[SeaCliff]

After a winter where I had been feeling that I was making some nice progress and improving at least little on a variety of fronts, the last three swells in a row, I'm feeling like I took a couple of nice sized steps back. The last three swells I had at best a couple of good waves, a few ok waves, but a nice solid handful of waves where I out and out looked and felt incredibly kooky, as if I'd never done this before, ever.

I know it's in my head, and I'm virtually certain that it's related to the mind games and "hesitation" issues discussed in the other thread so I won't bother rehashing it here - but somebody, anybody - make me feel better and tell me what I already know - that this is a normal part of the endless learning process that is surfing - sometimes you end up taking a couple of steps back before surging forward again....right?

[jammy]

sc, last week i had a banner session and got more compliments than i knew what to do with.
the next day i couldn't even catch a wave.

[snaggletooth]

i have been suffering from much of the same, practically since january. in particular, this last swell, wasn't connecting with my frocket (how could that go wrong??). i know the waves were a bit weird and our sandbars are messed up, but it was pretty demoralizing. then there are some little victories, like a nice cover-up at trestles or landing a decent floater the other day. overall, i feel more demoralized than not, though. i definitely feel like it's a couple steps forward and then a whole marathon backwards for me. i guess that's not a pep talk. i just made myself more depressed, can't imagine it's helping you...

[the Kook]

Whaaaaaaaaa, Whaaaaaaaaa, Whaaaaaaaa. 

I'm gonna have onefin call the Whambulance for all of you.  I haven't been in the water since January, and I don't even want to THINK about how far I've regressed, but I sure ain't complaining about it.  Look at it this way, a bad day of surfing beats the best day at work, and you guys were in the water.

Please return to your whining. 


 

[tummee]

I have always felt good about my surfing when I can get out at least once a week, preferably two to three. With moving 20 minutes away from the beach and that flat spell that hit us, I lost that one day a week, and I am only beginning to get back on track. I have had my moments here and there, but my surfing is the pits right now.

NS3 was empty for the most part yesterday AM, so I had it all to myself for a good period of time. Conditions were marginal, but I was able to secure two decent rides right off the bat, finishing both off with a fun floater (which I have been trying to work on). I then proceeded to redefine kooking-out for the next hour. Blown waves, not getting around a section, going over the falls, etc.

I am chalking all this up to not being in the water as regularly as I need to be to progress (or maintain!) With more swells and warmer days ahead, I am confident we will all get back on track.

[money4coffeeman]

SC, that happens all the time. Worst thing you can do is try to force yourself out of it. Remember its supposed to be fun--- revel in your kookiness--enjoy your time underwater--- prone it, bodysurf it, of forget about surfing all together for a while. Then come back with a fresh mind.
 

[ez_ed]

Every time I start to feel like i'm ripping, I head over to Ehukai and am "middle of the pack".
Yesterday, I was over at my buddy's place for dinner and he shows me his pics from last week's 20 ft. Teahupoo session. On the same day those photos were taken, I was "charging" 8 ft. Pinballs.
So, I guess what i'm saying is....take MICKs' advice.

[SeaCliff]

Ahhh...you guys are the best...I feel better already. Next session: I'm going to clear my head, and screw working on anything - just catch some waves for the sake of catching waves and have some fun. I've been spending way too much time "working on stuff".

dakook: OK, you got me. I'll load my complaints into the whaambulance and off they go.

Mick and Ed - damn guys, If I'm gonna kook out, I should try doing it over there one of these days....I know I keep saying it, but ah, one day...at least I can dream. But you're both right: It's perspective of what standard I'm holding myself to, and it's possibly a big time case of forgetting to just relax and have fun.

Tummee - I wish I had the excuse of lack of surfing consistently - but there are so few even halfway decent days that I don't get out - I'm a reaallly lucky guy that way. But I hear you. I have often wondered how my skill set would evolve if I had the ability to surf as much as I do in a location that gets consistent decent swells. I doubt I'll ever find out...but it does make me wonder.

Jammy - I have no recollection of ever seeing you have a bad session.

And Snags - by any reasonable estimate, I have probably logged 20 to maybe 40 times the amount of water time as you (if for no other reason than I had a several year head start) and you are very definitely better than me. So for whatever you're feeling, stop a moment and feel really good about how far you've come how fast. It's like I've told onefin many times - an athlete is an athlete: give them a sport they like and just get out of the way. You're a wonderful athlete (and a really good person, too!) with tremendous upside. It's been fun to watch you progress.

[snaggletooth]

thanks, SC. that was really sweet. and made me feel better. it is one hell of a frustrating learning curve, though. thanks for always being stoked

[Shacky]

Sorry, I had to do it.  It's saved as one of my favorites for just this opportunity...hehe
 

[frroK]

Sorry, I had to do it.  It's saved as one of my favorites for just this opportunity...hehe
 

this coming from someone who has been Shralping!!  yes I said shralping... 




