Surfing

[InternationPlayboy]

One more thing before I forget.

Understand that surfing is a very "hierarchical" sport.

The pecking order goes something like this (highest to lowest):

Top Locals from that beach (includes best surfers, enforcers, hoods etc)
Respectful professionals on the world tour
Respectful other Pros
Respectful people that can Surf
Respectful people that can almost surf
Disrespectful professionals
etc
etc

All the way on down to Kooks and beginners.

Notice a theme?

Knowing where you fit in and knowing your position will save you a lot of pain and headache. In many ways. Plus, following the rules will earn you respect and prevent you from getting discouraged.

(Keep in mind, none of the applies if you are on a beach all by yourself.)

This is important and sometimes hard to follow when you are first learning. A lot of beginers don't even realize they are really pissing people off or stealing someones wave. It can also get you hurt, not only because people are gonna want to beat you up, but also because it's dangerous to cut people off, they might run into you, it might cause some damage. Sometimes I can't believe people go into the big park without knowing what they are doing. They stand at the landing of jumps and get ran over, some of them have the nerve to get mad at you for hitting them. People standing in front of jumps/lips, people getting stuck on boxes, people not knowing there skill level, hitting 40 foot booters and over shooting them to flat. I even watched a dad let his daughter, couldn't have been more than 5 years old and MAYBE 3 feet tall go off a 35 ft. booter with a 15 foot lip. Poor little girl didn't know how close she came to seriously hurting herself, but somehow she stuck it out (And no she didn't clear the jump, she got about 5 feet out from the lip and cased it hard, don't know how she wasn't hurt). You better believe we gave that dad a peice of our minds. Just use common sense when riding, whether it be surfing, snowboarding, skiing, dirtbiking, any sport that is somewhat dangerous, use your head, and don't use it to break your fall.

 

[FretDancer]

Thanks for the advice guys. And I got no problem breaking the rules, I'm all for the harmony when it comes to the ocean, I've always loved the sea.

So I guess Jaco Beach will be my starting point. I'll see if I start working on January and save up for a couple of months and head my way to Jaco!

 

[Roosh]

Easy analogies can be made between surfing and pickup. It's more about the journey, and if you get deep enough your whole life revolves around it.

Start with a week-long camp, and go from there. Instruction will shorten your learning curve.

 

[Invictus]

@ Roosh: did you start late? If so, when?

To all you other cats: thanks for the great advice.

 

[faznine15]

I was lucky enough to get laid off in 08 and have the great state of California pay me to learn how to surf. With nothing to do but look for work in a part of the the country that had none I took to learning how to surf to fill the extra time.

Living 2 blocks the beach in San Diego made it as easy as it could get. Be prepared it is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life.

All my friends surfed at a decent level and I decided my goal was to learn how to surf just slightly better than the worst one. I went out close to 5 days a week for a minimum an hour at time. The only times I didn't go out were if it was too big to be safe.

At that rate it took me close 9 solid months until I was accepted as a "surfer" and started getting asked to go on surf trips to Mexico. However, the current joke is that I'm the worst surfer anybody knows, but they still count me as a surfer. It may take 15 years of practice to get as good as the groms you see ripping out there.

It was probably the most rewarding thing I've ever done in my life. The best part about it is that practicing is fun. Even the worst possible scenario such as you paddle around like and asshole for 2 hours and only catch one wave its still way more enjoyable then watching CSI reruns.

It will get you in the kind of shape that makes women want to fuck you.

I ended up moving to DC which was an epic fail. Ive surfed 3 times since the move when hurricanes rolled through. If you dont' live near the beach you can't learn. So.

1. Move no less than 15 min from a beach. (CA, NJ, NC, SC, FL, VA) all have beach towns that you can live in for 1/3 the rent of a DC or Arlington shithole. You can't learn on a vacation.

2. Quit your job and surf everyday for a year or be prepared to wait ~3 years part time to get decent

3. Be prepared to have your life wholly consumed. You will check the forecast 10 times a day and plan your honeymoon based on the best surfing at that time of year.

4. Enjoy your newfound healthy hobby for the rest of your life. I routinely say 60+ OG surfers out on retro hobbie long boards loving life.

 

[Roosh]

At that rate it took me close 9 solid months until I was accepted as a "surfer" and started getting asked to go on surf trips to Mexico. However, the current joke is that I'm the worst surfer anybody knows, but they still count me as a surfer. It may take 15 years of practice to get as good as the groms you see ripping out there.

Where do you think 2 hours a day for 3 months would get me? I'm considering a summer somewhere just to surf.

