When things get difficult, do you run away or push back ?
" I surf at a beach break and trying to learn how to turn my board better, but the wave always seems to crash down on me. What should I do ? "
Well you can do two things:
1) Run away ( straighten out or kick out )
2) Stay and Fight ( push back against the wave )
Here the beach break closeout crashes right on her rail which will probably:
1) Chop her knees out from under and send her face first into the wave.
2) Catch her outside rail as she leans back, sending her flying onto her back.
What could she have done to avoid this ?
1) See the closeout happening down the line and turn towards the beach earlier and run straight to avoid catching a rail.
2) Climb up and kick out before the wave collapses.
3) Hit the lip as the lip hits her.
Rider drives up to a closeout section. ( trail lines shows up down up )
He climbs up to hit the thinnest part of the lip.
Board bottom is flat against the wave.
Force matches force.
Look how the board is the middle line set between two opposing forces.
Now it is not as easy as saying " Okay, I'll just ride up into the lip as hard as I can. " Like any sport, it comes down to timing and placement to get good contact.
1) a batter making good contact with the baseball swinging at the right moment, following a correct path.
2) a golfer making good contact will the golf ball, with good follow thru ( not chicken winging it )
3) a mountain biker pushing off the berm of dirt or roots of trees to keep the tires from losing grip.
See how the surfer times his cutback to place the board right where the lip is. Too late the wave overpowers him and sends him over. To early, he has nothing to turn off of.
It's a fine line between making it back down or getting tossed over. The trill of victory or the agony of defeat.
But like most sports, if you hesitate or think you can't, then you've already lost your chance.
You need to Go For It and BELIEVE.
Notice this is a very steep pitching wave, but the rider hits the lip with speed, power and flow. See the board balanced between his feet right where the wave's energy pushes against the bottom of the board ?
More so in smaller waves, where there is less energy to push off of, you really need to get your timing and angles right. Body line strong from head to toe, right thru to the wave.
YES, it is scary to face an oncoming closeout. But use it as a opportunity to turn.
Look at the trail line spray left on the face.
See how he climbs and carves to meet the curling lip.
After many trials and errors, you soon come to realize it is safer to go for it than to hesitate.
If you work with the wave, it will help assist you to bring the board back down.
In life, when things get tough, do you run away or do you fight ? Meet force with force, push back.
“Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one” ― Bruce Lee
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