Surfing is a
surface water sport in which the participant is carried along the face of a breaking
wave, most commonly using a
surfboard, although wave-riders may make use of
kneeboards,
body boards (aka
boogie boards),
kayaks,
surf skis, and
their own bodies. Surfing-related sports such as
paddleboarding and
sea kayaking do not require waves, and other derivative sports such as
kitesurfing and
windsurfing rely primarily on wind for power, yet all of these tools may as well be used to ride waves. Two major subdivisions within contemporary stand-up surfing are reflected by the differences in surfboard design and riding style of
longboarding and
shortboarding. In
tow-in surfing (most often, but not exclusively, associated with
big wave surfing), a surfer is towed into the wave by a motorized water vehicle, such as a
jetski, generally because standard paddling is often ineffective when trying to match a large wave's higher speed.