 

[Kona]

At that rate it took me close 9 solid months until I was accepted as a "surfer" and started getting asked to go on surf trips to Mexico. However, the current joke is that I'm the worst surfer anybody knows, but they still count me as a surfer. It may take 15 years of practice to get as good as the groms you see ripping out there.

Where do you think 2 hours a day for 3 months would get me? I'm considering a summer somewhere just to surf.

First timers usually get up in a few hours. If you can surf, and actually land sets, for 2 hours a day you'll get really good within a few weeks, unless you're fat or clumsy.

Usually the first thing folks do is just get comfortable riding. Don't do that. Get a small, sharp board and start cutting your first day out. Worry about the rides later when you know how to control your board. You got a good time frame so start as hard as possible.

Get started now on your flexibility and arms/shoulders. Run hills. Start reading about how to surf. Know something and be confident with your physicals before you even get in the water. You're gonna look like a jackass the first few times. Minimize that time and girls start noticing your cutback before your three months runs out.

I gotta wonder where you're gonna find two hours of waves a day for three months straight in the summertime?

Here's a good video. I've been dealing with stuff like this since the beginning of November:

Aloha!

 

[Jalouse]

I've done some surfing but I'm not anywhere close to good.

Some of the reasons that surfing is very tough to learn are:

Conditions are variable so the right waves aren't available that are good for beginners.

The breaks are packed which means you don't actually get to ride many waves because of all these little 12 year old's who get the waves before you.

You tend to spend most of your time doing anything but actually riding a wave, paddling, trying to get in the right spot etc. Try paddling out when you can't duck dive.

If you're in a place with a nice regular clean consistent break that isn't too crowded then I think you could pick it up fairly quickly but without this it takes long time.

This is why, personally, if you're a little older I'd go for kite surfing at least with this there is wind for everyone and it's a slightly older, wealthier crowd due to the price of equipment.

 

[FretDancer]

Damn, people who live near the coasst and on islands are so lucky...

 

[thegmanifesto]

At that rate it took me close 9 solid months until I was accepted as a "surfer" and started getting asked to go on surf trips to Mexico. However, the current joke is that I'm the worst surfer anybody knows, but they still count me as a surfer. It may take 15 years of practice to get as good as the groms you see ripping out there.

Where do you think 2 hours a day for 3 months would get me? I'm considering a summer somewhere just to surf.

Roosh,

Here is what is working against you:

Summertime in many places is notorious for long flat spells. There are of course exceptions to this rule

Summertime is also notorious for being a mad house with crowds. (ie school's out, tourists, people with your exact same idea, warm water, no wetsuits etc) This obviously makes learning more difficult.

That being said, here is my advice:

Charge every wave you can. You need to wipeout mass times to get better (here a parallel could be drawn from someone older learning game).

Follow the rules I put up earlier.

Hopefully you find a place that has some good summer waves.

Good luck.

Damn, people who live near the coasst and on islands are so lucky...

Don't worry, we pay for it.

 

[Kona]

For those of you interested, the rumor is they are going to run the Eddie Aikau tomorrow. http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/breaking/114214749.html

The Eddie is a contest made up of the worlds greatest surfers riding the world's greatest waves. It should be televised in one way or another. You guys that like to surf, or want to, should check it out.

On top of the contest itself, the Eddie is one of the world's greatest swooping events. Every girl on this island that looks good in a bikini will be out trying to find a big name guy to get close to. There are also an outrageous amount of model-types promoting various crap. Myseld and a friend hit it last year with a strategy. We were going to flat out ignore the regulars, and focus on the models. I followed this principal and wound up swooping this girl because of it:
[attachment=514]
[attachment=513]

She wound up being crazy, and went full batshit on me a few weeks down the road. She called me thirteen times in one day, and had an argument them made up with my voicemail. I wound up rekindling it over the summer, but she was too out there for me. I plan to find something similar tomorrow, just with a little better head on her shoulders.

Aloha!

 

[Feo]

Kona...fuck bro. Heavy heavy shit you're riding. me likes

 

[kimleebj]

I'm considering a summer somewhere just to surf.

Salisbury University Surf Club

 

[Brian]

I was just down i Costa Rica in December where i surfed for the first time for about a week and a half, so here are some thoughts. G is pretty spot on here on pretty much everything..

-Jaco is a dump. There are nicer places to go. I was in Mal Pais/Santa Teresa, which was awesome, cheap, and a great place to learn. Google 'Mal Pais Surf Camp' and stay there, they have accommodations ranging from cheap to nice. Its run by a good guy, and there are usually cool people there to hang with. If you are in Jaco take the speedboat taxi to Montezuma, then you can catch buses or take a cap to Santa Teresa.

