Forgetting to surf

[sezv4016]

I havent surfed for more than half a year now because i moved from the ocean to the country side. I really like surfing but because i dont get to do it as often anymore (twice each year), i am really afraid i will lose my ability to surf.

Help would be appreciated.

[dtc]

How old are you? When did you learn to surf and how good are you?

I'll give you my experience. I started skiing when I was 7 or 8 and was pretty good and skiied several times a year through until about 17. Then I stopped and only get onto the slopes every 3 or 4 years. However, within a few hours I am feeling comfortable and skiing at a reasonable skill level.

Surfing I started at late 30s. Now if I go a month without surfing, the first session back is terrible and I probably need 2 or 3 sessions to get things back to where I was. And the chance of a total 'kook session' is fairly high.

So I suspect every first and second session back will be a struggle. Whether you click back faster or just continue to struggle will depend on your muscle memory - how early you learnt your skills, how good you were before the break etc. You don't lose the ability, it just gets rusty

[drowningbitbybit]

I recently had to take a couple of months off surfing, and getting back in the water was... well, let's just say "embarassing"
Fortunately I thought it might be (self-fulfilling prophecy? ) so I surfed at a quiet moment on a small day to make sure I had some space and the waves weren't too challenging. But I was still a muppet

Next session and all was fine
My fitness was still way below par, but the natural flow was back in play and I felt I could surf again.

Keeping fit between sessions will help, obviously, as will something like skateboarding or an indoboard. A bigger, thicker board might be necessary too if you're only in the water every few months.

[pandarturo]

Or you could move to Hawaii

[sezv4016]

I started surfing when i was 13 years old and i would surf every week, 2 years straight, i surf a 6 foot shortboard and i am 6 foot myself. And what do you guys mean with sessions, like one wave or one day of surfing? Thanks alot btw

[tony g]

Hello sezv4016,
You do get a little rusty and your timing will be off, but after a few sessions you will get back into the flow. A session is a period of time you went surfing. If I am surfing a lot I might have 2-3 sessions in one day. Their must be a break between them to start a new session. If you surfed all morning then went in and had lunch and then paddled out again that would count as 2 sessions.

[sezv4016]

Ah okay, Thanks!