An American surfer has shared shocking footage of her being punched by a man in Bali.

In the video shared by Sara Taylor, the surfer can be seen riding a wave on when the man comes towards her and strikes her in the head with a punch.

Although the woman initially does not retaliate, the footage reveals that the altercation continues out of the water. The camera, operated by a third party, captures the man approaching Taylor and attempting to strike her with multiple punches.

The video ends abruptly as the camera falls, and a voice is heard telling the man to stop.

Taylor later stated that the man continued attacking her because he noticed that he was being recorded.

The man’s identity was later revealed as Brazilian pro surfer João Paulo Azevedo.

“After being dropped in on, on my first wave, the guy’s friend punched me in the head and then after being confronted about hitting me, he attacked Charlie on the beach for filming him. This is insane, does anyone know who they are?” she posted to Instagram.

The surfer approaches Sara Taylor on the water in Bali and punches her. Photo / via Instagram

According to G1 News, the man apologised, claiming he thought Taylor was a man.

“This girl looked like a man, I didn’t know she was a woman. She surfed like a man, dressed like a man. She was riding everyone’s wave, not respecting anyone. She went with my friend’s wave and pushed my friend out of the loop,” he said.

Video shows Sara Taylor being attacked by a fellow surfer in Bali. The camera, operated by a third party, captures the man approaching Sara and attempting to strike her with multiple punches. Photo / via Instagram

“I went to ask why she had done that to my friend. She went by and threw water in my face, cursed me. And then I lost my mind due to momentary stress and ended up attacking her. I lost my reason. After I attacked her I saw that it was a woman.

 “She was wearing a T-shirt and I couldn’t see her bra. Soon after I apologised, a friend of mine came paddling up and I said, ‘Calm down, it’s a woman’.”