A surfer’s wish this holiday season eh? ‘That’s easy’ you say with a Grinch-like grin! No, dear friends, it is not for a bigger quiver of surfboards or a surf break alone to myself every dawn session (although those things are quite desirable too!). Let’s take a pause from all this holiday gift-giving and tidings for a different perspective.

It has been many years since I have indulged in that childhood tradition of wishing and hoping for all good things to come at christmas time, but the spirit behind it … that of believing in something bigger than myself; of simply just believing in something magical … has never abandoned the little dickens inside of me. And so, this holiday season, with all the hope and every ounce of wishing that I have in me, I look to the powers that be and make a wish. A surfer’s wish!

But this wish has to take the form of a story that happened early one morning while surfing:

Surfing saved my life. The distinguished lady on the surfboard next to me said softly, looking steadily towards the horizon. She didn’t sound dramatic or overly emotional about it, just matter of factly and content.

Is that right? How so? I ask, looking at her momentarily then returning my gaze at the waves steadily forming in the distance.

Downward spiral. she says, as she turns her board around to paddle for the set rolling in at about head high. My life was going into a downward spiral until I discovered surfing, figured out what was important, and learned to focus myself!

I watched her gracefully paddle into the wave and disappear into the crest as it moved further away from me, her voice fading softly as I watch her outstretched hand move across the top of the wave.

I sat there at the line up and bobbed around lost in my thoughts until she paddled back next to me and sat up on her longboard.  We didn’t speak for a while, instead opting to watch the waves roll by, surfers from way outside the lineup gliding past us. She knew I was thinking about what she had said, and she opted to let me absorb it in my own time as she floated next to me rather than speak on.

What is it then? I turned to ask her, with my brows furrowed to show confusion … or at least intelligent questioning.

What is “what”? She knew, but needed for me to speak my thoughts rather than imply my intent.

What is it that is ‘important’ that pulled you out of your spiral?

It depends. It’s different for everyone. But the key is to find out that one important thing and focus yourself on it! And she was off again on another wave. I wondered if this was some sort of psychological tool to allow me time to process the words she carefully released to me. And then again, maybe we were just surfing after all.

I didn’t see her paddle back out to the lineup again after her last wave, guessing that she had caught a wave in to the beach. And I was left there with my thoughts. ‘Surfing saved my life’ she said, and left me with more questions than answers. Perhaps it is better this way … that I don’t exactly know what she meant by that brief conversation. Perhaps I already know the answer.

Surfing saved me too, I would have told her if I had the chance. At a time of personal demoralization and crisis, amidst a failed marriage and a wildly meandering professional and social life … surfing managed to save me as well. In the pit of my own despair during the holiday season, left alone and lonely by a failed marriage and an unrewarding career, I sought freedom from the ocean. Although it is difficult to say why or what, despite being unable to swim or surf, I paddled out into the great blue ocean on a ratty rental board into shoulder high waves. At its worst, I thought, I was tethered to a massive flotation device and would not be missed by anyone in particular.

It was during those first moments of desperate paddling and exhausted gasps for air as I rose through the whitewash remnants of what had been shoulder high waves, I caught clarity. What I would hazard to guess as being quite similar to an alcoholic’s sudden realization of the need to change his habits – that moment of clarity – surfing granted me the ability to think clearly, if only momentarily, to see the folly of my ways.

I made changes to move towards discovering what was important to me: family, friends, and time with those I love, and knowing that my passion for living and life focused on being around those people. I realigned my perspective on how important career and job sacrifices were, how much attention and focus I placed on keeping and maintaining my relationships with those I care for AND those that I have yet to care for. I began to look at time as my salary earned, rather than cash, as I evaluated my daily decisions.  So yeah, to say that surfing also saved me would be an understatement.

So what is this, my surfer’s wish? I wish for those that are lost, momentarily exhausted of their daily grind, disenfranchised … everyone who needs clarity, to discover their own version of surfing … whatever form that may take, and much like the wise surfer lady said find for themselves what is truly important.

Happy holidays, and good surfing!

…

I think about the reef and how the wave forms a bowl over and around it. I know where to sit on my board and wait, taking my bearing from the sucky rock. Sections close fast going right at low tide, better to go left for a while. Take off straight on the fat left, then bottom turn and glide.

