Aloha Tribe,
So, Thanksgiving was awesome. The waves in the morning for all those able to surf the traditional pre-Thansgiving Dawn Patrol Appetite Builder were a perfect NW magic surf.
The full days food ideas came favorites from, for the most part, truly awesome surfers from all over the planet.
Out here, in the wilds, the day of feasting began with Mike Doyles recipe for Huevos Mexicanos. In addition, we had Sam Bleakley's Fruit Salad with Honey Spiced Yogurt. With this, was simply a few extra plain bananas, which, many surfers consider the perfect surfer breakfast.
Lunch was non-existent due to an overall feeling of an awesome days mellowness of simply watching the sea.
Much later in the day, in the early evening actually, after rewaxing boards with fresh wax (I love the smell of fresh Bubblegum Wax, what can I say?), stowing gear, and just hanging, it was time to lay out appetizers.
For appetizers, we had a recipe from Sofia Mulanovich for Peruvian Ceviche. We also had Sushi, Sashimi, and Darrick Doerner's favorite - Hawaiian Poke.
Talk Story was a huge part of the day, and following leisurely nibbling of appetizers, it was time for the Main Course.
For this, we had a recipe from Ian Cairns for Garlic and Rosemary Lamb, Ben Dunn's Sausage and Crock Pot Stew, and my own recipe for my style of Baja Fish Tacos!!! Okay, fine, I'm partial to those, after all, I practically live on them almost every day, along with a bit of fruit (mangoes, papayas, pineapple, bananas). With this, we had a recipe for Mango Salsa from Bruce Irons, as well as his version of Fish Tacos (one can never have too many kinds of fish tacos - for a surfer, it's a moral imperative).
As Sides to go with the Main Courses, there was Gerry Lopez's awesome Brown Rice with Teriyaki Sauce (this is probably what I had most of), and Donald Takayama had a recipe for Surfer's Choice Clam Chowder which was to die for.
And, to top it all off, in Memory and Honor of Andy Irons, we made Andy's famous Chocolate Brownie Supreme - which, I must add, was pure magical yumminess.
Naturally, at a surfer party, there HAS to be beer, in fact, some consider the perfect Surfer Thanksgiving as, beer. Yep, beer. Surfer food in a bottle.
Our beers of the day were Longboard Lager, Corona Extra with limes, of course, and Fat Tire. The plan was for endless bottles of Jamaican Red at midnight along with our weekly Midnight Cubano Sandwiches over endless games of Jamaican Dominoes and Cuban styled cigars (Jamaican Dominoes is the version where you gamble with poker chips on each play - much fun and a game I love).
All in all, a perfect day. Everyone around had tons of food, much Talk Story, lots of laughter and joking, super waves, and just pure holiday magic. I hope that all of you had as much fun for your own Thanksgiving, and, no matter where you are in the world, remember, as surfers, we all belong to The Tribe, and, for us, every day there's surf is a day and reason for thanksgiving, so, I hope that all of you could celebrate in true surfer style, Especially, with the beer, of course.
Special Thanks to Nava Young for her most excellent surfer's cookbook Surf Food: The Ultimate Surfers Cookbook. Ride on chica!!!
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Surfer's Thanksgiving Coming Soon
Aloha Tribe,
Thanksgiving, here in the U.S. is coming in a few weeks, and, this year, I'm doing a Surfer's Thanksgiving. My whole meal will be planned around foods that famous surfers from all over the world have loved. I'll be using surfing food instead of the "traditional," Thanksgiving grinds.
I'll keep you posted on my menu plans as things get closer.
That being said, my surfing and Watergirl Mentor, famous big wave surfer Darrick Doerner (DD) has shared his traditions with me of sweet potatoes, raw fish - I will prepare sushi, sashimi, Baja styled ceviche (my favorite) and poke to honor DD, gravy, and apple pie, all of his favorites, so, they will all be part of my Thanksgiving Meal, along with the rest I am planning.
Naturally, one of the traditions for Thanksgiving, for surfers that is, is to surf Thanksgiving morning. For a surfer, it's a moral imperative. So, no matter who you are, no matter where you are in the world, for this Thanksgiving Day, even if it's not a tradition you normally practice, why not head to the beach for some waves and just give thanks anyways. Thanks for all the great surf you've had and all the great surf you hope to have. And, simply offer that thanks to whoevers.
Personally, I love the idea of making a ton of food, bringing it to my local break, and, just setting up a campfire with tons of hot food for any surfer to feel free to dig in, Talk Story for a spell, then, hit the swells again with a fully tummy. Then again, living in the wilds like I do, that might mean I'm sharing my food simply with the local wildlife, but, hey, whatevers. When it comes down to it, it's the thought, I guess. I love sharing with the Tribe, to me, that's a big part of what surfing is all about, each of us watching each others back at all times, sharing what we have, hanging and talking story, surfing together, and, just being.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Thanksgiving, here in the U.S. is coming in a few weeks, and, this year, I'm doing a Surfer's Thanksgiving. My whole meal will be planned around foods that famous surfers from all over the world have loved. I'll be using surfing food instead of the "traditional," Thanksgiving grinds.
I'll keep you posted on my menu plans as things get closer.
That being said, my surfing and Watergirl Mentor, famous big wave surfer Darrick Doerner (DD) has shared his traditions with me of sweet potatoes, raw fish - I will prepare sushi, sashimi, Baja styled ceviche (my favorite) and poke to honor DD, gravy, and apple pie, all of his favorites, so, they will all be part of my Thanksgiving Meal, along with the rest I am planning.
Naturally, one of the traditions for Thanksgiving, for surfers that is, is to surf Thanksgiving morning. For a surfer, it's a moral imperative. So, no matter who you are, no matter where you are in the world, for this Thanksgiving Day, even if it's not a tradition you normally practice, why not head to the beach for some waves and just give thanks anyways. Thanks for all the great surf you've had and all the great surf you hope to have. And, simply offer that thanks to whoevers.
Personally, I love the idea of making a ton of food, bringing it to my local break, and, just setting up a campfire with tons of hot food for any surfer to feel free to dig in, Talk Story for a spell, then, hit the swells again with a fully tummy. Then again, living in the wilds like I do, that might mean I'm sharing my food simply with the local wildlife, but, hey, whatevers. When it comes down to it, it's the thought, I guess. I love sharing with the Tribe, to me, that's a big part of what surfing is all about, each of us watching each others back at all times, sharing what we have, hanging and talking story, surfing together, and, just being.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Gibbon Slackrack for Balance Practice
Aloha Tribe,
I got an early Birthday present last night. It's the Gibbon Slackrack for slacklining indoors. It's a way totally awesome portable steel rack that holds a slackline. I do not know it's exact weight, but I'd gues maybe 70 pounds or so. You can tension the line as tightly or loosely as you would like and it can hold any type of webbing or rope, though the way it is made, it is specifically made for Gibbon slackline products, of course. To use something else, like your own webbing, or a rope, you simply tie it on rather than use the ratchet system for a Gibbon line. The rack is 10 foot long and about a foot high. The base is gray and the end supports are a sort of magenta, it's rather pretty.
I have it set up in my Surfing Room. I really love it. It's great practice for slacklining, and the skills you learn can certainly apply to surfing. Regarding surfing, on a slackline, you are developing all of your balance muscles, so, having something like this lets you practice in any kind of weather and at any time since it's just in your home. It can break down into two 5 foot sections (I'm simply guessing but maybe 35 pounds each perhaps) for taking to a park or wherevers, it easily fits inside of both my Subaru Outback Sport and my new model turbo VW Bug, thus I can bring it on surfing trips for those times when I'm not camping and doing outdoor slacklining but instead, staying in a nice hotel and want to slack in my hotel room.
If you want to simply practice slacklining, this product can do anything you'd like. You can walk, bounce, stand motionless meditating, or even do slackline yoga on it. Or my favorite, of course, slackline chi gung. In fact, here it is about 1:30 AM and I'm still practicing on my slackrack. The balance possibilities are endless. For example, regarding surfing, you can lay on it and paddle, it's high enough, then, sit, as though you were in the line up, then, paddle again with wave catching speed, pop to your feet, and, practice your surfing moves. Sure, it's not a board, it's a slackline, thus, it doesn't have the width a board had, yet, surfboards have stringers, and, knowing your stringer perfectly is what surfing is about. I've found that slacklining has dramatically improved my surfing by cutting off years of training, and, likewise, my surfing has radically helped my slacklining.
It will be interesting to spend a lot of time on the slackrack, like I do on my NOHO Surf Balance Trainer when I do my Silver Surfer Training Camp sessions. With my longboard on my NOHO, I spend as much time on it as I can during such training camps, and, likewise, I plan to do the same thing on this slackrack, simply hanging on it for hours at a time, ever increasing that time limit. I want to make it so comfortable that it is home to me, just like my longboard has become due to my Silver Surf Camp training I do so often. With my surfboard, I want to know every millimeter of it, and, I want the same for my slackrack. I want to know what it can do, how I can push the limits, where I can go with it and what mystery awaits me, what hidden treasures it holds within.
