Maybe I'm too critical, or maybe I do suck, but surfing to me is like a practice in zen. Some days I'm on top of the world ripping every wave with confidence, other days I'm sucking it hard, wiping out, unbalanced...stupid stuff. Its all in my head I know, but most sports are like this. I try not to lie to myself. Its all about being a better surfer.
I think this happens to everyone. I guess it's just like in everything else, you have good days and you have bad days. Just hope you have more good days than bad days.
" Wheather you think you can , or wheather you think you cant, either way you are right..." laird " the savage" hamilton
If you are searching for a solution, first would be to not judge yourself on good or bad days, for a bad day of surfing is better than a good day of work! Also, negative thoughts of any kind should reamain on the beach anyway. And to add, remember how you got good in the first place, every wipe out is just one step closer to sticking it
thats a brilliant quote, thanks. Guys I'm in no need of a hug. I'm in good shape right now, lol. Just wondering if anyone goes through the same.
Surfing isn't about right or wrong. It's just about having fun. If you are going to wipe out, have fun doing it. Just be loose.
If Im shooting a round of golf and im playing really poor sometimes I get really ticked off but when im in the water I surf the best I can and Im just try to enjoy the moment.I might be a little upset if I didn't catch a wave but thats about it thou.I guess it helps that theres no scorecard .
I have been surfing for close to twenty years and I still suck, but the stoke keeps me going. My surfing has improved dramatically since moving closer to the beach. Living in New Jersey I had to travel for about and hour or so. Now living in Delaware I am only 15 minutes away. So, I am trying to clock as much surf time as possible. I have bad days and steller days, one day it will all balance out. "It's all about the stoke."
Wait 'till you start coming up to your 50's. Every time you have one of those bad days, you start to think, "Is that it? Am I done?" Now that's torturing yourself!
Yeah um Laird definitely didn't come up with that. That was first mentioned before he was born. I think I suck all the time, but I don't give a sh!t. Its like golf or sex - as long as you play by the rules, you don't have to be good to have fun!
That's funny, I got out of the water the other day and a guy asked me if i just started! Been surfing almost 20 years, but yeah, had a REAL bad day. But like most of us, even the bad days are still good days.
Yeah, I've been surfing almost 18 years now and I'm trying to get used to a new board. Its fun but it makes me look like I've been surfing 18 days. Whatever...
I never have too much of a suckish session, but when im not doing as good as i want i always find its cus im just not trying, instead of trying to hit lips and launch i just find myself cruising around, it just comes down to how hard you try.
i really didn't think about wether i sucked or not until last years hurricane fed 1-3ft overhead sets. i really got my ass handed to me on some of those days,ate it pretty hard,but eh, i guess that happens to alot of folks in those conditions...... the inside section was murder on those days.....
I think everyone goes through this, even the guys that seem to always surf great. A bad day to a naturaly talented surfer would be my best day. I am sure there are days I blow and some beginner is like "Wow that guy rips" . I have been surfing for 30 years more or less and I still have days where I want to hang it up. The real talent in surfing comes from reading the waves and doing not what you want to do but what the wave will let you do with style. Thats my issue 90% of the time, after a big swell I will try to surf the waist high leftovers in the same way and it just aint gonna happen. You look like an ass digging rails bogging down etc.
Yes... Over the years, I go in and out of times when I think man, I could compete still and I should start taking this to another level... And then last week, I wind up surfing the pier with Zach Rhinehart, Kyle Knox and Jullian Mullens, and by the end of the session, I wanted to cry. I mean, for every normal little air reverse I can do, all three of these guys are doing hands free, 360 rotations in the air, moves that I dont even know how to explain, or what to call. Kick flips and all this sh**. And then I see them going u pon these huge backside hacks and the entire ocean moves.... So after that session, I felt pretty low. I was like man, I am terrible. I should be able to do stuff like that... But unfortunately, I was never a skater like these kids, so I dont even know how to start the tricks that they are doing... 5 years ago, when I learned how to stick simple front side airs, I was like man... Im getting on the WCT next year =) YEAH RIGHT!!!! I mean, guys at the top of surfing are really high performance atheletes. So I try not to feel bad when I am surfing with guys who do it for a living. And who get paid for it... But yes, I think surfers on every level go through the "Man, I am lame" thoughts... Its what I call the surfing Plateau... You hit a certain skill level, and you just have that for a while and you feel like you arent getting any better, you are just surfing as well as you can... I try not to over think it though, because a few years ago, these thoughts would haunt me and I would stay in the water 5 hours a day trying to work on it. Dont have the time for that these days, or the mental compacity to be so critical... Just relax and surf. It will still drive you nuts. Im just a competetive person, so when I feel like im standing still, im not trying hard enough.
