My To Do List
About a year ago, Surfer Magazine published a list of 67 things all surfers should do in their lifetimes. I still have this issue and mentally checked off a few of these must do items. For example, “Surf in the rain” (#26), Done!; I have been riding a super fun 9’1” Power Tools longboard from the mid 80’s, does that count for “Go Retro”,(#22)? There is no rush to complete all 67, and I’m not sure I can or would want to actually. My next significant “To Do” item is #12, “Shape your own board”, and I will let you know how that turns out. Currently the plan is for something about 8 feet long and thick. One of the items, #25, suggests teaching someone to surf. I am doing this a little with my son, but he is young and I let him move at his own pace. Still, I have never been more stoked than seeing him stand and ride for the first time. I am far from being a seasoned surfer, but still I enjoy helping a co-worker by sharing what I know about surfing and be there to patch him up when he loses a round of fin vs. man. I know how much of an impact surfing has on me, so I am cautious about teaching others and won’t push it on anyone. For those that struggled for some time before it finally “clicked”, you can appreciate every small step forward your wave riding skills can move, and being on the teaching end can be pretty rewarding too. Teaching is a good way to learn and refine your own skills; after all, you don’t want to pass on something flawed or unsafe. It is more than that, because you have to communicate something that ultimately just has to be felt or experienced. Things like balance, just as you learned when you first rode a bike without training wheels, are hard to describe or teach. Of course those of you riding boards shorter than you are tall might think my thick, 9’6” longboard is just a surfboard version of training wheels. The whole surfing and equilibrium thing makes me think about how keeping in balance isn't about making all things equal but rather a continuous search or dance. If you keep everything equal all of the time then nothing ever changes. Maybe the lessons learned or taught through surfing go beyond the act of riding a wave. I enjoy the “dance” that takes place as I try to squeeze a few more moments from a ride, edging forward, then back, looking for that glide. I don’t know what I look like as I do this dance, and maybe I don’t want to know. I have a few boards now that I can actually ride, and switching from one to the other has taught me much about balance, and how keeping everything too familiar does not let you evolve as a surfer. So I will use the list of 67 things, ride as many different boards as I can, and keep honing my surfers dance to keep a little balance. I’m going to need this if #13, (Get shacked) is ever going to get checked off.
See you in the water.
About a year ago, Surfer Magazine published a list of 67 things all surfers should do in their lifetimes. I still have this issue and mentally checked off a few of these must do items. For example, “Surf in the rain” (#26), Done!; I have been riding a super fun 9’1” Power Tools longboard from the mid 80’s, does that count for “Go Retro”,(#22)? There is no rush to complete all 67, and I’m not sure I can or would want to actually. My next significant “To Do” item is #12, “Shape your own board”, and I will let you know how that turns out. Currently the plan is for something about 8 feet long and thick. One of the items, #25, suggests teaching someone to surf. I am doing this a little with my son, but he is young and I let him move at his own pace. Still, I have never been more stoked than seeing him stand and ride for the first time. I am far from being a seasoned surfer, but still I enjoy helping a co-worker by sharing what I know about surfing and be there to patch him up when he loses a round of fin vs. man. I know how much of an impact surfing has on me, so I am cautious about teaching others and won’t push it on anyone. For those that struggled for some time before it finally “clicked”, you can appreciate every small step forward your wave riding skills can move, and being on the teaching end can be pretty rewarding too. Teaching is a good way to learn and refine your own skills; after all, you don’t want to pass on something flawed or unsafe. It is more than that, because you have to communicate something that ultimately just has to be felt or experienced. Things like balance, just as you learned when you first rode a bike without training wheels, are hard to describe or teach. Of course those of you riding boards shorter than you are tall might think my thick, 9’6” longboard is just a surfboard version of training wheels. The whole surfing and equilibrium thing makes me think about how keeping in balance isn't about making all things equal but rather a continuous search or dance. If you keep everything equal all of the time then nothing ever changes. Maybe the lessons learned or taught through surfing go beyond the act of riding a wave. I enjoy the “dance” that takes place as I try to squeeze a few more moments from a ride, edging forward, then back, looking for that glide. I don’t know what I look like as I do this dance, and maybe I don’t want to know. I have a few boards now that I can actually ride, and switching from one to the other has taught me much about balance, and how keeping everything too familiar does not let you evolve as a surfer. So I will use the list of 67 things, ride as many different boards as I can, and keep honing my surfers dance to keep a little balance. I’m going to need this if #13, (Get shacked) is ever going to get checked off.
See you in the water.
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