This is a great product for keeping your slacklining skills honed to perfection, especially also, if you are using it to keep your surfing in perfect shape.
I highly suggest one studies Chi Gung and bring it to the slackline and, your surfboard for it will open doors of exploration in ways you've never imagined, offering new moves, increased balance, and greater freedom in truly expressing yourself physically.
Since the slackrack is so adjustable, you can, of course, tension it up like a traditional slackline, that is to say, the line is tensioned "straight," and then it sags when you walk on it. Or, you can use cavellettis and tie your line off, if you like, thus making your slackrack more like a tightrope line. Or, if you prefer, which is way fun I must add, you can simply tie your webbing or, as I prefer, manilla rope, loose, and thus have a loose rope or soft rope system, which is especially interesting if you're interested in Chinese Soft Rope Penetration Arts. Thus, if Chinese Single Bamboo Pole Drifting is in the future for you, this is a great way to practice for that too. Drifting, by the way, rocks, and it makes SUP (Stand Up Paddle) which is so all the rage in the States now, seem rather calm and easy and, well, sorry SUPer's but, dull. There's just so much more you can do on a Bamboo Pole that offers such a greater challenge for those who love such things. Shooting the rapids, instead of in a kayak like the local boys do, try it on a bamboo pole, you'll not only turn heads but also hearts yearning for adventure.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
I got an early Birthday present last night. It's the Gibbon Slackrack for slacklining indoors. It's a way totally awesome portable steel rack that holds a slackline. I do not know it's exact weight, but I'd gues maybe 70 pounds or so. You can tension the line as tightly or loosely as you would like and it can hold any type of webbing or rope, though the way it is made, it is specifically made for Gibbon slackline products, of course. To use something else, like your own webbing, or a rope, you simply tie it on rather than use the ratchet system for a Gibbon line. The rack is 10 foot long and about a foot high. The base is gray and the end supports are a sort of magenta, it's rather pretty.
I have it set up in my Surfing Room. I really love it. It's great practice for slacklining, and the skills you learn can certainly apply to surfing. Regarding surfing, on a slackline, you are developing all of your balance muscles, so, having something like this lets you practice in any kind of weather and at any time since it's just in your home. It can break down into two 5 foot sections (I'm simply guessing but maybe 35 pounds each perhaps) for taking to a park or wherevers, it easily fits inside of both my Subaru Outback Sport and my new model turbo VW Bug, thus I can bring it on surfing trips for those times when I'm not camping and doing outdoor slacklining but instead, staying in a nice hotel and want to slack in my hotel room.
If you want to simply practice slacklining, this product can do anything you'd like. You can walk, bounce, stand motionless meditating, or even do slackline yoga on it. Or my favorite, of course, slackline chi gung. In fact, here it is about 1:30 AM and I'm still practicing on my slackrack. The balance possibilities are endless. For example, regarding surfing, you can lay on it and paddle, it's high enough, then, sit, as though you were in the line up, then, paddle again with wave catching speed, pop to your feet, and, practice your surfing moves. Sure, it's not a board, it's a slackline, thus, it doesn't have the width a board had, yet, surfboards have stringers, and, knowing your stringer perfectly is what surfing is about. I've found that slacklining has dramatically improved my surfing by cutting off years of training, and, likewise, my surfing has radically helped my slacklining.
It will be interesting to spend a lot of time on the slackrack, like I do on my NOHO Surf Balance Trainer when I do my Silver Surfer Training Camp sessions. With my longboard on my NOHO, I spend as much time on it as I can during such training camps, and, likewise, I plan to do the same thing on this slackrack, simply hanging on it for hours at a time, ever increasing that time limit. I want to make it so comfortable that it is home to me, just like my longboard has become due to my Silver Surf Camp training I do so often. With my surfboard, I want to know every millimeter of it, and, I want the same for my slackrack. I want to know what it can do, how I can push the limits, where I can go with it and what mystery awaits me, what hidden treasures it holds within.
This is a great product for keeping your slacklining skills honed to perfection, especially also, if you are using it to keep your surfing in perfect shape.
I highly suggest one studies Chi Gung and bring it to the slackline and, your surfboard for it will open doors of exploration in ways you've never imagined, offering new moves, increased balance, and greater freedom in truly expressing yourself physically.
Since the slackrack is so adjustable, you can, of course, tension it up like a traditional slackline, that is to say, the line is tensioned "straight," and then it sags when you walk on it. Or, you can use cavellettis and tie your line off, if you like, thus making your slackrack more like a tightrope line. Or, if you prefer, which is way fun I must add, you can simply tie your webbing or, as I prefer, manilla rope, loose, and thus have a loose rope or soft rope system, which is especially interesting if you're interested in Chinese Soft Rope Penetration Arts. Thus, if Chinese Single Bamboo Pole Drifting is in the future for you, this is a great way to practice for that too. Drifting, by the way, rocks, and it makes SUP (Stand Up Paddle) which is so all the rage in the States now, seem rather calm and easy and, well, sorry SUPer's but, dull. There's just so much more you can do on a Bamboo Pole that offers such a greater challenge for those who love such things. Shooting the rapids, instead of in a kayak like the local boys do, try it on a bamboo pole, you'll not only turn heads but also hearts yearning for adventure.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Perfect Longboard Car: VW Bug vs. Subaru Outback
Aloha Tribe,
So, I imagine that a lot of you dream of finding the perfect car for your surfing sufaris. And naturally, there are many cool vehicles that fit the bill, after all, we all need and love something different.
For me, I have, as I have mentioned, two cars. One is a new model VW Bug, bright orange, orange hubcaps, black and orange leather interior and steering wheel, turbo model. She's cute!!! I even have a safari rack I mounted on her roof above the sunroof. It's sort of like a metal cage that sits up there, capable of holding anything and everything.
With my VW Bug, I can get my 9 foot longboard (plus a second one if I wanted too) inside of the car. I simply take the headrests off the passenger seat and then fold the passenger seat down and, I also take the headrests off the back bench seat and fold it down too. Then, I simply slide the board in through the trunk, resting the nose of the board on the dashboard of the passenger side, and the tail of the board at the end base of the trunk. Granted, with this setup, I can be the only one in the car, but, that's cool, my friends have cars anyways, and besides, when you're heading out for Dawn Patrol in the dark of night, it's fun to have a caravan of vehicles filled with surfer brahs all following each other for a day of surfing.
There is room in the car, by the way, for pretty much as much camping gear (plus slacklines and slackropes as well as my NOHO Surf Balance Trainer), as I'll need for even extended trips of several months. As it turns out, I don't need the safari rack on top of the car, but, well, it makes the car look like a true Baja Bug, and, I so love that image.
My other car is a Subaru Outback Sport. She's bright fire engine red. With this car, I also can get my 9 foot longboard (easily with a second 9 foot longboard if I wanted) literally inside of the car, basically doing exactly what I did with the Bug. I simply fold the front and back passenger side bucket seats down, do not have to remove the headrests, and, still have room for a passenger behind the drivers seat, plus, enough gear for several months of camping also including enough slacklines, slackropes and such to share with anybody who wants to try, and my NOHO Surf Balance Trainer.
So, when there are times that I might want to have your boards safely in your car, either of these vehicles way totally can do this. On the other hand, I always loved the look of my longboard on top of my car, fin forward, adventure to the wind. It presents sort of a cool girl-of-action kind of look that appeals to my spirit and sense of adventure and taste. Besides, in the case of the VW Bug, it's kind of fun to have a surfboard on the roof on top of my safari rack, people who see it seem to love the look.
Oh, while my VW Bug is a turbo model and thus goes faster, my Subaru Outback Sport has All-Wheel Drive thus it can go anywhere, snow mud, ice, sleet, rain, whatevers. And, being a cold weather surfer, surfing in the worst the Pacific Northwest can throw at a girl, such a feature is rather awesome to know that no matter what, I can always make it to the beach regardless of driving conditions.
Either car would be perfect for anybody. It's then simply a matter of style. For me, I love them both. In warm weather, like the Summer, it's my VW Bug for sure, for what could be cooler than that, a bug with a few longboard surfboards and an elephant gun and perhaps a thruster all strapped on top, using, by the way, Baja straps, those are those extra wide, extra thick, extra strong ones with huge strong steel buckles, that, if you''re a Baja girl, you just HAVE to have. And, when the Winter storms rage and the seas rise to near 50 foot like they did a week ago, how are you doing to see me get to my surfing break out in the wilds, well, in my Subaru Outback, but of course, for she WILL get me there for those epic waves when it really counts.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
So, I imagine that a lot of you dream of finding the perfect car for your surfing sufaris. And naturally, there are many cool vehicles that fit the bill, after all, we all need and love something different.
For me, I have, as I have mentioned, two cars. One is a new model VW Bug, bright orange, orange hubcaps, black and orange leather interior and steering wheel, turbo model. She's cute!!! I even have a safari rack I mounted on her roof above the sunroof. It's sort of like a metal cage that sits up there, capable of holding anything and everything.