At 41 years of age and many years of barely a wave, I’m back in the water on a regular basis. It’s not just the physical enjoyment of surfing that brought me back, the cold water and powerful waves clear my mind. To have ill loved ones is heartbreaking yet they have inspired me to surf, feel more, and to tell this story.

Surfing simply fell out of my life as a consequence of career, family and location. A familiar story.

A longboard is my chosen vessel and the small waves suit it well. The cold water, blackened by the dark reef, fills my senses as much as my nasal passages. Riding waves in the early morning is a highlight but not the only attraction. I like looking back from the line-up to the grassy paddocks above cliffs. The fresh air and crisp autumn light go beautifully with cold sea water and a red-wine headache.

Time to think is available when the swell is at a lull and you’re left bobbing and swirling.

Surfing is a sport largely completed in the moment, in the present tense and there’s no time to think on a wave. There’s a feeling of contentedness and empowerment that comes from the clarity of mind that surfing gives. Later, back in the carpark where you wrestle with a wetsuit that feels like a straight jacket, not even a bracing wind is enough to quell the extraordinary high of surfing.

I’ve always believed that some activities can clear your mind, maybe even heal it. Focus becomes absolute. There is no room for the negative. For some it’s painting, writing or yoga. For others it’s golf, sailing or footy. For me it’s surfing. Plus, I’m so knackered after a surf session that I’m out like a light after …

The white-water reform wave closes in. I paddle hard to gain momentum before the wave-foam cloaks me. Quick to my feet on my nine footer, I stay low for balance, negotiate the rough water and streak out to the wall and gain speed. The water rears up steeply against the reef and I don’s make the section. The close-out lip hits me and sends me onto the rocky seabed. My ass bounces off the reef. Better buy that helmet because next time it might be my noggin.

My mind is clear, I’m content and another bottle of red will be had tonight. This is why I surf.

[by Crockers Folly]

Back at the shore, Ahmed Abu Hassan, a 28-year-old Palestinian, pulled his board from the water and walked along the Gaza beach where green Hamas flags competed for space with red and yellow umbrellas. It looked as though Islamic militants and ice cream vendors had engaged in a turf war over the golden sand.

“It’s a joy,” said Hassan, a taciturn and graceful surfer.

If surfing is a quest for freedom, nowhere is such a pursuit more relevant than in Gaza, an overcrowded, poverty-stricken strip of land on the Mediterranean controlled by Hamas and cut off from the rest of the world by Israel.

“Gaza is like a prison,” said Bashire Watfa, owner of Al Shira (The Sail) beach cafe. “There’s nowhere to breathe except the beach.”

For the surfers of the Gaza Strip, the popular Al Deira beach is a refuge where catching the perfect wave trumps politics.

“We go to the beach to forget about the suffering,” said Mohammed Juda, 20, who surfs with his 15-year-old brother, Wadia. The Juda brothers, who paddle out into the surf every morning at 6, wore identical blue T-shirts and black swim trunks.

What the Palestinians euphemistically refer to as “the situation” — a dark and intractable reality of violence and poverty — dissolves in the big blue. You can’t ride the waves and worry about factional violence at the same time.

“When we surf, we think about surfing,” said Islam Assar, 17, sounding as Zen as his California brethren. “We don’t think about the situation.”

Jayab, who described himself as sympathetic to Hamas, is the top dog on the beach — admired by many of the youths for his flawless style. He developed his tricks and technique by imitating surfers on TV, he said.

Like the other Gaza surfers, he watches reruns of “Baywatch” episodes. But he doesn’t ogle the bikini-clad lifeguards on the show, he said.

“I close my eyes and watch through my fingers,” Jayab said, laughing as he held his hands in front of his eyes to illustrate. “We think of the joy of surfing, and how to develop our style.”

Unlike their California counterparts, the surfers of Gaza don’t have access to high-end gear or glossy magazines. There are no surf shops, schools or competitions. Beach Boys songs are never played on the radio. And there’s no Arabic equivalent of “dude.”

Because surfboards are difficult to come by and most of the surfers can’t afford them anyway, they rent decrepit, heavy boards for about a dollar an hour. Jayab bought his beat-up board for about $70 from a Palestinian who had brought it from Israel. Hassan, who dreams of riding waves in Australia one day, is a collector and has somehow amassed four boards.

