SURFING MOVES OF THE DAY: 2

Today, I've been contemplating an easy take-off on a gentle two foot wave. TAKE-OFF,  STRAIGHT-IN, PUMP, ACCELERATED SPEED SURFING, STALL.

An easy take-off leads to two slow, rhythmic pumps with a forward weighting of the board holding a slight crouch to increase speed followed by a gentle stall.

This is a super move to practice one's Chi Surfing. First, of course, you want to get the move down from a neuro-musclar perspective by doing it again and again. And after  a score or more rides, when it feels pretty good, you try the same series of moves with less movement, less weighting of the board, less pump at even a slower, softer  pace, and add more chi to each of the movements prior to the stall.

Here, it's possible to beging sensing the board as more than simply something you ride, but instead, as an extension of your body.

By doing chi gung on a series of moves like this, you can learn to sense the board and feel the water through it as  you glide upon its surface. It's an awesome move because as more chi is directed into the board through the bottoms of your feet and then guided to the nose of the board, you'll feel the board's balance shift forward and there is a noticeable speed increase.

As you approach the beach, now is the time to practice yesterday's move, the stall. Use what you learned yesterday by weighting your back foot and letting your body weight shift smoothly backwards toward the tail. Play with this a bit if you like, accelerating and stalling a few times while trying to keep the moves harmoniously balanced in a beautiful expression of riding. The idea here is to feel the wave, to sense it, more so, to be it. To be, the wave. Then, you break free, accelerate a bit, and then stall back into feeling the wave once more. This is an incredible method of getting to sense how the wave truly feels when you're blending with it and when you break free for a few seconds.

Today's series of moves can be done truly gracefully and that's where the fun comes in. Interestingly enough, that's also where the chi awareness of the board and of the wave also comes into play. In other words, the softer you movements, the slower they flow from one to another, the more you'll sense the true feel of the board, as well as what is happening inside your body.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley

The Perfect Longboard

Aloha to the Tribe,

So, I've like totally been on the quest for the perfect longboard surfboard for the last few months, and, I've found her.

It all began with a potentially life challenging disorder, the worst case of esophogitis that my Doctor and a Specialist has ever seen. It was so bad, it was potentially life threatening. Well, one thing led to another and I ended up in the hospital on the heart floor where they monitored my heart day and night while also making sure I was still breathing. I had nearly suffocated several times during several nights, waking up, completely unable to breathe. It was pretty scary.


While in the hospital, my life ring was my books on surfing and freediving. I had with me the surfing books Surfinary and also Wingnut's Complete Surfing, Gerry Lopez's awesome book Surf is Where You Find It, as well as the freediving book; Manual of Freediving. These books, got me through it.

When I got out of the hospital, I looked at my life. And, what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. It was then that I decided I wanted to surf. More so, I wanted to surf a longboard like Robert "Wingnut" Weaver and Robert August (from the movie Endless Summer) and, I wanted the beautiful graceful, soft style of Gerry Lopez (oh how his style calls to me so).

And that was it. It was that simple. I had found out what I'd do for the rest of my life. And, I felt stoked. Totally and bodaciously stoked!!!

When I got home from the hospital I began my training. I'd watch the movie Endless Summer 2 every day while eating breakfast and dinner. And for the rest of the day, I'd exercise, focusing on surfing skills.

Now the thing is, I have the perfect Thruster already. She's a lime green Hawaiian Blades with the official Hawiian State Seal and the coolest shark toothed sword on her deck. Totally gorgeous. But, I needed a longboard and a very special elephant gun. First, the longboard, then, the elephant gun when I could. And so, my quest began.

For me, the choice was pretty easy, it had to be one board, one very specific board, for it was the board that began my dreams, it is the Robert August Wingnust Longboard. 9 Foot. Red and white strips. Completely bodacious.

I ordered her a bit over a month or so ago and she will be shipped to me today!!! So, that means that sometime this week, I'll have my perfect longboard.

Bodaciously Stoked,

Lily of the Valley