HOW TO DUCKDIVE A SURFBOARD (Short Board) Knowing how to duckdive your surfboard is an integral part for a beginning surfer to transform from a kook into becoming a complete well-rounded competent surfer.
So, what does it mean to duckdive? It is the act/art of sinking your surfboard under water as a breaking wave or broken wave comes towards you.
Sounds easy enough right? not so much.
You ever notice how some surfers can get to the outside of a break faster than others, one of the reasons is they have a solid duckdive, the other is that they are a strong paddler, but that's for another article.
A well executed duckdive will get the surfer deep enough under the breaking wave so as not to get pulled backwards by the whitewater.
A good duckdive results in 2 steps up 1 step back, a lousy duckdive will result in 1 step up 2 steps back and eventually onto the sand, tired and whupped by the ocean.
The Mechanics Okay the basics:

1. Build up a little bit of paddling speed and heads straight towards the wave.
   
2. Once you are close to the wave/whitewater-about three to four feet- put both hands on your rails (around the upper chest area) and sink the nose of your board by doing a sort of push up.
   
3. Use your knee or foot to then sink the tail end of your surfboard, you and your body should now be underneath the water.
   
4. Make sure that the nose of your board is the first thing to re-surface (you want to be able to start paddling directly after) The push downwards on the surfboard tail from your knee or foot helps to aid in the nose of your surfboard coming up first, as well as the motion of the oncoming water.
   If your tail end is the first thing to surface then you haven't done it correctly and you are out of position to keep paddling.
   

That is basically it, of course there are a whole slew of mitigating factors that will affect how well you can get underneath a wave.
Such As:

• The most important factor is timing, too soon and you resurface amongst all the whitewater, to late and you wont get deep enough and will wind up going backwards real quick.
  
• If the break is really crowded you will have to adjust to up and riding surfers coming towards you and you might end up doing a sideways duckdive or you might not get a good paddling start because of the other surfers in your way.
  
• Surfing a shallow sandbar or reef will change the depth of your duckdive not allowing you to get fully underneath a wave, you then have to rely on your paddle strength and just try to power out
• How big the waves are will have some cause and effect relationship.
  Sometimes know matter how good a duckdive you perform you aren't getting under that wave.
  You will than have to rely on your paddling power and some ocean knowledge to get your self out past the breaking waves.
  

Some Tips.
1.
The best tip on how to duckdive - practice it over and over, whether it's a flat day on the ocean or in a bay, lake or pool.
Practice the motion.
The sooner you learn to duckdive the sooner you will be able to get out to the lineup without expending all your energy stuck on the inside.
2.
Watch other surfers and see when/how they do it.
3.
Try practicing ducking under waves without a surfboard so you can see how it's supposed to feel (if you are learning to surf you really already be a competent ocean swimmer, so you might already know how this feels) 4.
Become a strong paddler, the better paddler you are can only help you become not just better at duck diving but surfing in general.
5.
Get to know your surfboard and its/your limitations A thick board + small person = hard to sink and get underneath the wave.
6.
Never ever, ever ditch your board around other surfers, not only is it dangerous but it's just a kook move and in surfing kook moves aren't good.
For those of you that ride longboards the above advice won't help you except for not ditching your board and become a stronger paddler.