Safely Taking a Beating

In larger surf you do what you need to do to get through. Survival mode, really.
Anybody that criticizes you is a worthless piece of dung, not worth listening to.

 

Keep this in mind, scobey--I am just needling you. Just in good fun; do NOT take it seriously.
I woulsd still have a beer with you.

 

Doubtful that anyone wants to have a beer with your passive-aggressive asshat, gerbil troll.

 

Reel, reel, reel....
Look Ma!! I caught me a skankee!!!

 

We really need a thread on how to safely take a beating on the SI Forum.

 

Start one.

 

All good Barry, Just busting your balls as well!

 

Bingo: as predicted ^^ from the asshat.

'Just trolling' is complete BS, gerbil troll. Your soft khack routine is just that.

 

Barry in all honesty I think that's more your bag.

 

DPSUP, does surfing eliminate or exacerbate that anxiety?

 

Dude, that is a sign you are smoking way too much...j/k. I get that way in the line up sometimes also. I kick myself and say exactly that.... " this is supposed to be fun"!

 

You are NOT alone in feeling that way. Regrettably, surfing has changed, and not really in a good way. Agro is in: soul surfing is out. The recent generations are NOT out there to relax, but rather, to show they are better than you. Large egos at play.
It is nice to get a couple of hours by oneself or with a couple of friends. Still happens here in New England on work days, sometimes on weekends. I suppose that is the advantage of being retired, and, living 1 minute from the water......

BTW, the weed isn't helping you; it is only making your anxiety worse, once the effect wears off. Sorry, but that is what clinical evidence shows. And I tell you this from the vantage of a former weed smoker.

 

Interesting. Sounds like deeper items at work there, amigo, with that short fuse asspect.

I know from whence you speak 'cause I used to have the shortest fuse known to mankind. And could back it up in spades. Not always a good combo, trust me. Can I say, oh, hello officer.

Took a long while to get to mo' bettah equilibrium: I morphed my mind into 'not much really is worth getting annoyed about.' Some things, for sure, are worth throwing down (like the ODC who parked his chairs & umbrellas in back of my rig at the-place-that-shall-not-be-named)

Maybe utilize the weed as a platform, so to speak, to get your mind into a less-anxious place.

As for crowds. I'm at the point where I just get out of the water if it's people dropping in and / or 3-4 goobers going for every wave, with the 140 lb guys on longboards back paddling and / or snaking & catching every wave early on. Otherwise, I'll get stressed out, possibly then say something, blah blah blah & it goes in a direction that will not conclude in a positive asspect.

Because you're spot-on: surfing shouldn't be about that crap.

 

Balance between confidence and a healthy respect for mother ocean. Early 90's a friend had me come up for a winter swell in San Francisco. Big and drifty with good conditions. I was happy just to get through the break and then after a couple good rides just got over confident. Damn near drowned after a 3 wave hold down. Scared the crap out of me. Scraped my way onto sand and swore I was done surfing. Little by little got my nerve back but it made me a lot more careful. If you paddle into challenging conditions just take your time and sit out the back and watch whats going on. Wait for one you feel good about and then push over that lip and go for it. If it seems like too much...it is.