Whomping

Body Whomping is a form of wave riding reserved for the skilled and/or insane people of the surfing world looking for a quick, and I mean quick, thrill when there are no ready alternatives. Whomping on a wave usually involves a maximum 2-3 second bodysurfing ride on a wave that is breaking in water that is VERY shallow. Shallow as in ZERO to 2 feet shallow! Sometimes the lip is breaking directly onto sand! As you take the wave and ride it, you must execute a variety of manuevers, especially at the end of the ride, in order to avoid driving your melon into the sand and possibly breaking your neck!

Perhaps the most famous body whomping break is The Wedge in Newport Beach, California. My bro, Scott, learned his techniques and style mostly at Sea Lane/Marine Street in La Jolla. The photo above is of him riding a 4 footer in Maui this month. The sand is less than 2 feet below the surface of the water.

On September 22, 2004 the San Diego Union-Tribune published a story http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040922/news_1m22spinal.html
about how three people suffered spinal injuries over the weekend while body whomping in La Jolla, including at least 1 broken neck.

At least once every summer someone turns up in the surf with a broken neck, [lifeguard Sgt. Dave] Rains said, but three spinal injuries in one weekend is unusual.

And then there's "body whomping," a crude form of bodysurfing in which a wader standing in shallow water leaps forward to catch the shore break, a wave that breaks at the water's edge.

"When the surf is up, there's a lot of experienced people in the water who make it look easy," Rains said. "The solid 3-to 4-foot surf in the last couple of days has compounded the shore break, which, along the steep beaches in La Jolla area, breaks top-to-bottom."