At last a bodyboarding forum, great stuff, im completely new to bodyboarding (no surfing experience either). I bought a manta amp for 80 squid and not used it much but now have the opportunity to use it every day (moved to Pembrokeshire in wales), would appretiate any good tutorial sites for beginners, any sites that offer advice on gear (what the different styles of bodyboards are used for), the lingo (got to talk the talk - btw, what does kook mean?), any info, advice, tutorials would be great, many thanks.

[Edited on 8-4-2004 by Papa_Lazarou]

If your into bodyboarding in pembrokeshire please let me in on the best places to go, i mainly go to fresh water east, wouldnt mind meeting other Bboarders as all my mates whinge about the cold and dont even try, i dont mind going by myself but would love to get new tips and stuff

Hi Papa_Lazarou, my names Airborne and welcome to the site. Your like me, i have a Manta Elite 40" board (which is very similar to the Manta Amp, apart from the Amp is wider.) I've been bodyboarding for about 4 years now...ever since i was riding on one of those rubbish polistyrene boards! But, i don't get to go to the coast very often because i live in Nottingham. So i only get to bodyboard on holiday! (Which is about 3 times a year! consider yourself lucky to live near the coast)
The closest surf i get to is around the dirty waters of Skeggy or Wales. Hey, instead of me giving you info about wales, how about you give me some. Oh, if you want more to see more surf spots in wales go to this link:http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Europe/UK/West_Wales/index.html[/ url]
Ther's only 5 spots reviewed but loads of spots listed on the map, check it out.

Or better still, take a look at the http://forces-of-nature.co.uk/beachguide/index.htm" target="_blank">Beach Guide on this site which has ALL the beaches in Wales reviewed! (Al)

You also said what tutorial sites there are. I recently found one, here it is:

http://www.waveblasters.com/videos.html /> Just click on the clip you want to watch. They're a bit short but it gets you started with some basic tips and tricks. All these clips have been "stolen" from tutorial DVD "How to Bodyboard DVD by Morey Borads". So really the clips on the site save you from buying the DVD! If you want info on the DVD give me a shout. Other great bodyboarding tutorials include. "Bodyboarding Inside and Out 1" shortened to "BIO 1". This is quite old. I've been trying to get it for ages! Because i'm so desperate for it. You can only get it on NTSC format, which means it only plays on American video players and NOT British! "BIO 1" is a tutorial bodyboarding video for beginners to intermediate. The sequel to the video is "BIO 2" which teaches you bodyboarding from intermediate to experienced tricks, tips and skills! This thankfully is available on PAL format (which works on British video players). Again, give me a shout if you want a website for this video (i want it to).
That should get you started. Now for your last question. "Kook" simply means that you are a beginner to this forum, and that you haven't written many posts yet. If you look at your posts number under your picture it should tell you how many posts you've written. The more posts you do the higher the rank you go. ("Kook is a rank). I am a "Pro" because i have written 97 posts. Take a look here to see how many posts you need to get a certain rank:
Kook 1
Grommet 5
Beach Bum 15
Hot shot 30
Pro 75
A Force-of-Nature * 150
A Force-of-Nature ** 300
A Force-of-Nature *** 500
A Force-of-Nature **** 1000

I hope this has helped you. I think i've broken the record of the BIGGEST post ever written, so i'll shut up now!

Airborne.

OK, the websites i gave you didn't work so here they are again in different posts!

surf spots for wales:

http://www.wannasurf.com/spot/Europe/UK/West_Wales/index.html< br />

Or the Beach Guide on this site whichj has 100's of beaches in Wales listed.

And here's the site for the bodyboarding tutorials:

http://www.waveblasters.com/videos.html

Do you have bodyboarding swim fins yet?

Airborne.

Thanks for the feedback Airborne, those links are great, the tutorial vids are what i needed, im thinking about buying that bio 2 vid its just a shame about bio 1 format.

South west wales has some fantastic beaches, during weekdays you can have the sea to yourself even at fresh water west which is a popular place for surfers, its all a bit calm down here at the mo but for me the best time is november through winter when it gets a bit choppy, you have to be a bit hardcore to be in the water during feb/march as it gets just a tad cold but if you have a winter suit you'll be laughing it off.
The downside to living down here is that its miles from western civilization, dont expect choice, dont expect to get anything done by the locals the same same day and bewarned of the local drivers they are the worst in the country, apart from the excellent countryside its a complete dump, severely lacking in culture and arts but the people make up for all this so if you ever get a chance come on down.
I have a pair of wave grippers, do you recommend any fins?

[Edited on 10-4-2004 by Papa_Lazarou]

Here are some more links i have found

http://www.biscotte.nu/us/index.htm

http://www.weeno.com/art/0900/234.html

http://www.mikestewart.com/

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/cwbodyboarder/

http://www.netbb.com/pages/?pageID=2

http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Rink/2753/Main.html

http://bodyboarding-pics.8k.com/indexi.htm

http://www.angelfire.com/ok/lozzle/hintsntips.html

Thanks for the info on Wales and those sites look really good! I got your U2U message, so take a look at my reply (if you already haven't done so). It is a shame about BIO 1's format, although like you i am purchasing BIO 2. I like your choice of swim fins, they sound good for both drop knee and prone sponging. I like Manta, they're an Australian make, and seeing as bodyboarding is popular there i think they are pretty good and know what they're doing!
I'd love to get some fins that are for prone and drop knee riders. I have "winstons" (only £20). I think they're also called Rheos which are the cheaper, and i think heavier versions of the Churchill Makapuu fins. A good fin is Mike Stuart's Vipper fins! They're popular!

Hey Im Matt a new guy. I bodyboard regulary and I live in the sunshine coast in australia. I regulary travel with friends. Here my friend lance in a nice barrel at secrets. Well its not that secret.
My Picture

Hi Matt!

I'd love to live in Australia! Isn't it like the mecca of bodyboarding?

Your coast of secret spots sounds nice, but your link "my picture" doesn't seem to work...try again, or U2U message Justal for help.