There are two* types of people in this world, those that surf and those that gave up trying. Surfing is incredibly hard to learn and while most of us have had one lesson, the majority of people gave up pretty quickly because we weren’t able to do all the cool stuff that experienced surfers do. If that sounds like you then you should read on. Surfing is an amazing sport and you need to give it another try. Here are all the reasons why.
It builds resilience
Surfing is actually really hard to learn. When you think about learning any sport or skill you may dedicate one hour to learning guitar every day or something more athletic like yoga. Yet 95% of the time that you allocate to learning that task will be spent learning that task. With surfing that is not the case. While the cool part of surfing is catching the wave and riding it towards the beach, perhaps popping a great trick on the way. The hard part is paddling out against the waves, getting a mouth full of saltwater, and working for 15 minutes just to get 10 seconds of practice in. This means that learning to surf takes a very long time. Yet when you finally start to master it, it will be the greatest feeling of your life.
It builds strength
Surfing takes power. You have to kick your legs and drag your arms through the water. You have to lift your body off the board with strength and purpose. If you go for a long surf session you will feel how tired your entire body is the next day. It is a fantastic workout and incredibly fun to do.
It builds cardio
Paddle, paddle, paddle, and paddle some more. When trying to get ‘out-back’ beyond the waves you have to work incredibly hard and there are many people who simply don’t have the fitness to win the battle against the waves. Surfing will improve your cardiovascular fitness a lot which will help you in every walk of life and likely live a little bit longer.
It builds your dream holiday destination list
If you don’t know where to go for your next holiday, become a surfer. Every holiday you ever have will become about chasing the best waves and you will never be short of ideas again. Really though some of the most wonderful surf destinations are in the most beautiful countries. You could go to New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, and Ireland for wave surfing and stay for so many other great reasons.
It builds up your health
Spending days outside in the fresh air, bathing in seawater, exfoliating in sand. Surfers tend to look pretty good and there is a reason for it. The surf environment is a good one. This one comes with a note of caution though, don’t spend too long in the sun or you will become one of those old leather-faced surfers that no one wants to be.
It isn’t easy
Let’s face it, the world has become a little soft. Everything has now been made easier and even if it hasn’t you generally get a gold star for trying. There is little that can be done for surfing. You either can’t or can. If you can’t and you go outback you will be swiftly told by both the elements and the other surfers that you are out of your depth. If you can then you will have a sense of accomplishment that is rare in the modern age.
There is a beauty to surfing that is not found in the modern world. It is you, the ocean, and a surfboard. While the sport has changed a lot in recent years and the boards are far more innovative than ever before it is still very simple at the heart of it all. Try surfing, and don’t give up. You will get better every day, slowly.
*I fully realize there are many other types of people than the two types mentioned. Apologies to all of you.