On some days, the Israeli navy fires warning shots toward the beach, cautioning fishermen and swimmers not to venture too far from the shore.

But the patrols can’t contain the surfers.

They may be trapped in Gaza, but riding the waves seems like the great escape.

“I feel free,” Hassan said.

[by Louise Roug]

Should I be worried??? Have I lost something magical? Lost the urge or drive to surf?

I had to find out, since this may inevitably signal a fate far worse than moving to the frozen wastelands of the NorthWest Territories. I watched surf movies, I sniffed surf wax, I listened to Jack Johnson and Donavon Frankenreiter … I even played Kelly Slater’s Surfing video game … all to no positive yield towards the surf and the ocean. Did I get sick of surfing after only 10 years of intermittent sessions?

Did I overdose on surfing after that great series of swells that hit the south shores of Oahu as of late? I don’t have an answer yet, but I was starting to get concerned … even panicky that the one thing that passionately drove me on a daily basis may be slipping away, or worse … has slipped away! There was nothing in particular holding me back from being able to surf: not a demanding job, not a nagging spouse, not the pressures of school and studies, not even a physical condition that prevents me from paddling out.

In fact, I have a truly flexible new career, a more than supportive and equally enthused-about-surfing spouse, a couple of degrees completed and stored in my back pocket, and I am in physical condition that could rival my 20 year old self from so long ago. So what is it? I realized that surfing had become a routine for me – part of the things I perform on a daily basis without much thought. And as incredibly lucky as I am for having such a great privilege allowed to me at this stage in my life, I realized that I needed to step away from surfing, at least momentarily, in order to gain the appreciation that I once held for it. I just needed a break … to recompose and re-approach surfing. Get my bearings on what surfing means to me once more.

Although I am still in the process of this discovery, I did realize one important thing about surfing and myself: I love longboards, and the style and lines associated with the classic style of longboarding. After experimenting with a variety of board styles and board sizes, I have returned to the drop-knee style of surfing … the long drawn lines … and noseriding. Don’t get me wrong, I like shortboarding for training purposes, and for larger pitchier waves … it teaches me to ride anything and everything on a constant basis. But for my money, I prefer my classic 9’2″ … arched back, and hands clasped together behind me on a long clean wave.

I also realized that I need to moderate my surfing. I need to ensure that I still appreciate the beauty and freedom of surfing by not allowing me to get too complacent with the freedoms I have to surf on any given day. As I review this aspect of my life, I have become very aware of the special things I experience on a daily basis, and have begun to hold them with a much deeper sense of appreciation.

…

The 32-year-old was forced to withdraw from the current men’s tour event in Puerto Rico. His family has confirmed he was found dead in Dallas, Texas on Tuesday after being too ill to board a connecting flight home to Kauai. There are reports he died from dengue fever.

Irons claimed three consecutive world titles from 2002 to 2004. ASP international media manager Dave Prodan says Irons’s death is a massive blow to the world sporting community.

“This is in my opinion one of the most devastating losses, not just to the surfing world, but to the international sporting community in general,” he said from Puerto Rico. ”Obviously Andy was more than just a three-time ASP world champion. He was a hero to literally millions of kids who surfed and who didn’t surf around the world, and to grown-ups as well.

“I can’t imagine the impact this is going to have but it’s certainly something that we will feel the world over for many years to come.”

Mr Prodan says ASP extends its thoughts and sympathies to Irons’s family. ”It’s a massive blow here to everyone in Puerto Rico just finding out in the last hour, so we’re all sorting through the feelings at the moment … it’s an incredible shock,” he said.

“Andy has been a staple in the professional sporting world for over a decade and this year marked a rebuilding year for him and he’s been winning events and surfing incredibly well.

“I think throughout his career people would say that he is one of the healthiest, strongest individuals you’ve ever met.” Irons is the only professional surfer to win at every location on the world tour, racking up 19 victories in a terrific career.

He was one of the few surfers to consistently match nine-time world champion and fellow American Kelly Slater. Irons’s last event win came in Tahiti in early September.

