learnin' in Cali, questions/observations

by **merzbow** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:10 am

So I've just started learning this sport, with about three sessions under my belt. Today I went out "past the breakers" for the first time, yay. Some observations/questions:

1. Indecision is a killer for me. Wave is coming at you. Is it close enough I can ride over it? Should I turn around and try to ride on it? Is it far enough that I won't be able to do either, but need to prepare for the worst (still need to learn that pesky turtle dive, luckily I surf an uncrowded beach so I'm just ditching for now when I need to)? Sometimes I get frozen like a deer in the headlights and get rolled by something I could have handled better. I find it difficult judging how far out you need to be to avoid "cleanup sets". I definitely have a fear of going out too far.

2. Arms, not legs. I have great cardio and great leg muscles from using an elliptical, but my arm muscles sucked. I've quickly learned that arm strength is 95% of the game in this sport. Ouch.

3. Lighter boards are so much better! I don't know why people try to teach surfing on those freaking enormous foamies that weigh 40 pounds. They are a bitch to carry and orient in the water. I just bought a funboard, and it's MUCH easier to sling around, and only marginally more difficult to learn on, it seems.

4. Why does all surf wax smell like lavender, or blueberries, or air freshener? Jesus Christ, just make it unscented already. I don't like my ride smelling like the Top Model dressing room after a sweaty night.

5. It's helpful to watch other surfers to improve my technique. Even after reading the how-tos on this site, I was doing lots of crap wrong. By watching another surfer for ten minutes I saw exactly what I was doing wrong in a bunch of respects.

6. Don't do stupid xxxxx. There is no rush to learn surfing. I have lots of fears to conquer in the water, and I'm not very social and don't know other surfers, so there's nobody there to show me the ropes. So I'm taking it very slow. If that means I'll never surf anything over 4 feet, so be it. I'm picking up this hobby to reduce, not increase, anxiety. I have a job and lots of other hobbies. I have jack xxxxx to prove to anybody.

**Sponsor**

by **naniekso** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:50 am

gald u like it.

1. with time u will learn.
2. yup, pushups and pull-ups and arm curls.
3. thats why i shortboard, even with 1' waves lol
4. I dont mind it, but whats even nicer, is when a girl surfer comes up, you can smell her hair, or they smell good
5. Very helpful, watch videos!
6. Depends where you surf, your spot may be localy IMA GONA BEAT TEH xxxxx OUTA YOU IF YOU TAKE MY WAVE! or it could be go ahead and hop on man! party wave dood!

i definatley recomend for you to surf in certain areas of cali that are particularly good for building habbits. Doheney has very slow fat forming waves, so you can have time to learn how to stand and how to build stance. Probabbly the best place to learn how to surf in california besides mailbu. check out surfline.com doheney surf spot.

by **themathteacher** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 4:50 pm

1.You just suck, but keep at it, you won't for long. It's just a begginer thing
2. Head high, stroke down not out, form is everything
3. Totally correct, foamies are cheaper and hurt less which is why they are so popular, but a regular is 100% better
4. I dig the smell, so do chicks, so why change the chick magnet properties of it
5. yep, you learn a lot from looking for good form and proper technique
6. great advice

by **merzbow** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 1:24 am

naniekso wrote:gald u like it.

1. with time u will learn.
2. yup, pushups and pull-ups and arm curls.
3. thats why i shortboard, even with 1' waves lol
4. I dont mind it, but whats even nicer, is when a girl surfer comes up, you can smell her hair, or they smell good
5. Very helpful, watch videos!
6. Depends where you surf, your spot may be localy IMA GONA BEAT TEH xxxxx OUTA YOU IF YOU TAKE MY WAVE! or it could be go ahead and hop on man! party wave dood!

i definatley recomend for you to surf in certain areas of cali that are particularly good for building habbits. Doheney has very slow fat forming waves, so you can have time to learn how to stand and how to build stance. Probabbly the best place to learn how to surf in california besides mailbu. check out surfline.com doheney surf spot.