Just when i thought I was kooking out this whole super storm "groundswell" thingy.. all it took was an hour afterwork onshore shlop sesh on my 5'3 to set me straight...   go figure!

[onefinookas]

I think even is a bad session you can always find one little thing that went right.  I no this is an odd reference but I surfed Waimea one time and had the miserable luck of getting obliterated on the drop and snapping my leash plug leading to an awful swim to the beach that seemed to take hours.  It was only my second wave of the day and the first wave was a giant  shoulder hop that a wheelchair bound SUPer would have made.  I got to the beach, barely and crawled back to my stupid shitty truck completely defeated and feeling like quite the chump.  I went to Foodland to drown my misery in a 40 oz of Mickeys and some Donuts(like i didnt already have enough donuts).  As I was sitting at Three Tables watching the back of the waves unload at the Bay I started to replay the shitfuck session that just went down, yep it was awful as I remember it, I did nothing right and I should have known better than to try and take off where I did on the second wave, as a matter of fact I did know better which made me feel even worse.  But...


Well as I rewound the session again going all the way back to walking down the beach to paddle out by myself it dawned on me, there was a breakthrough in the session that had not occurred to me.  And this wasnt just one breakthrough but a monumental shift in my approach to surfing.  I paddled out by myself, yep, no buddy no other guys on the beach, no waiting for a wiser older sage mysto like person to tell me where best to paddle out, just me solo.  Not to say there wasnt a handful of guys already on it but this was the first time I wanted to surf the Bay and regardless if I could find someone to join me or not  I was farking on it.  Than there was the paddle out, slightly mistimed as I raced down the slope of the beach with the backwash heading out to sea I jumped on my board and started paddling as hard as I could.  Ha 20 feet into it and Im staring into 10 ft shorebreak on a 10'1 gun, gosh Im fucked bailing not an option, I go for a hail mary duckdive that bearly feels like it submerses the board but sure as brown trout it worked.  I duckdove waimea shorebreak on a 10'1 gun and didnt get killed, how the hell did I do that?  And when I had snapped the plug and I was stuck out there with no board and an really crappy swim ahead of me, Felipe Pomar paddled up to me and asked if I needed help and if I knew how to get in, and I was able to say probably for the first time that I didnt need help and that I did actually know how to get in and that I better get swimming if I know whats good for me.  And just like that I went from Droopy Dog to Top Cat, I successfully paddled out solo through hell shorebreak only to get my ass handed to me, rip the leash plug out and send me scurrying/crawling back up the beach tail between my legs and I could not have been more stoked.  From then on, if I found a wave I was on it where as before I would run around and try to find someone to go with me and make sure they had tested the waters previously, now it was different and life changing, and it was good.


I refuse to proofread this post so I apologize for misspellings and run-on sentences, I need more cafe.

[the Kook]

Now that's what I'm talking 'bout.  Thanks onefin. 

I was just having a discussion with a client yesterday about how the water can literally and figuratively wash away all the brown trout.  Doesn't matter whether you are on a board, on a boat, scuba/freediving or playing in the shorebreak.  Hell even a swim in a too hot and overly chlorinated pool will do the trick. 

[Dorado]

I think I use this disclaimer all the time , " by no means do I rip by todays above the lip standards or turn off the top super vert but from 2ft -DOH feel pretty consisitent  with my basic repertoire on a swell to swell basis " .
One of the latest revelations I have had as a 41 yr old surfer is what I call " being at peace with your session ". By this I mean , avoid looking t pics of other surfers at either your break or others and scorn yourself for not measuring up or not picking the right break at the right tide etc. Focus on where the swell is breaking at that given day . One of the things I think many surfers fail to realize is that on some swells and some periods and swell directions the waves do not break exactly in the same places and perhaps the individual approach needs to be less tunnel visioned , especially if you have only a limited period of time to get wet due  to work . If you spin your wheels waiting for the mythical perfect wave to break in your fave spot in the lineup and its not hitting there consistently perhaps it isnt your surfing that is off but your wave selection and understanding of the break on that given day . I think as my flexibiltiy , and athleticism has waned slightly with age my knowledge of the various swell angles , where to be where to sit , when to pump and go straight around a section , when to stall etc ... and how the waves react at different tides and periods has led to a more enlightened , enjoyable surf experience . That being said being at peace with ones surfing is relative to the individuals expectations , and the KISS theory should always apply .

[rockyveiga]

if this kook can help in any way, SC, the way i look at it is the same way as onefin does. i look back to see what i did right. i spent all last year trying to get going, and by the end of fall, i caught the biggest wave ever for me. head high, nice roller and i rode it all the way in. i was stoked. thought to myself, it;s going to be a great winter... yeah right... with switching boards and bigger swells than i could handle i got my ass handed to me. a lot of times i wake up at 4:30 am ready to go and think "why am i doing this?". But i always look back to my sessions and look at what i did right. i may not have caught the best ones, but i probably did something right.


but hey, somedays you just don't connect...


you guys are an inspiration (cue the violin)