In Japanese old saying there is something to the effect of "Take 3 steps forward and 2 steps back." Learning how to surf to me has always been in this mode, in fact, it is more like "Take 3 steps forward and 2.5 steps back" has been my modes operandi. We all agree that we all feel like a beginner all over sometimes. Well, today, I ended up having done two sessions and it was quite a contrast when this morning I really did not feel I have learning anything all these sessions. Then during a middle of a day, my local buddy called me up and saying that it was almost glassy despite the wind, and so I promised him that I would check it out on the way home from Pacifica to HMB and give him a call. The Montara beach was just about as bad as this morning when I took the weekly water samples for the Surfriders and I was hoping that there will be something for me at the Jetty. This was so that tomorrow DP, I got some place to go.
Well, it was irresistible after looking at the break that I had to go in. Just a perfect size of breaks anywhere from the shoulder to head high breaking, and it was starting to blow but I knew it will hold up for the next hour. I opened the tub with already wet stuff, and it was sitting in the warm car for all day, so yes, there were some fermenting action going on, and the rash guard was especially stinky, but then there are priorities, right? So I put all of them back on and headed to the break.
Turned out that I had some of the best take off practices so far yet! And basically everything I went for, I did take off. Which, it is actually remarkable because I could even take off into closed out waves, and I was actually riding in the gushy white stuff! Speaking of riding inside the white water (and not in front), it was actually fun, but the balancing inside the water was a bit delicate. The term "go with the flow" really fit the description; you cannot go too far forward or back, but just maintain the even balance and you do stay inside of the breaking white water but keep going.
But I was also able to take off on head high stuff as well as some smaller stuff right when the waves are breaking; not perfect but I was able to go for and succeed a lot more than I was able to before. So I finally am at the point that I can notice an improvement in taking off on a short board on steeper waves.
As you have been following my progress, this has been one of the most difficult stuff I had to deal with, and so I am really happy that there has been some noticeable differences in my recent sessions, and these are and more other stuff will still be very slow in coming.
And the more I try this sport; I realize how difficult and deep surfing is. If you read how often I go try this, you might think that I have gone nut, but the more I try, more I need to find out where it leads to next, and it is something that I just cannot wander my mind to other things while I am at it. It demands a lot of both mental and physical commitment to feel that I'd be satisfied of it. This is not the same as "I am being better than someone else's surfing technique." But it is more of a quest of finding out "how good I can get myself." It requires both mental and physical commitment for every part of it to be built up, from the foundation to the roof like building a solid house, and if any part of it is weak, it will crumble.
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