboat launches to bodyboarders in trouble in 2024. Its lifeguards assisted 1,249 bodyboarders the same year. These figures do not show that any one riding style is more dangerous.

Respond to currents and fatigue

A rip current flows out to sea and can carry you away from shallow water. According to the RNLI, rips usually move at 1–2 mph but can reach 4–5 mph. If one catches you, stay calm and hold on to your leashed board. Don't swim straight against it: move parallel to the beach if you cannot head straight back in.

Cold water and fatigue can affect your judgement and your swimming. Wear thermal protection suited to the conditions, and get out once your kicking or board control starts to slip. If you cannot reach the shore, raise a hand and shout for help.