This is a super belated surf reflection post, although I still struggle with truly living up to the lessons learnt from it. I had to learn it the hard way almost two months ago, while staying at Surf Camp Lombok for the advanced Sessions camp.
During this time, I had 2 weeks of poor surfing performance, while over-aggresively pushing myself to shorter boards and bigger waves that I definitely was not ready for. I was grumpy and frustrated in and out of the water, because I could not meet my own expectations of personal surf performance, primarily because I had set the bar too high for myself. So I struggled stubbornly against my own limitations, continuing to put myself out my comfort zone, thinking that grinding through the difficulty and pain would help me progress.
However, I could not be more wrong.
I saw limited progress in surfing, mainly because I just couldn’t catch any waves. And not catching any waves meant no fun.
Unlike other skills I’ve learnt in the past, whether it be playing the piano, learning to ski or learning mandarin, I definitely experienced some utility and results in ‘grinding’ aka repetitively practising even I was no longer enjoying myself.
Thinking that same mindset and philosophy would apply to surfing, I blindly transplanted the same practice to my surf progress, and boy did it backfire…
You see, if the waves are too fast or too big for someone’s level, and the waves can’t be caught, or one gets thrown over the lip from paddling too slowly, it simply means that someone isn’t ready for those waves and that someone could get seriously hurt. It’s surfing’s natural way of telling that person to stay away from those waves, go surf something easier and smaller, maybe come back again when you’re better in the future.
Compared to other more technical sports, being in a state of flow is paramount to surfing. And to be able to flow, confidence is absolutely critical. I’ve found that re-building that lost confidence actually means taking a step back, surfing within one’s comfort zone and allowing your own performance to tell you: “Hey, you’re alright at this. You’ve proved to yourself you’re not that bad. Now you’re ready to take on bigger challenges.”
And what I realise now after progressing noticeably over the past several months, is that having fun within my own comfort zone not only builds confidence, but also allows for surfing progress. With smaller waves, not only do I catch a lot more of them, but I can also be playful and explore my abilities on the waves without severe consequences.
I’ve also noticed that I have fun when I experience something new on the wave, whether it be adding an additional turn to a single wave or chasing a small throwing lip while moving down the line. And these experiences are not necessarily limited to ever bigger and faster waves.
What I mean to say is that having fun doesn’t mean going on ever increasingly steeper and hollower waves (although it can be that, depending on the individual), it actually means just experiencing new aspects of surfing within one’s own comfort zone. As a good surfer buddy of mine says, “Surf progression just happens naturally and gradually.”
As the surfer’s adage goes “The best surfer in the water is the one having the most fun”. After experiencing all these painful setbacks and struggles against surfing conditions I wasn’t ready for, I now completely understand the truth behind this saying as I’ve realised, having fun = making progress. 😀