If you have never surfed before take a lesson. Its very basic stuff, but unless you have a friend who surfs you dont have anyway of learning it.

Start w/a board about 10 feet. When you get up on that go down to 9, then 8 1/2, etc.

In regards to Roosh's question, if you had 3 months and surfed every day I'd imagine you could get pretty good, depending on your natural ability. When I say good I mean down to a 6 or 7 ft board, and being able to move across the face of the wave w/direction. But like G said, a lot of it has to do w/weather. If you are there 3 months you arent going to get 3 months of good surf days.

 

[thegmanifesto]

...

 

[thegmanifesto]

Brian,

"G is pretty spot on here on pretty much everything.."

Thank you. Glad you had fun and I could help you. I remember back in the day when you dissed me on here. It's good to see you came around full circle.

kimleebj,

"Salisbury University Surf Club"

Terrible advice.

Kona,

How did the Eddie go?

I remember you said you have never surfed in California before. This is how its done:



And how we do down in Mex:



And how the Psychos do it down in Mex:



Old School Loose:

 

[Brian]

G, i dont know if i've come full circle...i've always thought you provided good advice and knowledge to this board when you focused on giving it to others as opposed to self promotion, and it seems over the last few months you've done much more of the former and less of the latter and it has been beneficial to everyone who reads these boards and we are appreciative of the knowledge you pass on

 

[thegmanifesto]

Brian,

Ha. I was just playing.

If I link to something in my blog as an answer to someone on here, its because I don't want to re-write something I have already broken down to the bone gristle.

Thanks though.

 

[Kona]

Kona,

How did the Eddie go?

The didn't run The Eddie. The called it at about 9 a.m., but all the greats were in the water waiting. Maybe 15,000 people were there to watch. The waves at Waimea hit about 22 feet, but they require 25's. They've gone over the 25 before and since then this year, but no contest was prepared.

My friend and I took some Korean tourist girls out of the crowd to Pipe then to happy hour, but we didn't swoop.

I remember you said you have never surfed in California before.

Brah, that's up until a few days ago. I just came back from Mavericks.

That is a powerful wave. It's just too bad you gotta get hypothermia to ride it. It wasn't contest height, and I forgot that what I call head highs mainlanders call 10 feet, but there's a lot of things I liked about it. My little brother and I each took 3 before our brains froze. The last one I backdoored and caught a little barrel way up there, then bailed cannonball style. People thought I was crazy, but that was my favorite part about it. It's deep and you don't have to worry about reef.

The other thing I liked about it was the people. Those guys took great care of us. There were some big names out that we recognized from Triple Crown stuff. Granted we named dropped heavily, they took us right in. Our plan was to just find some girls and sleep with them, but these guys insisted we stay at this pretty nice rental place. We went out and found girls both nights, and they didn't care. It wasn't even on the beach, but they said somebody was paying 7k a week for it. On top of that they hooked us up with two 10'6s with the longest leashes I've ever seen, that were sharp as hell. They weren't stingy with the herbs either, but used these blunt wrappers I have a hard time getting into.

The town is Princeton-By-The-Sea (and the hyphens are part of the name) and it was pretty cool. The first night after we surfed we went to some crap ass beer place I don't remember the name at happy hour time. We met probably the only two Asian girls in the area. The best Americanized Asian girls always come from California, and these two were up there. I don't consider Hawaii-raised Asian girls American. We took them to this great restaurant called Mezzaluna with a fireplace that made it impossible to not swoop any girl you would take there. We were on our way back from St. Louis, which has amazing places to eat, but this place had great food all around.

The second day we didn't surf, but we took the guys that let us stay out to a place called Crab Landing. Shit name, but great food. I don't get a lot of crab like that. The Sushi was good too. Then we went to this bar just called The Harbor Bar and we burned that place apart. Those people loved us. The smoking rules are Nazi style, but for some reason my bill was an even $50, but we had the whole place rolling. I'm gonna go back there.

I'm still stoking on the whole trip overall, but the California portion was way better than I expected. We spent a shit night in LA but Mavericks made up for it. I've been a little too hard on the Californians that come out my way, and am gonna ease it up from now on. Everybody took care.

Aloha!

 

[solo]

So, in short, basically surfing has the following benefits:

1. It's enjoyable
2. Gets you in shape
3. Gets you girls

Sound a lot like skiing and like an activity people on this forum should look into. I gotta do this so I have something to do in the summers too, when there's no snow. Just have to find a good safe spot for beginners.