I am rather new to surfing. I love it. It is in the forefront of my brain and I try to get in whenever possible, as long as it is not too big for my skills. I try to surf where there are no crowds of surfers. Before I started surfing, I was attracted by what seemed to be the chill, respectful and relaxed attitudes of many surfers. First what defines a kook versus someone is learning and loving every minute of it. Second, why are you all so eager to be sarcastic and demeaning? It is a big ocean out there.
The difference is respect. Kooks don't have it and non-kook newbs do have it. Respect for the lineup and the ocean. It is a big ocean out there, but its not all made up of ideal/decent breaks.
There are rules to this thing called surfing that we all love and adore. A kook doesn't respect the rules to our game and probably doesn't even know proper ocean Etiquette. A newbie that is willing to learn is eager to learn the rules by watching and paying attention to his/her surroundings. Not only do we have rules in the lineup but there are also general rules to a surfer's lifestyle, like keeping our beaches clean. Another good example of a kook's style is throwing their cigarette butt or empty snapple bottle on the beach while a real surfer wouldn't think twice of picking up the trash when they see it on the beach. So there you have it in a nutshell, a kook isn't just a surfer with a low skill level, it's much more than that. Keep surfing my friend, just pay attention to everything around you and you'll learn exactly what to do and what not to do.
Well first if your a true newbie, I must point out some things about surfing. People being sarcastic and demeaning is part of the sport. There has and always will be a pecking order for surfing. Surfing should have a conveyor belt system meaning you go to the back of the line after your wave. Kooks are people who mess up this order, ie inexperenced surfer paddling to the point around other surfers, paddling right to the point while paddling out. These infractions will get you yelled at and at more dangrous/crowded beaches it may get you a beat down. So your doing the right thing by being a fun kook, good job now stay the f*ck out my way......J/K
I knew we would agree on that one Aqua! Respect your fellow surfer, you can learn alot from watching the veterans in the water. I have been surfing all my life in monmouth county and beyond, but still learn new things all the time. There's nothing wrong with watching and learing, it will actually help your surfing and your presence in the water. Respect is given where respect is earned! Being that @sshole kid in the water won't get you anywhere but banned from great surf spots. Get out there and wait it out, don't politic too much (it's all business in the water), follow the rules, and most importantly; HAVE FUN! We're all here for the same reason but some guys will never grasp that idea, they are stuck in the mindset of being agro all the time and that's not a part of surfing. I think I'm going to change my name on here to "surf-preacher." I'm going crazy in this office when it's this nice out and there's a wave in the water. Trying to find any excuse possible to get out of here and back on my board.
That quote alone speaks volumes. The ocean is only big when it is flat, it can get very small when there is surf. The best thing you can do is stay as far away from others as you can, no matter what stage you are at. Surf a lessor break if you have to rather than paddle out and sit close to someone else. Close among friends is like 10 feet, close among strangers can be 100 feet it all depends. If your not my friend stay far enough away so that when a set comes I don't have to wonder if you are gonna take the wave. Last Wednesday I had a trio drift 3 blocks only to end up sitting next to me scratching for waves when it was going off where they started their drift, not good.