In Steven Kotler’s West Of Jesus: Surfing, Science and the Origins of Belief, Kotler discovers (among other things) that the chemical processes that occur during the act of riding a wave closely mirror the emotional trajectory of drug use – specifically anti-depressants. His findings help illustrate how difficult quitting surfing can be; it’s literally like kicking a drug habit. The thrill of extra-corporeal experiences roots itself deep into the mind and body, making surfing more than a hobby. It becomes medicine.

That’s not to say other sports don’t have the same capacity to addict, but in my opinion, surfing holds dominion over its participants because the playing field is a dynamic one; a surfer must take into account the whims of his environment as the landscape transforms; he must be wholly engaged, which is a potent hook.

So how do you quit?

The most common and obvious answer I hear to this question is: “I moved.”

I’d argue that you can move away from the ocean without quitting surfing. It doesn’t count as quitting if you can still get to the beach two weeks out of the year with a board bag full of fiberglass. That’s not quitting; it’s being inconvenienced.

Another common answer I heard verbatim at the grocery store just last week: “I’ve got a family and wife and I don’t have time for that crap anymore.”

My retort: “You picked the wrong family and wife…or else surfing clearly didn’t mean very much to you in the first place.” A surfer could never refer to surfing as “crap,” and unless I’m vastly misinformed about life’s pursuits (entirely possible), a wife and family should not obstruct one’s primary passion; they should supplement it.

The last excuse I hear frequently goes like this: “My body just can’t take the abuse anymore…”

In my opinion, this is the most legitimate dispute. I remember a quote a friend of mine had inscribed on his wall in high school. It read: “In the end, gravity always wins.” I’m not a supporter of Radiohead, but this Tom Yorke quote, depressing as it may be, bears a lot of truth. Time will wear your body down, and aging can be a harsh process. Even as I begin to understand that physical limitations might prohibit the act of surfing, I think of those exceptions (that I’m sure some would contend prove the rule).

I think first of Doc Paskowitz, waking up every morning at the age of eighty and riding a few waves on his belly to shore – wearing the same smile as on his first wave in Texas. Said Paskowitz, “My road has been a straight road since the day I learned how to swim at nine years of age in front of Murdoch’s Bath House in Texas to the present day where I pushed myself off to into the ocean on a 9’0” soft top and rode on my belly. It is just one long road.”

I think of Jesse Billauer dashing down the line with the help of his friends. I think of Bethany Hamilton, and I shake my head at this excuse too. And I arrive at this conclusion:

If you want to surf, you will.

But you can never quit surfing; if you quit, then you must never have surfed.

by Zach Weisberg via SurferMag

Aikido teaches that actions intended to overpower an opponent in particular, or the world in general, will inevitably lead to defeat. Indeed, the mere mind set to “overpower” establishes one’s eventual defeat, well before an opponent has even appeared on the scene.

Both Aikido and Surfing are dynamic activities in which the energy stream is always changing and arising new in each micro-instant. For both aikidoka and surfer the trick is to remain sufficiently relaxed and empty-minded to continuously map and blend with the changes, staying barely ahead of the arising dynamic, gaining fragile leverage by nestling continuously within its moving center.

For the surfer, relaxing the body and moving into action from the one-point enables the body to channel power, but not the power of individual strength. Rather, it is the like the power of Ki freed to accumulate and flow within the relaxed, supple body, and to be expressed as instantaneous movements that may throw more water than 20 people could lift.

One of the most elusive and remarkable parallels between Aikido and Surfing lies in the shared practice of widening and extending awareness to include a vastness beyond individuals. O-Sensei taught that we should extend our awareness to encompass the entire universe, and not let our minds get trapped in tiny little details such as an attacker’s sword. In surfing, by necessity, we are forced to widen awareness into the stream of energy we have joined, which includes us, but also the entire ocean beyond. To ignore this practice is not only to miss the point of surfing, but to invite sudden death.

It is hard to watch dolphins romping in the waves, or surfers exploding out of a tube and not see the joy they experience. It may be a stretch to imagine a martial art, even one as clever as Aikido, as a form of play …

So without further ado, here is my 6 step guide for getting up on your board. Enjoy!