I actually live in the Bay Area so I head out to Santa Cruz to surf. Lots of good state beaches south of Santa Cruz that are clean and uncrowded and of all varieties of surf, from big to little, from poop-your-pants scary to a 3-year-old can swim there. If only the water was 30 degrees warmer there'd be no reason to ever visit the topics, sigh...

The 40-minute drive means I can only go on the weekends, but at this stage after every session I feel like I've been run over by a cement truck for several days, so the long breaks are good.

by **trifish** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 4:59 pm

Im around SF in the bay if you ever want to paddle out with. I could prob help you out with some tips and what not to do

by **merzbow** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 2:05 am

Lol, it's amazing how out of shape my arms are. Definitely the biggest obstacle so far in figuring out the pop-up. I guess it will take many more weekends of feeling beat-up until those muscles are up to the task. People at my break must be pretty used to laughing at that idiot who's out there every Saturday or Sunday riding the garbage in again and again while constantly falling over. I'm jealous of people who grew up in areas like this and learned when they were 5 years old, and are just naturals for life.

I'm shocked that I haven't injured myself with a flying board yet, or that more people don't blow out all their teeth or something. These waves move faster than I imagined (at least it feels that way when you're on them).

Surfing alone is terrifying. Tried that once, got this eerie feeling that the ocean was malevolent and would take the first opportunity to drown my ass when nobody was looking. Never again (which at this break basically means stick to weekends, which is my schedule anyways). I guess lots of other surfers feel the same way. This break basically extends for like 10 miles down the coast. It's good surf for much of it, but only this one particular place (3/4-mile or so long) is ever surfed. Props to anyone with the balls to get up at 5 am and tackle crazy breaks solo...

by **FreeHal04** » Tue Sep 29, 2009 7:15 pm

After spending the summer trying to learn as much as possible, I've just accepted the fact that feeling beat up is part of the process. I work out at the gym all the time, but it's nothing like the workout you get out on the water. I've only been out on the water six times but I feel like I've learned something each time.

If I could, I'd go out every damn day, but alas I can't. Observation and persistence are the two most important things in learning and getting better. So I just won't give up, and that's that.

by **trifish** » Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:03 pm

Yeh for sure, the more you get in the water the faster you will get there. Most of the good guys you see in your lineup is out there any chance possible. Thats why telling people how long you been surfing can be deceiving. A guy may say hes been surfing a few years, but only make it out once a month. Compared to somebody thats only been surfing for 1 year but they get in the water a few times a week. Obviously its easier when u live close by the water. I used to go once every couple of weeks but then i moved on the side of the beach and anytime im board I will paddle out. sometimes 10-15 days straight if the surf stays ok enough to ride and my body stays up to the task. Best thing you can do for improving your surfing is moving next to a good break.

by **merzbow** » Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:53 am

Yeah, I envy the guys in Santa Cruz who live next to the beach. Unfortunately there's zero chance of me ever moving to the coast (unless I win the lottery and can quit my job), but 45 minutes from the beach isn't terrible. I can make it out all-day at least one day on the weekend. Usually I can sneak out a half-day on the other day (depending on other obligations). Occasionally getting up early and sneaking out for a half-day before work mid-week might also be possible, since I kinda have flexible hours, but that's pushing it in more ways than one. For now I'll concentrate on upper-body exercise during the week. I can't even do 5 freaking push-ups in a row (and I'm average weight for height)...

by **merzbow** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:57 am

Well, I'm at the point where I can pop-up most of the time, that took forever. I've also practiced turtle diving, so making it back out usually isn't an issue (of course everyone else is twice is fast so I don't go out on 6-foot days, lol). It's catching those damn unbroken waves I can't do yet. Well, I can do it, by only by accident. Today was actually the first time I caught an unbroken wave, stood up, and rode it all the way in. I did it twice, but the other 4 hours I spent wiping out. It didn't help I went to a break where absolutely every other surfer was surfing perfectly, instead of the other break that's usually full of beginners, so I looked even more like an idiot than I usually do.