With my VW Bug, I can get my 9 foot longboard (plus a second one if I wanted too) inside of the car. I simply take the headrests off the passenger seat and then fold the passenger seat down and, I also take the headrests off the back bench seat and fold it down too. Then, I simply slide the board in through the trunk, resting the nose of the board on the dashboard of the passenger side, and the tail of the board at the end base of the trunk. Granted, with this setup, I can be the only one in the car, but, that's cool, my friends have cars anyways, and besides, when you're heading out for Dawn Patrol in the dark of night, it's fun to have a caravan of vehicles filled with surfer brahs all following each other for a day of surfing.
There is room in the car, by the way, for pretty much as much camping gear (plus slacklines and slackropes as well as my NOHO Surf Balance Trainer), as I'll need for even extended trips of several months. As it turns out, I don't need the safari rack on top of the car, but, well, it makes the car look like a true Baja Bug, and, I so love that image.
My other car is a Subaru Outback Sport. She's bright fire engine red. With this car, I also can get my 9 foot longboard (easily with a second 9 foot longboard if I wanted) literally inside of the car, basically doing exactly what I did with the Bug. I simply fold the front and back passenger side bucket seats down, do not have to remove the headrests, and, still have room for a passenger behind the drivers seat, plus, enough gear for several months of camping also including enough slacklines, slackropes and such to share with anybody who wants to try, and my NOHO Surf Balance Trainer.
So, when there are times that I might want to have your boards safely in your car, either of these vehicles way totally can do this. On the other hand, I always loved the look of my longboard on top of my car, fin forward, adventure to the wind. It presents sort of a cool girl-of-action kind of look that appeals to my spirit and sense of adventure and taste. Besides, in the case of the VW Bug, it's kind of fun to have a surfboard on the roof on top of my safari rack, people who see it seem to love the look.
Oh, while my VW Bug is a turbo model and thus goes faster, my Subaru Outback Sport has All-Wheel Drive thus it can go anywhere, snow mud, ice, sleet, rain, whatevers. And, being a cold weather surfer, surfing in the worst the Pacific Northwest can throw at a girl, such a feature is rather awesome to know that no matter what, I can always make it to the beach regardless of driving conditions.
Either car would be perfect for anybody. It's then simply a matter of style. For me, I love them both. In warm weather, like the Summer, it's my VW Bug for sure, for what could be cooler than that, a bug with a few longboard surfboards and an elephant gun and perhaps a thruster all strapped on top, using, by the way, Baja straps, those are those extra wide, extra thick, extra strong ones with huge strong steel buckles, that, if you''re a Baja girl, you just HAVE to have. And, when the Winter storms rage and the seas rise to near 50 foot like they did a week ago, how are you doing to see me get to my surfing break out in the wilds, well, in my Subaru Outback, but of course, for she WILL get me there for those epic waves when it really counts.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Ultra-Primitive Slackline Setup
Aloha Tribe,
As a longboard surfer, I've taken to slacklining to improve my surfing. And, while my path to both actually intertwines, beginning with surfing as a little girl, the progressing to Monkey Style Kung Fu where one learns to move, stretch, fight, and even sleep on a Monkey Bed - which was basically just a rope slung between two trees with the purpose of creating perfect balance, then, about 10 years ago being given my first webbing slackline from my carpenter for my home - tied in the Ultra-Primitive Style, to today, living the life of a Vagabond Feral Soul Surfer and Vagabond Feral Soul Slackliner.
Such a life calls for following both the waves, and, the wind. For both elements become your home, harmoniously blending as the Shamanic quest for balance. You'll find, as you dare this quest, that the first door that opens for you is the mysterious and magical door to your subconscious.
To live the life of a Vagabond Feral Soul Rope Dancer or Slackliner, one simply, lives to Rope Dance or slack. And, just as a Soul Surfer, who travels Feral as a Vagabond carries one board and one board only, so goes such a slackliner or rope dancer. All you carry is but a single slackline or a single piece of rope, rolled into a carefully tied bundle such as a Lap Bundle or perhaps, if you like a Backpack Bundle, and tossed into a canvas satchel slung crossbody, low over one hip along with a simple canvas backpack. The search becomes a quest seeking more than the mere perfect walk, more even than a sense of physical balance, the quest, becomes mixed in with Chi Gung, and thus, the search for internal and external exploration of yourself and the world around you based on energy.
Chi Gung, the ancient 4000 year old Chinese study of internal and external energy within, around, and beyond the body, holds the true secret to this art and lifestyle of a Ultra-Primitive Rope Dancer. The art of Soft Rope Penetration Arts or Rope Dancing aka Soft Roping is also several thousand years old, holding untold secrets, mysteries, and treasures.
One's kit is simple. Of course, it's environmentally based, thus the natural fiber travel kit, but, the key is to travel as lightly as possible. A canvas satchel works perfectly for your slackline or rope dancing gear. And, as for living, you'll explore traveling and surviving as an ultralight backpacker.
Having a few simple ways to make money helps. Whatever your gig happens to be. For me, my skills lay with the Short Cons, namely, the Shell Game, Five Card Draw Poker - as a Mechanic, and Pickpocketing (all of which can be done theatrically if you are so inclined to not wander the outlaw trail).
As a Vagabond Feral Soul Rope Dancer, one is free to travel the world. For there are always places to practice your art as you search deeper and deeper for yourself and your limits physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Some will probably live the streets as a Grifter or Street Performer, honing the art of grifting to peak perfection, while, perhaps, keeping things sort of moderately legal. Others may explore the darker sides of the mysteries of life, depending, of course, upon your personal morals. And, for those who leave the cities and head into the wilds, you'll learn to live by whit and whim in the forests, jungles, mountains, plains, deserts, and beaches, especially the beaches if you also happen to be a Vagabond Feral Soul Surfer who also slacks.
Wandering as a slacker, you'll keep your eyes out for places to hang your line. And, while initially seemingly all similar, you'll find that the more you experience, the more depth you'll notice to your walking. Does it feel different to walk a line between two pine trees? Or two oaks? What about one strung between bamboo? Or boulders high in the mountains, how are they different than rocky ledges along the coast and over the sea? How does the humidity of Ghana effect your line? Or the dryness of a desert? Does height make a difference in how your line feels and thus, how the walk feels differently to you? Can you feel the pulse of a crowded city harmoniously dancing your line in ways that the wilds do not?
Each of these, of course, has different answers. And, if you're just starting out, you'll probably not notice much if any difference. Most likely, you'll probably start on webbing, tubular webbing specifically. And, even with some experience, you'll probably focus simply on line height, line length, or even how fast you can walk the line. But, as a Vagabond Feral Rope Dancer, you're after something deeper, much much much deeper. This is where the study of Chi Gung comes into play and carries you along a path that leads to the true lifestyle of the Soul Slacker/Soft Roper. You see, the more you walk the line, the more sensitive you become to your body and to the way the line moves and feels. With experience, you might find the shift from a nylon or poly type strap of webbing to a totally natural length of rope, more than likely manilla at first. Manilla, unlike nylon has living chi about it, it has secrets and stories to tell and share, and its chi is pure. With time, you might explore the lushess softness of a jute rope or the pure magic of the greatest of all, Italian Hemp (currently illegal in the U.S. thus opening a door for those of a smuggling mind and bent). And, it is at this point that you will begin to realize that there are physical changes that you can sense. At first, they'll register tactilly but with more experience, you'll learn to explore the depth of all of your senses, perfecting them, one at a time, to levels currently undreamed of by you. There literally are no limits within this art.
The advantages of a hemp, jute, or manilla rope to a nylon slackline is that instead of separating your from nature, you'll find that your rope, having been living material and thus still dancing strongly with it's own unique individual chi, offers a way to blend as one with all about you. The trippy part of this is that it is done all naturally, and, even if you use hemp, only rather slightly on the outlaw trail.
Walking a line, be it rope or webbing, opens your mind to your imagination, which, is the first step along this marvelous path. For in order to feel it and more so use it later, first, one must imagine it.
For those who do not know, Chi or Qi is the force that is within everything, all that is visible and all that is invisible as well as all that is animate and all inanimate things. Basically, it is in, around and beyond all. And the exciting part of the story is that you can, using Soft Roping and Slacklining skills, tap into this huge mass of everchanging, constantly morphing energy for shaping your life and the world around you. In a way, you could say that the New Age that was anticipated so strongly in the '60's is now here hanging on a rope, slung loosely as a Loose Rope, slackly as a Slackline or Slackrope , or tightly as a Tightrope, between two objects. There are few Loose or Soft Rope Specialists out here by the way, for it is still mostly an unknown art, lost to the antiquites of ancient China. In fact, the Ultra-Primitive Slackline Setup is based specifically the Loose Rope Dancer. You can use rope or webbing.