1. Get a basic grasp of what you want to do. If it’s surfing, you need to learn how to paddle out, how to pop up and where to place your feet. For bloggers and internet marketers you would need a basic WordPress set up, a mind full of content on a passionate topic and the patience to build a community slowly. Too many people spend too much time learning the theory of how to do something. Knowledge is not knowledge if it cannot be applied. Stop wasting time with theory and focus instead on application.
2. Practice out of the water. When you first learn to surf, a lot of coaches will have you practice “the pop” on the beach first before you get anywhere near the water. This is to train your body and mind to do the right thing when you are in the water. The same can be applied to blogging. You have to practice your writing, your networking, your design and HTML skills before you can begin to be successful and sell products. Practice makes perfect, so don’t get frustrated if you think you are falling behind others. Baz Luhrmann said, “The race is long. And in the end, it is only with yourself.“
3. Take it slowly. Once you’re out into the open water you don’t head straight for the pipe unless you want your head to be bashed against the reef again and again and again. You start slowly over in the small waves with all the other rookie surfers. Don’t try and crack into the big crowd of “authorities” in your niche. You’ll get overwhelmed, ignored and will feel like you can’t do this. Learn and grow with other newcomers and you’ll find a sense of camaraderie that is rarely found in the self flagulating, back slapping and ego boosting world of “big names” in your market.
4. Fall with confidence. You won’t be able to stand up on your board right away. Balance, nerves and the occasional gust of wind will be enough to knock you off your path. Take the wipeouts proudly. Fall with the confidence of a person who knows that they will get back up and succeed eventually. In blogging, you will publish new posts that receive minimal views, no comments and don’t seem to excite anybody – including yourself. Have the confidence to know that your true vision will become more clear and focused every time you fall.
5. Hone your skills. In order to become a more proficient surfer you will need to hone your skills. You can do this by finding a mentor, a friend, a hired coach or simply by learning for yourself. I am a huge advocate of learning yourself. I have paid thousands of dollars from internet marketing courses, ebooks and membership forums and you know what? The information is all the same. It’s just written in a different way. Let someone teach you the basics, but tread your own path and learn to surf on your own.
6. Ride the wave. Once you have the basics covered, you have practiced, gone slowly, fallen and honed your skills – stand up on your board. When you start to receive traffic to your blog, get subscribers and contributors giving you feedback and you begin to see trickles of affiliate income: savor the moment. Feel the cool spray splash against your face and inhale the fresh, chilled air. Take in the beauty and power that comes with achieving something you’re passionate about. Congratulations – you’re surfing.

Will you get up on your board and ride the wave today?

There are moments that leave permanent imprints on your mind that are so vivid, so etched for eternity that you can literally close your eyes and  you can picture every detail and be back there anytime you want to get there (just few to share):

• The dark haired surfer girl smiling back at you as you come down the face of a wave with an ear to ear smile
• Your new found friend smiling from the beach at the fact that you just caught the ride of your life
• That first time I stood up on the board
• The most awesome wave of the day where I paddled back out to my friends only to learn that my board shorts had a giant rip down the back side (I thought they were smiling because it was such an awesome wave
• That long perfect ride where the water  was warm and it the waves seemed to just peel on forever

Certain days and certain waves are just special. These are just a few of the hundreds I have.  Like I said before they have a permanent imprint that you can’t ever forget. Forgetting these moments would be tragic.

Mother Nature’s Dance

Consider the waves your song and the ocean the girl you dance with. You find yourself constantly telling her one more dance, one more song. “One more good ride and I’ll get out.” Yet, for many, 20, 40, 50 years later that mantra are are the words surfers seem to live by. In certain moments, mother nature teases you. Right when you plan on getting out, a perfect set rolls in and you realize you can’t possibly leave in that moment. After all, those waves are way better than the one you just caught.  It’d be like walking away from a blackjack table on a hot streak. So you paddle back out, and the music stops. The dance stops and she has her laugh.  “Sure I’ll dance with you, just wait.” And you do, because that’s how much you’ve fallen for her.  The truth is you really never can get enough. It’s just that good.

On the drive home, everything seems to have a deeper meaning. Your awareness elevates and you realize that the The Cure is singing about orgasms in the first few lines of Just Like Heaven and the calm, the smile, and everything else together puts you in a state of ecstasy.   With that I’ve barely touched what it feels like to be stoked.