Pearling is my biggest problem. I've read everything on this board about it, but nothing is clicking. People say "stand up", but if I'm too far forward, I pearl before I can possibly stand up. I've figured out the position on the board where I need to be to never pearl, even if a wave is breaking on my back, but in that position I can almost never catch an unbroken wave no matter how hard I paddle. Angling the board doesn't really work, I just get rotated around and murdered.

So for those who can do this - is the key to keep board position constant, and vary other factors, like paddling speed and being very picky about what waves to catch? Or do you vary your board position in order to catch a wider variety of waves?

by **Katsura** » Mon Nov 02, 2009 10:29 pm

Arch yourback...

by **themathteacher** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:12 am

4 hours? Geez, no wonder why you ache lol. Glad you are progressing, enjoy the stoke

by **merzbow** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:46 pm

themathteacher wrote:4 hours? Geez, no wonder why you ache lol. Glad you are progressing, enjoy the stoke

Except I don't ache any more now.

Twice-weekly pushups/pullups and deliberately long sessions have got me mostly into shape, it seems. Plus I can now stand up almost all the time I catch something; the key was learning how to balance myself subconsciously while getting up, sort of like riding a bike, so I don't fall over. Now I just need to catch those damn waves. Arching my back and flailing away to keep the nose up does seem to be preventing pearling, I'm now laying farther forward. Crappy surf (1-2 feet yesterday, looking to be 15 feet this weekend, sigh) is pissing me off though.

by **volcomism** » Sun Dec 06, 2009 6:09 am

I think the only thing I need to get used to in Cali is the temperature of water in the spring. It gets to about 47* in Santa Cruz and I can only go so long before I'm getting headaches.

by **merzbow** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 3:55 am

Still struggling on this 7'6" funboard. Went to Mexico recently and went out on a longboard for two days, found it easier to catch waves for sure. So I'm going to buy a longboard now. If I was to buy one of these:

http://www.islesurfboards.com/XPS-Epoxy ... board.aspx

What size would it be? I'm 5'8" 160. Maybe the 9'2"?

And yes, the water is getting ridiculously cold now. Even with booties I can't feel my feet after 45 minutes. I need to buy gloves now...

by **merzbow** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:11 pm

After a lot of research and phone calls, bought the 9'4". Now if I can't learn on this going out once or sometimes twice a week, surfing ain't in my destiny, and somebody on craigslist is gonna be getting a good deal.

by **Unorthodox** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:04 pm

merzbow wrote:Surfing alone is terrifying. Tried that once, got this eerie feeling that the ocean was malevolent and would take the first opportunity to drown my ass when nobody was looking. Never again (which at this break basically means stick to weekends, which is my schedule anyways).

I try not to tell people what to think, for obvious reasons, but attitudes can be adjusted. I'm not a spiritual person, but frame of mind means everything. If you are constantly intimidated by the ocean, you'll likely have more trouble learning, and probably have difficulty enjoying yourself.

The oceans needs to be respected, always. I'm sure you've heard never to turn your back on the ocean. However, I see waves as gifts for us to enjoy. Know your limits, take your time and truly learn the rhythm of the ocean. Observe and remember. You will become more comfortable, alone or not, and that will really open you up for improvement and enjoyment, or whatever you are after.

That being said, don't put yourself in harm's way. Don't surf alone if you're not yet comfortable with doing so. Just try to adopt a positive mindset. You may be surprised at the effect it can have on your surfing.

by **riptide** » Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:44 pm

Hello ! Is there any unscented surf wax made and if so were can you buy it?

Thanks

In the mean time I ride a full tracktion pad decked board.

learnin' in Cali, questions/observations

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