Session 7165: Technical Update

WavLOG

Day 165

Personal Technical Update
The Imporatnce of the Focus

One of the areas that I have become very aware of it lately is the focus. As a recreational athelete (of some kind), I have become more aware of the area of focus lately. I got to know a few atheletes through surfing and also race-biking etc., that this is one of the attributes they got but which I need to improve significantly. Frankly, I am more on the camp of attention deficit group of people so I actually need quite a bit of a skill development in this area. My high school teachers as well as my mother will testify my attention deficitness especially then.

So what have I been doing about it?

My main work actually is to eliminate as much distracting things as I can. Here is a list;

• I need to build individual skill set well so that any one of them would not become a distration. For example, paddling technique, stand-up etc. This is actually very important because it actually takes quite a bit of time to perfect each of the motion. But now each part has improved to the point that they are less distractive now.
  
  
• Being mentally focused. For example, I have been paying too much attention to other surfers, or even people at the shore, how they do, how they look at me etc. I need to be able to completely isolate myself, at least while I am taking off and riding. It is a really a bad habit of mine. You can tell I have that show-off tendecy; Who else would start a web site and blogs about my own surfing!
  
• Fear is someting I talked a lot about on this WavLOG, but the fear is probably the number one cause of distraction at the moment. When I am more truly focused, I should be focused enough that I even shut off the fear part of the distraction. This part needs a significant mind training. But having had so many surfing accidents, I still am a bit afraid often. Also another part of the fear that interferes a lot is the fact that I am still afraid of the open ocean. That prevents me from challenging otherwise good bigger waves at many "less surfed" spots.
  

In my past 5 years and especially in the last year or so, I have been making much more progress in each of above areas, and I am much more confident and less distracted surfer today than before. Everything take a very very long time for me and we just need to keep at it one small piece of puzzle at time. Three steps forward and two steps back.

So to summarize this, these days, there are more times when I say to myself "Heck, I am going to go for this!"

Surf Report

This moring in Pacifica was really fun. Not too many people were out. Closeouts were there as usual, but there are many makable waves. I caught many fun long rides with some more "vertical" turning actions. Large circile cutting back around the wave face is some of my better skills and when that happens it is a real treat! I am starting to get the trick of riding some of near-close out waves; I need to paddle hard, turn hard into the wave and then hop more towards the tail side of the board for a bit then push hard forward. The board start to do the booster take-off then! Another trick is to make sure to find the area where it is going to turn to the shoulder. The Takayama 7'2 egg board, presently in a single fin configuration, was just great especially when I am receiving a lot of power from the wave on a bigger face.

Surfing is Difficult!

See you out there!