Aloha Tribe,
It's Summer, and, what could be better than getting wet. But sometimes, you simply can't get to the surf yet you still want to practice your balance, so, what do you do?
I have a pond in my yard, about 5 feet wide and 8 feet long. I will extend it soon to roughly 7 feet by 11 foot, approximately the same size as a swimming pool on a modern Russian Submarine (really). The pond is about 4 foot deep.
So, I have a bamboo pole, about 12 foot long, and, I can simply lay it on the banks of the pond and practice walking on it. Using a variety of poles, from 1" to 6", I can have varied experiences.
In addition, I have a swamp that the pond is in, and I can tie a manilla rope to two trees on each side of the pond and roughly 100 foot apart. In this way, I can also practice walking and balancing on the rope practicing Chinese Soft Rope Qigong (a form of tight rope practice with a loosely hung rope rather than tight).
If I fall off the bamboo pole, I fall into 4 to 4 1/2 foot of water. Or, if I fall off the rope, above the pond, I hit the water, or, otherwise, I simply fall into the soft swamp. Either way, it's a soft and fun landing.
In being creative on the bamboo pole or on the rope, one can practice all kinds of surfing maneuvers from Paddling to Popping Up to various body, arm, and foot positions.
Anybody can do this over a pond, creek, or whatever you have. A sand pit or simply the beach also makes a soft landing should you fall. This type of training offers wonderful methods of dramatically honing your surfing balance.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
It's Summer, and, what could be better than getting wet. But sometimes, you simply can't get to the surf yet you still want to practice your balance, so, what do you do?
I have a pond in my yard, about 5 feet wide and 8 feet long. I will extend it soon to roughly 7 feet by 11 foot, approximately the same size as a swimming pool on a modern Russian Submarine (really). The pond is about 4 foot deep.
So, I have a bamboo pole, about 12 foot long, and, I can simply lay it on the banks of the pond and practice walking on it. Using a variety of poles, from 1" to 6", I can have varied experiences.
In addition, I have a swamp that the pond is in, and I can tie a manilla rope to two trees on each side of the pond and roughly 100 foot apart. In this way, I can also practice walking and balancing on the rope practicing Chinese Soft Rope Qigong (a form of tight rope practice with a loosely hung rope rather than tight).
If I fall off the bamboo pole, I fall into 4 to 4 1/2 foot of water. Or, if I fall off the rope, above the pond, I hit the water, or, otherwise, I simply fall into the soft swamp. Either way, it's a soft and fun landing.
In being creative on the bamboo pole or on the rope, one can practice all kinds of surfing maneuvers from Paddling to Popping Up to various body, arm, and foot positions.
Anybody can do this over a pond, creek, or whatever you have. A sand pit or simply the beach also makes a soft landing should you fall. This type of training offers wonderful methods of dramatically honing your surfing balance.
Bodaciously Stoked,
Lily of the Valley