In a nutshell, tie a Double Bowline with Jack's Variation on the anchor end of the rope or webbing. This part is tied around a tree or boulder. Then, about 90 % of the way down the webbing or rope, tie a Butterfly Knot which is not to be confused with an Artillery Man's Knot or a Mantrap Knot, nor especially, a False Butterfly Knot. For the Butterfly Knot, by the way, simply turn both loops the same way, essentially counterclockwise. For the False Butterfly knot, which you must not tie, the first loop goes counterclockwise and the second loop goes clockwise, and, while the two knots look similiar, they are not, the False Butterfly Knot is not as strong as the Butterfly Knot. Continue with the rest of the rope or webbing running it around your second working tree or boulder, and, as soon as you go around it, tie a second Butterfly Knot. Now, take the leftover webbing or rope and run it first up through the Butterfly Knot you just tied, then, down through your first Butterfly Knot, then back to the Butterfly Knot near the tree and go down through it again, this time trying to get your webbing or rope beneath your first pass through this Butterfly Knot. Then, take the remaining line and run it up through your midline Butterfly Knot, and run it under your first pass through this knot. Now, draw the system tight by pulling on the remaining tail of the webbing or rope. If you want this set up as a Ultra-Primitive Slackline or Slackrope setup, the rope is pulled taught. Or, if you prefer to simply use an Ultra-Primitive Loose Rope or Looseline setup, then simply tie a second Double Bowline with Jack's Variation around the working tree instead of using the Butterfly Knots, and, just let the webbing or rope hang loosely like a letter U. When you walk on a Loose Rope, it will look more or less like a letter V, with you as the low point.
In either case, Ultra-Primitive Slackline/Slackrope or Ultra-Primitive Loose Rope/Looseline, you only use a single piece of rope or webbing, without the need for a second webbing like you need in a Primitive System, and, without the carabiners that a Primitive System also requires.
This Ultra-Primitive method is new, hot, unique, ultralight, and the wave of the future. I feel rather excited to have come up with these knots and this idea of hanging a rope or webbing slack or loose. It sure works for me.
The romance of the line awaits you, the call of the wilds and cities sings to your webbing and rope, heed the call. For you will find balance poetry, art, style, spiritual growth, mental and physical mastery all honed to perfection if you dare.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
As a longboard surfer, I've taken to slacklining to improve my surfing. And, while my path to both actually intertwines, beginning with surfing as a little girl, the progressing to Monkey Style Kung Fu where one learns to move, stretch, fight, and even sleep on a Monkey Bed - which was basically just a rope slung between two trees with the purpose of creating perfect balance, then, about 10 years ago being given my first webbing slackline from my carpenter for my home - tied in the Ultra-Primitive Style, to today, living the life of a Vagabond Feral Soul Surfer and Vagabond Feral Soul Slackliner.
Such a life calls for following both the waves, and, the wind. For both elements become your home, harmoniously blending as the Shamanic quest for balance. You'll find, as you dare this quest, that the first door that opens for you is the mysterious and magical door to your subconscious.
To live the life of a Vagabond Feral Soul Rope Dancer or Slackliner, one simply, lives to Rope Dance or slack. And, just as a Soul Surfer, who travels Feral as a Vagabond carries one board and one board only, so goes such a slackliner or rope dancer. All you carry is but a single slackline or a single piece of rope, rolled into a carefully tied bundle such as a Lap Bundle or perhaps, if you like a Backpack Bundle, and tossed into a canvas satchel slung crossbody, low over one hip along with a simple canvas backpack. The search becomes a quest seeking more than the mere perfect walk, more even than a sense of physical balance, the quest, becomes mixed in with Chi Gung, and thus, the search for internal and external exploration of yourself and the world around you based on energy.
Chi Gung, the ancient 4000 year old Chinese study of internal and external energy within, around, and beyond the body, holds the true secret to this art and lifestyle of a Ultra-Primitive Rope Dancer. The art of Soft Rope Penetration Arts or Rope Dancing aka Soft Roping is also several thousand years old, holding untold secrets, mysteries, and treasures.
One's kit is simple. Of course, it's environmentally based, thus the natural fiber travel kit, but, the key is to travel as lightly as possible. A canvas satchel works perfectly for your slackline or rope dancing gear. And, as for living, you'll explore traveling and surviving as an ultralight backpacker.
Having a few simple ways to make money helps. Whatever your gig happens to be. For me, my skills lay with the Short Cons, namely, the Shell Game, Five Card Draw Poker - as a Mechanic, and Pickpocketing (all of which can be done theatrically if you are so inclined to not wander the outlaw trail).
As a Vagabond Feral Soul Rope Dancer, one is free to travel the world. For there are always places to practice your art as you search deeper and deeper for yourself and your limits physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Some will probably live the streets as a Grifter or Street Performer, honing the art of grifting to peak perfection, while, perhaps, keeping things sort of moderately legal. Others may explore the darker sides of the mysteries of life, depending, of course, upon your personal morals. And, for those who leave the cities and head into the wilds, you'll learn to live by whit and whim in the forests, jungles, mountains, plains, deserts, and beaches, especially the beaches if you also happen to be a Vagabond Feral Soul Surfer who also slacks.
Wandering as a slacker, you'll keep your eyes out for places to hang your line. And, while initially seemingly all similar, you'll find that the more you experience, the more depth you'll notice to your walking. Does it feel different to walk a line between two pine trees? Or two oaks? What about one strung between bamboo? Or boulders high in the mountains, how are they different than rocky ledges along the coast and over the sea? How does the humidity of Ghana effect your line? Or the dryness of a desert? Does height make a difference in how your line feels and thus, how the walk feels differently to you? Can you feel the pulse of a crowded city harmoniously dancing your line in ways that the wilds do not?
Each of these, of course, has different answers. And, if you're just starting out, you'll probably not notice much if any difference. Most likely, you'll probably start on webbing, tubular webbing specifically. And, even with some experience, you'll probably focus simply on line height, line length, or even how fast you can walk the line. But, as a Vagabond Feral Rope Dancer, you're after something deeper, much much much deeper. This is where the study of Chi Gung comes into play and carries you along a path that leads to the true lifestyle of the Soul Slacker/Soft Roper. You see, the more you walk the line, the more sensitive you become to your body and to the way the line moves and feels. With experience, you might find the shift from a nylon or poly type strap of webbing to a totally natural length of rope, more than likely manilla at first. Manilla, unlike nylon has living chi about it, it has secrets and stories to tell and share, and its chi is pure. With time, you might explore the lushess softness of a jute rope or the pure magic of the greatest of all, Italian Hemp (currently illegal in the U.S. thus opening a door for those of a smuggling mind and bent). And, it is at this point that you will begin to realize that there are physical changes that you can sense. At first, they'll register tactilly but with more experience, you'll learn to explore the depth of all of your senses, perfecting them, one at a time, to levels currently undreamed of by you. There literally are no limits within this art.
The advantages of a hemp, jute, or manilla rope to a nylon slackline is that instead of separating your from nature, you'll find that your rope, having been living material and thus still dancing strongly with it's own unique individual chi, offers a way to blend as one with all about you. The trippy part of this is that it is done all naturally, and, even if you use hemp, only rather slightly on the outlaw trail.
Walking a line, be it rope or webbing, opens your mind to your imagination, which, is the first step along this marvelous path. For in order to feel it and more so use it later, first, one must imagine it.
For those who do not know, Chi or Qi is the force that is within everything, all that is visible and all that is invisible as well as all that is animate and all inanimate things. Basically, it is in, around and beyond all. And the exciting part of the story is that you can, using Soft Roping and Slacklining skills, tap into this huge mass of everchanging, constantly morphing energy for shaping your life and the world around you. In a way, you could say that the New Age that was anticipated so strongly in the '60's is now here hanging on a rope, slung loosely as a Loose Rope, slackly as a Slackline or Slackrope , or tightly as a Tightrope, between two objects. There are few Loose or Soft Rope Specialists out here by the way, for it is still mostly an unknown art, lost to the antiquites of ancient China. In fact, the Ultra-Primitive Slackline Setup is based specifically the Loose Rope Dancer. You can use rope or webbing.
In a nutshell, tie a Double Bowline with Jack's Variation on the anchor end of the rope or webbing. This part is tied around a tree or boulder. Then, about 90 % of the way down the webbing or rope, tie a Butterfly Knot which is not to be confused with an Artillery Man's Knot or a Mantrap Knot, nor especially, a False Butterfly Knot. For the Butterfly Knot, by the way, simply turn both loops the same way, essentially counterclockwise. For the False Butterfly knot, which you must not tie, the first loop goes counterclockwise and the second loop goes clockwise, and, while the two knots look similiar, they are not, the False Butterfly Knot is not as strong as the Butterfly Knot. Continue with the rest of the rope or webbing running it around your second working tree or boulder, and, as soon as you go around it, tie a second Butterfly Knot. Now, take the leftover webbing or rope and run it first up through the Butterfly Knot you just tied, then, down through your first Butterfly Knot, then back to the Butterfly Knot near the tree and go down through it again, this time trying to get your webbing or rope beneath your first pass through this Butterfly Knot. Then, take the remaining line and run it up through your midline Butterfly Knot, and run it under your first pass through this knot. Now, draw the system tight by pulling on the remaining tail of the webbing or rope. If you want this set up as a Ultra-Primitive Slackline or Slackrope setup, the rope is pulled taught. Or, if you prefer to simply use an Ultra-Primitive Loose Rope or Looseline setup, then simply tie a second Double Bowline with Jack's Variation around the working tree instead of using the Butterfly Knots, and, just let the webbing or rope hang loosely like a letter U. When you walk on a Loose Rope, it will look more or less like a letter V, with you as the low point.
In either case, Ultra-Primitive Slackline/Slackrope or Ultra-Primitive Loose Rope/Looseline, you only use a single piece of rope or webbing, without the need for a second webbing like you need in a Primitive System, and, without the carabiners that a Primitive System also requires.
This Ultra-Primitive method is new, hot, unique, ultralight, and the wave of the future. I feel rather excited to have come up with these knots and this idea of hanging a rope or webbing slack or loose. It sure works for me.
The romance of the line awaits you, the call of the wilds and cities sings to your webbing and rope, heed the call. For you will find balance poetry, art, style, spiritual growth, mental and physical mastery all honed to perfection if you dare.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Friday, November 5, 2010
Books for Slackline, Tightrope Walking, Tightwire Walking, Rope Dancing, Tree Yoga, Soft Rope Penetration Arts, Highwire Walking, and all interested in Walking, Balancing, Dancing and Aerial Chi Gung and Slackline Yoga on something Tight, Loose, Solid, or Slack
Aloha Tribe,
Here are 20 books or so that I have and study constantly in my study of tying knots, creating tensioned wires and ropes, and all manners of ways to hook up lowlines, highlines, slacklines, loose ropes, and tightropes. I really love all of them and I highly recommend them all.
1. Ninjutsu: The Art of Invisibility by Donn F. Draeger - this book does not have much on "tightrope" but it does have a drawing of someone walking on a bamboo stalk lashed between two trees. One way to do this, is to have the bamboo literally tied to the trees themselves, creating a solid walking experience, like a tightrope. Another way is to suspend the bamboo pole by ropes at each end, thus making a very loose swinging platform.
2. Man On Wire by Philippe Petit - this is Philippe's book on his walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York back in the early '70's. It is fascinating how he studied the scene, almost like a burglar would he said, planned everything, then, had to sneak it all in for his illegal highwire crossing.
3. 72 Consummate Arts of the Shaolin Temple by Wu Jiaming - this is a super martial arts book with tons of training ideas from an incredible amount of different Shaolin martial arts. There are several sections (perhaps half a dozen or so if you open your creativity a bit to see possibilities) that are very applicable to soft rope walking.
4. Funambule by Elgin Michel - this book is only in French - I very much like it. If you don't read French, you'll have to translate this, of course. It is a book about Philippe Petit and his highwire walk at the Eifel Tower in Paris. It covers his training, the planning, and the execution. Both this book and his book Man on Wire are truly necessary for any highwire artist.
5. On The High Wire by Philippe Petit - in this book, Philippe talks about his training and ideas on walking on the highwire. This is a truly phenomenal book that I read constantly. It is not so much a book about a particular highwire walking project like his other two books, instead, it is more like essays on his thoughts about highwire walking.
6. Knots and Ropes for Climbers by Duane Raleigh - a great book for those interested in knots. While it does not have tons of knots, it has most of the ones necessary for climbing, and all of the ones necessary for slacklining with easy to understand directions and drawings.
7. Fragments of the Artwork by Jean Genet - this book has a series of essays on numerous art type ideas, one of which deals with tightwire walking and, for this essay alone, the pure magic of it, the inspiration it offers, is worth it.
8. TM 5-725 Rigging : Department of the Army Technical Manual - a straightforward military type manual that offers most ideas of what you'd need for slacklining knots or soft rope knots and rigging.
9. Field Guide to Accompany High Angle Rescue Techniques by Tom Vines - has a wonderful chapter on highlining.
10. Handbook of Rigging by Joseph A. MacDonald - a textbook type book, huge, with tons to learn on rigging.
11. Arborist Equipment: A Guide to the tools and equipment of tree maintenance and removal
by Donald F. Blair - a great book for learning a bit about knots and tree climbing, thus useful for the slackliner.
12. Technical Rescue Riggers Guide by Rick Lipke - has a highlining chapter
13. Rope Levels 1 and 2 by Jeff Matthews - also has a highlining chapter
14. Engineering Practical Rope Rescue Systems by Michael G. Brown - this too has a highlining chapter
15. High Angle Rescue Techniques by Tom Vines - has a highlining chapter.
16. The Ashley Book of Knots by Clifford Ashley - I'd imagine this book has every knot there is in it. This book is the knot tying bible.
17. On Rope by Smith and Padgett - a great book with a wonderful chapter on highlining as well as one on circus rigging.
18. Rigging Handbook by Jerry Klink - straightforward rigging book
19. Wire Rope Users - if you want to know about wire, for wirewalking, you'll learn all you need to know about wire here.
20. Construction Safety Association of Ontario Rigging Manual - this book teaches tons on rigging.
21. Walk the Line by Scott Balcom - the only slackline book devoted totally just to slacklining out there and thus, a must have.
I so hope that some of you get these books, in fact, I'd love at least a few of you to get all of them, then, it would be so fun to get together in some local pub over a game of chess (but of course) while simulatneously sharing ideas and techniques over a fine glass of Merlot in front of a soft gentle fire. I love sharing, and, learning. And, just hanging, you know Brahs.
Buy the books, study them, learn some knots and rigging, then, get to the trees and buildings and such and slack and walk and balance and play.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Here are 20 books or so that I have and study constantly in my study of tying knots, creating tensioned wires and ropes, and all manners of ways to hook up lowlines, highlines, slacklines, loose ropes, and tightropes. I really love all of them and I highly recommend them all.
1. Ninjutsu: The Art of Invisibility by Donn F. Draeger - this book does not have much on "tightrope" but it does have a drawing of someone walking on a bamboo stalk lashed between two trees. One way to do this, is to have the bamboo literally tied to the trees themselves, creating a solid walking experience, like a tightrope. Another way is to suspend the bamboo pole by ropes at each end, thus making a very loose swinging platform.
2. Man On Wire by Philippe Petit - this is Philippe's book on his walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York back in the early '70's. It is fascinating how he studied the scene, almost like a burglar would he said, planned everything, then, had to sneak it all in for his illegal highwire crossing.
3. 72 Consummate Arts of the Shaolin Temple by Wu Jiaming - this is a super martial arts book with tons of training ideas from an incredible amount of different Shaolin martial arts. There are several sections (perhaps half a dozen or so if you open your creativity a bit to see possibilities) that are very applicable to soft rope walking.
4. Funambule by Elgin Michel - this book is only in French - I very much like it. If you don't read French, you'll have to translate this, of course. It is a book about Philippe Petit and his highwire walk at the Eifel Tower in Paris. It covers his training, the planning, and the execution. Both this book and his book Man on Wire are truly necessary for any highwire artist.
5. On The High Wire by Philippe Petit - in this book, Philippe talks about his training and ideas on walking on the highwire. This is a truly phenomenal book that I read constantly. It is not so much a book about a particular highwire walking project like his other two books, instead, it is more like essays on his thoughts about highwire walking.
6. Knots and Ropes for Climbers by Duane Raleigh - a great book for those interested in knots. While it does not have tons of knots, it has most of the ones necessary for climbing, and all of the ones necessary for slacklining with easy to understand directions and drawings.
7. Fragments of the Artwork by Jean Genet - this book has a series of essays on numerous art type ideas, one of which deals with tightwire walking and, for this essay alone, the pure magic of it, the inspiration it offers, is worth it.
8. TM 5-725 Rigging : Department of the Army Technical Manual - a straightforward military type manual that offers most ideas of what you'd need for slacklining knots or soft rope knots and rigging.
9. Field Guide to Accompany High Angle Rescue Techniques by Tom Vines - has a wonderful chapter on highlining.
10. Handbook of Rigging by Joseph A. MacDonald - a textbook type book, huge, with tons to learn on rigging.
11. Arborist Equipment: A Guide to the tools and equipment of tree maintenance and removal
by Donald F. Blair - a great book for learning a bit about knots and tree climbing, thus useful for the slackliner.
12. Technical Rescue Riggers Guide by Rick Lipke - has a highlining chapter
13. Rope Levels 1 and 2 by Jeff Matthews - also has a highlining chapter
14. Engineering Practical Rope Rescue Systems by Michael G. Brown - this too has a highlining chapter
15. High Angle Rescue Techniques by Tom Vines - has a highlining chapter.
16. The Ashley Book of Knots by Clifford Ashley - I'd imagine this book has every knot there is in it. This book is the knot tying bible.
17. On Rope by Smith and Padgett - a great book with a wonderful chapter on highlining as well as one on circus rigging.
18. Rigging Handbook by Jerry Klink - straightforward rigging book
19. Wire Rope Users - if you want to know about wire, for wirewalking, you'll learn all you need to know about wire here.
20. Construction Safety Association of Ontario Rigging Manual - this book teaches tons on rigging.
21. Walk the Line by Scott Balcom - the only slackline book devoted totally just to slacklining out there and thus, a must have.
I so hope that some of you get these books, in fact, I'd love at least a few of you to get all of them, then, it would be so fun to get together in some local pub over a game of chess (but of course) while simulatneously sharing ideas and techniques over a fine glass of Merlot in front of a soft gentle fire. I love sharing, and, learning. And, just hanging, you know Brahs.
Buy the books, study them, learn some knots and rigging, then, get to the trees and buildings and such and slack and walk and balance and play.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Surfboard Balance for the Vagabond Feral Soul Surfer expressing Chi Gung
Aloha Tribe,
Why balance works, or more specifically, how, is based on relaxation. Mentally, physically, and spiritually. The calmer you are, the more sensitive you are, the more aware you are, the greater your balance. This is so whether one surfs, walks a tightrope or slackline, or a softrope either loose or slack, or any other kind of balance work. Paradoxically, to reach such a state, requires, effort, lots and lots of specific training and more so, a way totally familiarization of your particular medium, be it surfboard, skateboard, snowboard, wire, webbing, or rope, rock, rooftops (for the catburgler types and urban equilibrists), limb, wall, rock ledge, street sign or light post, chain or vehicle (yep, urban car and truck balancing rocks - is moderately outlaw yet in the heart of art - rural vehicle balancing is fun too - tractors, cranes, bulldozers, wagons, etc.
I like to think of my longboard as having a personality and a soul. It is, to me, my friend. For, we spend a lot of time together, and, I learn from it.
I don't so much think of myself as riding my surfboard, but more so, as a Soul Surfer I see my expression upon my board as a way for the board itself to speak its own song.
Boards, I believe, are not something to be controlled, dominated, nor caged, but instead, to truly allow yourself the art of the board, requires finding a way to win the board over, in a sense, to help it help you, in your surfing quest.
To perform well with my longboard, to truly surf, is not, so much a reflection of me, but instead, shows the board in it's own sense of perfection.
For, it is not the board that wobbles nor carves too deeply on a hard bottom turn, nor is it the board who pearls or simply drops you off, instead, the board, is perfection in and of itself, thus, the lack of ability is within my own muscles. As such, to do the board the honor that it truly deserves requires total surrender to training for perfection.
When surfing well, it is the joy of the board coming forth, showing its thanks for your hard work.
As a Soul Surfer, we are artists, surfing alone, even when surrounded by countless others. The true Soul Surfer surfs not for awards nor fame nor money, but simply for the pure love of it, more so, at an even deeper level, not for oneself, but for the opportunity for the surfboard to do that which it was shaped to do.
This level of surfing demands not merely surfing well but more so, to surf with excellence and total precision in order for the board to reveal her secrets of flowing freely over the sea.
To surf well, truly freely, requires risk, just as with the bullfighter or the highwire artist. For, with each of these, living in-the-moment, fully, totally, with pure passion, one finds ones soul in the purity of your medium.
Surfing freely, unharnessed, as a true Soul Surfer, one finds that the world beyond ceases to exist. This allows pure movement of your body, for the love of movement itself, as an expression of what your board offers. The more you can lose yourself to your very act of surfing, the more you can focus only on that which is, the more beautiful, soft, and graceful your surfing will be, the more, you'll be truly one with your board, and more so, one with the sea.
This level of surfing requires the origins of the Feral Surfer, the lone surfer wandering the globe, as a Vagabond Feral Surfer, with but a single board and a single duffel bag for your kit. For, it is within this aloneness that you can find the stillness to notice that which leads your quest. This level of solitude can be seen in many of our surfing heroes and the true legends of our art and sport. People brave enough to surf the wilds, alone, simply, to surf. It is within such moments, even if that stretches to touch a lifetime, that the true Soul Surfer can find balance. And, it is at this point, that the journey truly merely begins, for from here on, one then begins to surf not as an outward expression of movement nor individuality, but, from within yourself. And, this great within is unfathomable, yielding treasures most know not to even seek. This is what something like Chi Gung brings to surfing, this ability to find surfing inside of yourself. At this level, you have taken the first step. It is here, within this first step, that you find the ability to truly explore the moves of your longboard, shortboard, elephant gun, or whatevers. Past quivering muscles lies stillness. Past stillness lies internal movement. Yang leading to Yin transforming to Yang in an endless cycle of surfing harmony. And, as for your board, well, it simply always is. Nothing more. Nothing less. Rather Taoist actually. And in that lies great truth and the mysteries of Vagabond Feral Soul Surfer.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Why balance works, or more specifically, how, is based on relaxation. Mentally, physically, and spiritually. The calmer you are, the more sensitive you are, the more aware you are, the greater your balance. This is so whether one surfs, walks a tightrope or slackline, or a softrope either loose or slack, or any other kind of balance work. Paradoxically, to reach such a state, requires, effort, lots and lots of specific training and more so, a way totally familiarization of your particular medium, be it surfboard, skateboard, snowboard, wire, webbing, or rope, rock, rooftops (for the catburgler types and urban equilibrists), limb, wall, rock ledge, street sign or light post, chain or vehicle (yep, urban car and truck balancing rocks - is moderately outlaw yet in the heart of art - rural vehicle balancing is fun too - tractors, cranes, bulldozers, wagons, etc.
I like to think of my longboard as having a personality and a soul. It is, to me, my friend. For, we spend a lot of time together, and, I learn from it.
I don't so much think of myself as riding my surfboard, but more so, as a Soul Surfer I see my expression upon my board as a way for the board itself to speak its own song.
Boards, I believe, are not something to be controlled, dominated, nor caged, but instead, to truly allow yourself the art of the board, requires finding a way to win the board over, in a sense, to help it help you, in your surfing quest.
To perform well with my longboard, to truly surf, is not, so much a reflection of me, but instead, shows the board in it's own sense of perfection.
For, it is not the board that wobbles nor carves too deeply on a hard bottom turn, nor is it the board who pearls or simply drops you off, instead, the board, is perfection in and of itself, thus, the lack of ability is within my own muscles. As such, to do the board the honor that it truly deserves requires total surrender to training for perfection.
When surfing well, it is the joy of the board coming forth, showing its thanks for your hard work.
As a Soul Surfer, we are artists, surfing alone, even when surrounded by countless others. The true Soul Surfer surfs not for awards nor fame nor money, but simply for the pure love of it, more so, at an even deeper level, not for oneself, but for the opportunity for the surfboard to do that which it was shaped to do.
This level of surfing demands not merely surfing well but more so, to surf with excellence and total precision in order for the board to reveal her secrets of flowing freely over the sea.
To surf well, truly freely, requires risk, just as with the bullfighter or the highwire artist. For, with each of these, living in-the-moment, fully, totally, with pure passion, one finds ones soul in the purity of your medium.
Surfing freely, unharnessed, as a true Soul Surfer, one finds that the world beyond ceases to exist. This allows pure movement of your body, for the love of movement itself, as an expression of what your board offers. The more you can lose yourself to your very act of surfing, the more you can focus only on that which is, the more beautiful, soft, and graceful your surfing will be, the more, you'll be truly one with your board, and more so, one with the sea.
This level of surfing requires the origins of the Feral Surfer, the lone surfer wandering the globe, as a Vagabond Feral Surfer, with but a single board and a single duffel bag for your kit. For, it is within this aloneness that you can find the stillness to notice that which leads your quest. This level of solitude can be seen in many of our surfing heroes and the true legends of our art and sport. People brave enough to surf the wilds, alone, simply, to surf. It is within such moments, even if that stretches to touch a lifetime, that the true Soul Surfer can find balance. And, it is at this point, that the journey truly merely begins, for from here on, one then begins to surf not as an outward expression of movement nor individuality, but, from within yourself. And, this great within is unfathomable, yielding treasures most know not to even seek. This is what something like Chi Gung brings to surfing, this ability to find surfing inside of yourself. At this level, you have taken the first step. It is here, within this first step, that you find the ability to truly explore the moves of your longboard, shortboard, elephant gun, or whatevers. Past quivering muscles lies stillness. Past stillness lies internal movement. Yang leading to Yin transforming to Yang in an endless cycle of surfing harmony. And, as for your board, well, it simply always is. Nothing more. Nothing less. Rather Taoist actually. And in that lies great truth and the mysteries of Vagabond Feral Soul Surfer.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Monday, November 1, 2010
Chess, Surfing, and the Flowing Feeling of Passion
Aloha Tribe,
Hmm, well, some of you may have read recently that I'm sitting here with a torn meniscus in my left knee, my back foot, of course, being goofy foot, and as such, I'm not out on the waves on my beloved longboard. I'd love to Talk Story on some tropical shore, sipping local brews while spinning yarns of how I raced down the face of that damned 47 foot monster, flying like liquid mercury over the wrenching white water, carving lines of beauty at breakneck speed over the rippling swirls of death, yet, alas, I slipped off a stupid porch - a wooden deck, a moss covered wooden deck of doom, after stopping at my neighbors to pee, of all things. Darn I should have simply gone at the beach like a surfer girl should.
But, such an injury has given my chess game a chance to grow a bit these last few dark, cold, rainy, sleepless nights, windows flung wide to the open air, allowing the night's embrace to chill my bones, yet, at the same time, to draw comfort and light from the lone fire stirring in my cast iron wood burning stove and the single candle burning amidst an iron candle holder atop my 250 year old London pub goat's cart wheel dining table. Naturally, as I see it, chess, vodka, and long lonely nights all tremendously aid surfing skill.
But first, the dishes.
Okay, back from the dishes, now, later in the dark. Chess and surfing. Let's see...
Chess, to me, is all about art, and, feel. Sure, I'm a tactile girl, I love feeling things, and, the feeling of moving, physical sensations in fact drive me wild so, since all movement effects me so, all sense of touch so drives me, even the seemingly mundane task of holding beautiful wood chess pieces, especially those of my beloved Russian chess set, feeling their curves, their weight, the balance that each piece has as it shifts in my soft grasp, brings thoughts of how I ride my longboard. With unbridled passion.
Chess offers lessons in foresight, logic, planning, taking risks, seeing and playing art, study, friendship and hanging with a brah, special language, tribal rules, history, legends, heroes, all like surfing does. Surfing can simply be hopping on a board and racing to the shore, just as chess can simply be pushing wood and crushing your opponent. But, there's so much more to both sports and arts. For lost in mundane mediocrity, one ceases to dance, and it is in the dance where the art of chess and surfing rise.
In studying to be a Soul Surfer, that is to say, a girl who simply surfs for the pure physical pleasure and love of it, one can explore the depths as shallowly or as deeply as one might care to delve. The same, for chess. In surfing, there's so much to learn, from weather and waves and beaches to board shapes, lines, fin placement, who's who, surf science, Surf Language, moves, techniques, strategies, sharing with friends, and a gazillion other things. The same, as I mentioned above, chess.
I find that the study of one, truly enhances the other. As odd as it sounds, I love to catch a wave, and, in it, find a new exploration on the chess board regarding an opening or perhaps an ending, even during a typical 8 to 10 second ride, my mind races with thoughts driving in at about 1/25th of a second or so, thus allowing me ample time for not only feeling my board, but also mental exploration of my ride, or, as the case can be at times, chess applications. My surfing allows me to see chess moves in the waves, in the way my body moves and flows, in the feeling of the sea upon my muscles, the smell of the air, the sound of the breeze, the warmth of the sun on even the coldest of days. And, as I surf, I find myself imagining how I can express a given ride as a series of chess moves, whether it is in Openings, or Endings, or my favorite, the beautiful and artistc Middle Game. Likewise, on the chess board, I see new ways to Carve or Acid Drop, alternative methods of Bottom Turns or Pearling Control such as my Submarine surfing move into new and exciting disciplines. Oh how I love the Submarine, by the way , for it's such a radical move that. There's nothing like it anywhere by anyone!!! And, just as with great chess, sometimes, things come by seeming accident, yet, in reality, are actually the result of fully, totally, 100% passionately living in-the-moment with total focus.
A perfect chess en passant is, to me, like tickling white water and bouncing off it into a beautiful Cutback. The feeling is the same.
To me, I don't see either sport or art as inclusive upon itself, but instead, find expression for both in all about me, as, in each other, in expressions of seeming total disparity.
For some, perhaps many, to run as fast as you can with your board and leap into the sea in a diving swoop of unbridled spontaneous joy, is a beautiful path. But, not typically mine. I'm more the type who loves to study the sea first. To feel her, to know her movements and expressions as I sit upon an overhanging cliff or beneath a shading tree. I watch, and observe, and learn. Just, as with chess. I love to watch other surfers ride, feeling total stoke for them as though it were me out there riding. Just, as I love to sit and watch a hearty game of chess at the local club, imagining the feel of the pieces as I watch others move them, seeing the moves in my mind before they are made before me. The love and joy of others, whether in chess or surfing, fills my heart with just overwhelming excitement for those dancing in the moment of their passion, for I truly feel bodaciously stoked for them. You see, in the movements of others, using Chi Gung, I can literally feel what the other feels, I can feel the weight of the chess pawn or knight, or, the biting edge of a rail in a perfect power Bottom Turn. Chi Gung offers a way to literally feel such physical expressions of others, in your own body, and thus, to learn not merely from watching but more so, from feeling what others do. In the case of chess, which is a mental game, it is the Nei Dan of Chi Gung which allows you to feel, sense, and embrace the very thoughts of those you watch even before they touch their pieces, in other words, you know, really know what they will do, for their thoughts are upon that very thing. And, in surfing, it is the chi or qi of Nei Dan which allows you to sense and feel what a particular move feels like literally of a surfer whether he or she is actually surfing in front of you or even in a movie. Time, in such situations, does not exist. All that matters, is the flowing feeling of passion dancing with art.
Chess teaches you to think and plan, and, if you bring your chess to the level of art, to feel, for you can literally sense what your opponent will do, not merely logically nor by force, but instead, by something so much more powerful, be feeling or reading your opponents thoughts. It's a chi gung thing, nei dan as I just mentioned a moment ago, specifically. I first noticed it in fencing when I was training for the women's epee in fencing for the Olympics as I tried for Samoa. According to concepts of chi, "where the mind goes, the chi flows." In other words, first, you have to think it. These thoughts, when focused, can be sensed by those with proper training. Now, as for surfing, if you can think, you can be instantanously spontaneous in your creative approaches to any given wave. You can use your brain to pick where to be to catch a wave, what to do as you make the drop so you don't wipe out, and, how to ride, even when surprises pop out at you like a water burst at Makaha on Oahu, if you're not ready, you'll shoot 20 feet into the air.
Sure, some think of chess as slow detailed, calculating mental effort, and, it can be. Yet, some love the game of Blitz Chess where you play lightning fast, simply responding as quickly as you can to what your opponent does.
The thing is, with enough training, or, using an art like the 4000 year old Chinese discipline of chi gung, you can learn to think incredibly quickly, thus, everything appears in extreme slow motion. For most people, such events seem to come randomly in their lives, if at all, typically, during some extreme accident or trauma or emergency. Yet, once one learns how, through mental training, one can constantly be in such a state of awareness. A super example from a fun movie is in the first Spiderman movie a few years ago when the main character, Peter, noticed a fly buzzing in extreme slow motion just as he was about to get into a fight scene in the film. Such stuff is not the mere fantasy of movies but nor simply the realm of those in desperate situations, but, can be with you always.
So, by developing your brain, for example by playing chess, you can indeed improve your surfing in ways you may not have anticipated. Interestingly enough, your surfing will enhance your chess and your chess will enhance your surfing, so, on those dark nights, such as tonight, at 2:12 AM when the world around me sleeps in the wilds of the woods outside my door, I sit here with my favorite Russian styled Chess set and, my other set, the one that's gone to the North Pole, it's a magnetic set and equally fun. I love chess sets and chess pieces, just as I love surfboards and surf fins. Of course, my true heart belongs to surfing, chess is simply a fun passion for me, yet, it has always been in my life since I was a little girl, in fact, interestingly enough, I just thought about it and I actually learned chess the same year I made my first surfboard. Funny, that. Between the two, my life followed chess in that I lived in the middle of the country after leaving the Great Lakes and my beloved surfing there. But now, I am near the sea and surfing is my life, as it has been since a year ago last Summer when I almost died. I got my board for Christmas last year thanks to Santa and a very very kind Robert August who personally shaped it for me, and began my surfing in the late Winter, learning the wilds of the Pacific Northwest then heading out to the North Shore. Oahu rocks, I truly admit that. And, what could be a cuter town that Haleiwa? Soon, when life is right, I shall live there. Had circumstances been different this Fall, my original plan, some of you may have read, was to surf there from September through Christmas, for about 4 months or so. Life got in the way, I lost a pet, now I have a torn meniscus, but, my heart still soars the waves.
Speaking of tearing my meniscus, according to the Doctor, a true specialist in the field, and one of the Pacific Northwests top guys, said such an injury would probably never heal, yet, at least after 6 weeks the pain should be gone he said. I tore it last Monday. Tonight, I just got through with about 3 hours of tightwire walking and balance training on my indoor tightwire. Too many bears and mountain lions hunting outside in the swamp on a dark night like this to train outside, perhaps when the moon is fuller. My knee, using chi gung for healing, feels GREAT!!! I feel solid, flexible, confident, stoked, agile, and strong tonight. Tomorrow should be interesting, that is to say, in a few hours when it gets light. I'll hit my loose rope for some Soft Rope training, shooting for 6 hours today. I should be able to make that since I just got in 3 hours okay.
I so hope that more surfers all over the world get into Chi Gung (Qigong) as a form of healing them of surfing injuries, it's truly an incredible discipline. In the meantime, my goal is to help as many hurt surfers as I can. And, along the way, perhaps get a good chess game in now and again. :)
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
Hmm, well, some of you may have read recently that I'm sitting here with a torn meniscus in my left knee, my back foot, of course, being goofy foot, and as such, I'm not out on the waves on my beloved longboard. I'd love to Talk Story on some tropical shore, sipping local brews while spinning yarns of how I raced down the face of that damned 47 foot monster, flying like liquid mercury over the wrenching white water, carving lines of beauty at breakneck speed over the rippling swirls of death, yet, alas, I slipped off a stupid porch - a wooden deck, a moss covered wooden deck of doom, after stopping at my neighbors to pee, of all things. Darn I should have simply gone at the beach like a surfer girl should.
