Balancing on Manilla Rope for Ligtning Fast and Dramatic Time Slow Down Awareness for Surfing Pop Ups and Balance

Aloha Tribe,

This morning, it's early, about 2 AM or so, I used a 1" manilla rope, 32 feet long, to practice my surfing on since it was the middle of the night and pouring rather intently outside. Not that I mind the idea of surfing in the rain, nor, at night, but, I just thought I'd do some practice in my warm and dry living room by my wood burning stove.

Instead of hanging the manilla rope like I would a slackrope or slackline, I simply stretched it out on the floor across my living room. Then, I stepped onto it and began walking it, playing a game with myself that I had to keep my whole foot on the rope and that I was not allowed to wobble and touch the floor with the outside edge of my feet.

Interestingly enough, yesterday's backpacking hike and balance session seemed to have kicked my kinesthetic and proprioceptive muscles into a high degree of senstivity because I found staying on the line much easier than normal, especially since my lateral foot swaying allowance was mere fractions of an inch so that I'd not touch the floor.

After practicing a variety of walking and balancing and also rope yoga on the manilla rope, it occured to me that I could practice my Surfing Pop Ups on it too.

So, I lay down, then, popped to my feet, the game being, just like my previous game, that my feet were not allowed to touch the floor once they left the ground during the initial Pop Up.

I found that this game gave me accuracy and more so, delicacy to my Pop Ups, creating a sort of light and gentle floating kind of feeling and motion.

I can hardly wait for dawn to  bring this new training feeling to my surfing. Naturally, while a Pop Up is typically done lightning quick, especially if one rides a short board on steep, fast waves, what such training offered me was the instantaneous mental shift into super high speed clarity and mental focus, thus, dramatically slowing time, thereby offering me all the time in the world to execute my Pop Ups, which,  not only greatly added to the joy of the feeliing, after all, I've always loved this part of surfing, but more so, allowed me to instantly get in the groove for the ride.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley