If you are planning to go into the ocean at any point you need to learn how to bodysurf, if for nothing else but safety reasons. Bodysurfing is an essential part of the learning curve to becoming a great all-round water man or water woman. Bodysurfing gives you that simple appreciation and understanding of the ocean you don’t get when learning with a board.
Sadly, bodysurfing has taken a secondary lounge to stand up or standard surfing. By learning and comprehending the flow of the wave you will improve greatly. Bodysurfing has you inundated in the water and you can feel the back-and-forth movement a great deal more intensely than with any waterboard.
Some would say bodysurfing, surfing and any sort of ocean water sport starts in the ocean, but it is the preparation before you enter the sea that will at last choose how effective you are at bodysurfing.
It is advisable not to learn on your own and to use an instructor. You should do your research and practice in waters that are safe for beginners while wearing the right gear. For people who grew up near the ocean, especially in places like the Hawaiian Islands (where youngsters practically live in the ocean), bodysurfing is completely self-taught. Playing in the shore break leads to a natural progression of figuring out how to catch and ride waves without equipment, before moving on to more complex versions of wave-riding like bodyboarding and surfing.