
How to Learn How to Surf [video] - brudgers
https://youtu.be/wn5KqWwP6uQ
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xanadohnt
I did about 10 surf road trips last summer in a concerted effort to really
"get" it. To provide some context - and at the risk of sounding like a jackass
- I typically take to a new physical activity pretty quickly. Surfing? Nope.
THE toughest sport I've ever attempted. I felt I wasn't any better at the end
of the summer from the beginning.

The thing is, I eventually just accepted enjoying the experience. There's zen
out there in the surf, whether you're waiting for a wave or riding one. Cold,
salty water on your face, in your hair, down your throat, it recharges the
body & soul. It can be very social too. Which, if I had never tried, would've
never known.

It's a welcome - even "needed" \- break from the keyboard. And maybe just
maybe while I'm splashing around out there, I'll eventually "get" it.

~~~
brudgers
I don't surf. I know people who do. I've known them for the 35+ years they
have been. I think getting it ultimately means living next to a place to surf.
All of those people have arranged some period of their lives around surfing by
living where surfing before and after work was an option. Some still do.

Living at the beach seems part of the price of getting good at surfing.

~~~
jiveturkey
> living where surfing before and after work was an option

Paraphrasing Steve McQueen, more like, where work in between surfing was an
option.

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capableweb
Strange. Trying to save this video for later viewing but instead get the
following error:

> This action is turned off for content made for kids

How is that helpful? YouTube seems to actively try to make their site worse
every day.

~~~
aqme28
Agreed. Also because there's an easy workaround:

Like the video, and on the left panel should be your liked videos. Click that,
and you'll see your liked videos. Add it to your playlists from there.

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pcmoney
I can’t really understand what’s happening here.

Getting good at surfing is hard.

Getting up on small, mostly foam waves is not hard. Typically achievable your
first time out, nobody I know that is remotely athletic has struggled to do
that in 2-3ft surf. Once you get that first wave you are hooked and then its
all nailing the timing. Which takes time.

Practicing the prone to standing explosive move on the beach 10-15 times
before hand is helpful.

No idea why these people are so bad.

~~~
seshagiric
If you did not feel this way, well and good, but there are lot others who do
and never learn to be any little good. Just too much focus on "learning" or
thinking it is work....I think the video is about learning and not
particularly surfing.

Happened to me learning to Ski, and I have pretty similar experience as they
talked in the video. After two years of 'learning', the real improvement came
only after I started to just let it go. Enjoy the time on the slopes,
comparing small moves, figuring out balance and eventually figuring out to
parallel ski.

~~~
pcmoney
I agree with you in terms of there are bell curves for innate athletic ability
etc etc. but for the vast majority I would say that if it takes you more than
a season to stand up on a surfboard or parallel ski then there is probably a
fundamental blocker somewhere up the chain. Either a mental block or an area
of training deficiency that can be much better remedied with a focused effort
in that area.

In these cases I feel trying to do a complex, nuanced, full body sport is akin
to doing Calculus without grasping Algebra. You can take that Calc I class
100x and you will still fail.

I am not trying to be critical of those who struggle to learn but suggest that
there is often a way to shortcut that frustration. I love seeing people "get"
a new sport and despite how inspiring their persistence it is really
disheartening to see people fail unnecessarily for years.

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allsunny
i dont understand how he's surfed for so long and can still be so early in
learning the fundamentals. the biggest variable is time in the water. w/ 20+
years he should be... better. the only thing i can think of is they go out
very infrequently.

~~~
jgwil2
According to William Finnegan in _Barbarian Days_ [0], people who start after
age 14 or so have close to zero chance of becoming proficient.

[0] [https://www.amazon.com/Barbarian-Days-Surfing-William-
Finneg...](https://www.amazon.com/Barbarian-Days-Surfing-William-
Finnegan/dp/0143109391/ref=mp_s_a_1_1)

~~~
rurban
That's wrong. I was surfing teacher, and regardless of age it takes 2-5 years
to learn it. Some environments are easier, some are harder, but surfing is
still both, the hardest and most dissatisfying, and then the most elegant and
satisfying sport.

Many people started learning at 40, and it still needed 5 years.

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spookyuser
This was amazing! I did not know Tom Sachs had a youtube channel, or that he
still collaborated with Van Neistat. Now I'm making my way through his channel
and all the videos I have watched so far have been incredible.

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kovek
I've heard a stat: Surfers are surfing waves only 1% of the time they are
working to surf waves. I think that's the time in the water, not outside of
it.

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ribs
Odd how underviewed this video seems to be.