But, such an injury has given my chess game a chance to grow a bit these last few dark, cold, rainy, sleepless nights, windows flung wide to the open air, allowing the night's embrace to chill my bones, yet, at the same time, to draw comfort and light from the lone fire stirring in my cast iron wood burning stove and the single candle burning amidst an iron candle holder atop my 250 year old London pub goat's cart wheel dining table. Naturally, as I see it, chess, vodka, and long lonely nights all tremendously aid surfing skill.
But first, the dishes.
Okay, back from the dishes, now, later in the dark. Chess and surfing. Let's see...
Chess, to me, is all about art, and, feel. Sure, I'm a tactile girl, I love feeling things, and, the feeling of moving, physical sensations in fact drive me wild so, since all movement effects me so, all sense of touch so drives me, even the seemingly mundane task of holding beautiful wood chess pieces, especially those of my beloved Russian chess set, feeling their curves, their weight, the balance that each piece has as it shifts in my soft grasp, brings thoughts of how I ride my longboard. With unbridled passion.
Chess offers lessons in foresight, logic, planning, taking risks, seeing and playing art, study, friendship and hanging with a brah, special language, tribal rules, history, legends, heroes, all like surfing does. Surfing can simply be hopping on a board and racing to the shore, just as chess can simply be pushing wood and crushing your opponent. But, there's so much more to both sports and arts. For lost in mundane mediocrity, one ceases to dance, and it is in the dance where the art of chess and surfing rise.
In studying to be a Soul Surfer, that is to say, a girl who simply surfs for the pure physical pleasure and love of it, one can explore the depths as shallowly or as deeply as one might care to delve. The same, for chess. In surfing, there's so much to learn, from weather and waves and beaches to board shapes, lines, fin placement, who's who, surf science, Surf Language, moves, techniques, strategies, sharing with friends, and a gazillion other things. The same, as I mentioned above, chess.
I find that the study of one, truly enhances the other. As odd as it sounds, I love to catch a wave, and, in it, find a new exploration on the chess board regarding an opening or perhaps an ending, even during a typical 8 to 10 second ride, my mind races with thoughts driving in at about 1/25th of a second or so, thus allowing me ample time for not only feeling my board, but also mental exploration of my ride, or, as the case can be at times, chess applications. My surfing allows me to see chess moves in the waves, in the way my body moves and flows, in the feeling of the sea upon my muscles, the smell of the air, the sound of the breeze, the warmth of the sun on even the coldest of days. And, as I surf, I find myself imagining how I can express a given ride as a series of chess moves, whether it is in Openings, or Endings, or my favorite, the beautiful and artistc Middle Game. Likewise, on the chess board, I see new ways to Carve or Acid Drop, alternative methods of Bottom Turns or Pearling Control such as my Submarine surfing move into new and exciting disciplines. Oh how I love the Submarine, by the way , for it's such a radical move that. There's nothing like it anywhere by anyone!!! And, just as with great chess, sometimes, things come by seeming accident, yet, in reality, are actually the result of fully, totally, 100% passionately living in-the-moment with total focus.
A perfect chess en passant is, to me, like tickling white water and bouncing off it into a beautiful Cutback. The feeling is the same.
To me, I don't see either sport or art as inclusive upon itself, but instead, find expression for both in all about me, as, in each other, in expressions of seeming total disparity.
For some, perhaps many, to run as fast as you can with your board and leap into the sea in a diving swoop of unbridled spontaneous joy, is a beautiful path. But, not typically mine. I'm more the type who loves to study the sea first. To feel her, to know her movements and expressions as I sit upon an overhanging cliff or beneath a shading tree. I watch, and observe, and learn. Just, as with chess. I love to watch other surfers ride, feeling total stoke for them as though it were me out there riding. Just, as I love to sit and watch a hearty game of chess at the local club, imagining the feel of the pieces as I watch others move them, seeing the moves in my mind before they are made before me. The love and joy of others, whether in chess or surfing, fills my heart with just overwhelming excitement for those dancing in the moment of their passion, for I truly feel bodaciously stoked for them. You see, in the movements of others, using Chi Gung, I can literally feel what the other feels, I can feel the weight of the chess pawn or knight, or, the biting edge of a rail in a perfect power Bottom Turn. Chi Gung offers a way to literally feel such physical expressions of others, in your own body, and thus, to learn not merely from watching but more so, from feeling what others do. In the case of chess, which is a mental game, it is the Nei Dan of Chi Gung which allows you to feel, sense, and embrace the very thoughts of those you watch even before they touch their pieces, in other words, you know, really know what they will do, for their thoughts are upon that very thing. And, in surfing, it is the chi or qi of Nei Dan which allows you to sense and feel what a particular move feels like literally of a surfer whether he or she is actually surfing in front of you or even in a movie. Time, in such situations, does not exist. All that matters, is the flowing feeling of passion dancing with art.
Chess teaches you to think and plan, and, if you bring your chess to the level of art, to feel, for you can literally sense what your opponent will do, not merely logically nor by force, but instead, by something so much more powerful, be feeling or reading your opponents thoughts. It's a chi gung thing, nei dan as I just mentioned a moment ago, specifically. I first noticed it in fencing when I was training for the women's epee in fencing for the Olympics as I tried for Samoa. According to concepts of chi, "where the mind goes, the chi flows." In other words, first, you have to think it. These thoughts, when focused, can be sensed by those with proper training. Now, as for surfing, if you can think, you can be instantanously spontaneous in your creative approaches to any given wave. You can use your brain to pick where to be to catch a wave, what to do as you make the drop so you don't wipe out, and, how to ride, even when surprises pop out at you like a water burst at Makaha on Oahu, if you're not ready, you'll shoot 20 feet into the air.
Sure, some think of chess as slow detailed, calculating mental effort, and, it can be. Yet, some love the game of Blitz Chess where you play lightning fast, simply responding as quickly as you can to what your opponent does.
The thing is, with enough training, or, using an art like the 4000 year old Chinese discipline of chi gung, you can learn to think incredibly quickly, thus, everything appears in extreme slow motion. For most people, such events seem to come randomly in their lives, if at all, typically, during some extreme accident or trauma or emergency. Yet, once one learns how, through mental training, one can constantly be in such a state of awareness. A super example from a fun movie is in the first Spiderman movie a few years ago when the main character, Peter, noticed a fly buzzing in extreme slow motion just as he was about to get into a fight scene in the film. Such stuff is not the mere fantasy of movies but nor simply the realm of those in desperate situations, but, can be with you always.
So, by developing your brain, for example by playing chess, you can indeed improve your surfing in ways you may not have anticipated. Interestingly enough, your surfing will enhance your chess and your chess will enhance your surfing, so, on those dark nights, such as tonight, at 2:12 AM when the world around me sleeps in the wilds of the woods outside my door, I sit here with my favorite Russian styled Chess set and, my other set, the one that's gone to the North Pole, it's a magnetic set and equally fun. I love chess sets and chess pieces, just as I love surfboards and surf fins. Of course, my true heart belongs to surfing, chess is simply a fun passion for me, yet, it has always been in my life since I was a little girl, in fact, interestingly enough, I just thought about it and I actually learned chess the same year I made my first surfboard. Funny, that. Between the two, my life followed chess in that I lived in the middle of the country after leaving the Great Lakes and my beloved surfing there. But now, I am near the sea and surfing is my life, as it has been since a year ago last Summer when I almost died. I got my board for Christmas last year thanks to Santa and a very very kind Robert August who personally shaped it for me, and began my surfing in the late Winter, learning the wilds of the Pacific Northwest then heading out to the North Shore. Oahu rocks, I truly admit that. And, what could be a cuter town that Haleiwa? Soon, when life is right, I shall live there. Had circumstances been different this Fall, my original plan, some of you may have read, was to surf there from September through Christmas, for about 4 months or so. Life got in the way, I lost a pet, now I have a torn meniscus, but, my heart still soars the waves.
Speaking of tearing my meniscus, according to the Doctor, a true specialist in the field, and one of the Pacific Northwests top guys, said such an injury would probably never heal, yet, at least after 6 weeks the pain should be gone he said. I tore it last Monday. Tonight, I just got through with about 3 hours of tightwire walking and balance training on my indoor tightwire. Too many bears and mountain lions hunting outside in the swamp on a dark night like this to train outside, perhaps when the moon is fuller. My knee, using chi gung for healing, feels GREAT!!! I feel solid, flexible, confident, stoked, agile, and strong tonight. Tomorrow should be interesting, that is to say, in a few hours when it gets light. I'll hit my loose rope for some Soft Rope training, shooting for 6 hours today. I should be able to make that since I just got in 3 hours okay.
I so hope that more surfers all over the world get into Chi Gung (Qigong) as a form of healing them of surfing injuries, it's truly an incredible discipline. In the meantime, my goal is to help as many hurt surfers as I can. And, along the way, perhaps get a good chess game in now and again. :)
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
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