Converting Fear to Confidence

[opelagos]

hey everyone,
I've been growing my basic technical skills, but I think my biggest challenge these days is mental/psychological: I get scared when conditions are beyond what I'm already comfortable and somewhat confident in.

The loss of self-confidence can even begin with 1) a difficult paddle-out, that sets me off feeling incompetent and/or out of my league, and be heightened if 2) it's a bit crowded and the whole factor of crowd navigation, comparison, and self-consciousness kicks in. Then there's 3) the actual wave factor lol-- if it's "big" in comparison to what I feel competent in, it's easy for me to psych myself out rather than psyching myself up to go for it, make the drop, and have a good ride. (For reference: if I feel good & fairly competent/relaxed up to 2-3 ft, it's the upper limit of 3-5 ft I'm talking about-- not a huge quantum leap in conditions or size, objectively speaking.)

Now that I think about it, there are times when the fear/doubt kicks in even once I've caught a wave-- usually one I wasn't expecting to make, or took a pretty late take-off on-- and I'm sorta flying across the face feeling the fear-rush instead of the joy-rush of having caught it & need to remind myself to *get up & surf* rather than prone boogieboard it. Sounds kooky (& I suppose it is!) but I give it as an example of the physical feeling of fear rather than relaxed confidence.

So, any tips for converting fear into confidence? I'm glad I'm able to identify how much of this is in my mind, but I could use some guidance from other surfers on how to transform it. I wasn't athletic as a kid and I'm not an adrenaline-junkie type, so I suspect I need to figure out how to convert that 'here comes a big one, holy $&#!' feeling from a scary rush to a stoked one. But how?

Thanks in advance!

[IanCaio]

It's hard to give a one-fits-all advice for this type of thing. Fear at the beginning is natural, and confidence will come with time and experience. Expanding comfort zone with surfing is complicated because some fears are mental barriers but others are common sense. If you're a beginner, being afraid of paddling into double overhead conditions is not your mind holding you back, it's your brain keeping you from putting yourself and others in danger.

I would say that trying to rationalize your fear is the first step. What exactly are you afraid of? Snapping a leash and having to swim back to the sand? Afraid of the hold down? Afraid of duck diving bigger waves?

After you know what it is, start working on it slowly. If the fear is losing your board, train your swimming skills so you're more confident that you can swim back without it. If it's the hold downs, maybe some apnea training would give you a bit more confidence (only dry land training if you have no partner). If the fear is duckdiving, try to work on it, notice how to control your board on bigger white water.

So after you noticed what were your fears and made sure that you worked on what you needed, slowly expose yourself to those conditions (only if you are sure you can handle then, fear aside). And don't rush it. If you're still training your basic skills, waves up to 3ft are perfectly fine for it. Even if you build the confidence to go bigger, it won't help you much because things get harder when you surf bigger waves. Drops will be faster and steeper, you'll have to deal with higher speeds, etc.

I'm guessing the sizes you said were in wave face height, but just a note: 2ft in a wave size does make a difference. I'm very confident in 3ft hawaiian, but might start getting nervous on 5ft+ hawaiian if it's hollow.

[waikikikichan]

Watch this video:

Now realize each surfer is giving his personal account of what happened during the POST wipeout interview.

71Jx5QoljSL._AC_SX522_.jpg (319.71 KiB) Viewed 1580 times

But when you think about it, you're probably not going to die in 5 foot waves ( California size ). A lot of beginners that are fearful and hesitant, don't get hurt anyways, ............ the people around them do.

[oldmansurfer]

The things that seem to help me is fitness and familiarity. The fitter you are the less challenging everything is. The more familiar you are the less likely you will mess up and get injured. Before I surfed, I body surfed and body boarded for more than 10 years, so when I made the decision to surf on a surfboard I was extremely familiar with the ocean and extremely fit. Maybe you need to find a spot that is less crowded with smaller waves. Then it may be perfectly okay to ride the board without standing up and get used to that before you stand.

[BoMan]

I would say that trying to rationalize your fear is the first step. What exactly are you afraid of? After you know what it is, start working on it slowly.

Well said!

William Finnegan wrote in Barbarian Days "The power of a breaking wave does not increase fractionally with height but as the square of its height. Thus a 10 foot wave is not slightly more powerful than an 8 foot wave - because the leap is not from 8 to 10 but from 64 to 100 making it over 50 percent more powerful."

I am afraid of getting slammed into shallow sandbars and shoals, and respect the oceans power to put me in peril. I work on it by paddling around at low tide and memorizing where the dangers are. I study the tides to understand when there will not be enough water to provide some cushion during a fall. I work on a low stance when sliding over risky areas so that I can grab the board and stay shallow in a wipeout. Finally I've learned from experience that I must resist the urge to ride inside runners in 5 foot surf because the shore dump can be dangerous.

[delphin]

There are also some physical feedback practices that can transform fear into confidence.

The Persian poet Rumi speaks of welcoming in our difficult feelings. Before you get in the water, as you sit on the beach watching and planning, check in with how and where you are feeling fear. This is a good time to use the power of your breath. Deep slow full inhales and exhales tell the body it is safe and calm. So tip one is wait and watch while breathing, almost meditatively and as an observer of your mental state. Continue as you wax and stretch.

Second tip: Use a broad range of vision. This tells the body it is not in fight or flight with it narrower vision focus. Sweep the entire vista of the break with your eyes. Look for trends, indicators. Count the seconds between waves, the number of waves per set, time between sets. Where is the line up moving? Are there any sweepers you might like to avoid? Is the wind blowing the tops of the waves? Information calms the psyche.

Third tip: Surf with a friend and encourage each other into waves. Surf lightly and with a smile. Breathe meditatively and consciously while waiting out the back. Go totally limp during wave breaks and paddling out. Enjoy the sensation if you can. Marvel at the ocean's power. Find a song to sing to yourself. Rip tide by Vance Joy is a great paddle out song to hum)

Fourth tip: Surf to surf another day. Pack it in as a sign of wisdom when it is too big or you feel off. In a year you will have a higher baseline of what is fearful...

Fear is part of the curve. It keeps us safe. It reminds us that the mental element of surfing is to be respected.

[opelagos]

Thank you all for this wise perspective.

The physical tips to calm my body/psyche are great, thank you. And the point about incremental increases, exposure, gaining familiarity-- all of that rings true and aligns with respecting the sea while becoming more confident.

Many of you point out it's important to identify the fear more precisely and then start working on it: It is interesting to consider what I'm actually afraid of, given I am not surfing in critical conditions and I operate from a fundamental respect for the ocean. It seems like usually it's just that awe feeling for the waves becoming fear rather than thrill because I'm not confident I'll nail it, so I begin from a place of doubt rather than trust in my own abilities to enjoy the wave. Getting psyched out on a rough paddleout would simply reinforce this.

And yeah, it's true I've had one or two wipeouts where it felt like I was held down for a while, but it was a beachbreak and in reality it was 3-4 seconds. So the breathwork piece here sounds like a crucial bit of training to feel more relaxed & at ease-- tips and resources folks can share would be great.

Thanks again-- keep it coming!

[LostAtSea]

This is my biggest challenge as well. I've had a few setbacks with injuries and a few close calls and it's hard to shake those out of my psyche.

Pretty much all my success in surfing comes from being confident and aggressively charging into waves - so any hesitation messes up my surf.

I do little pep talks when I see a good one coming "Own it! It's yours! GoGoGo!!" - That type of thing

I'm here to learn from others' advice in this thread too.

[Nandox7]

Thumbs up to the Third tip.
I'm not too confident with anything close to 3ft, but lately had the chance to surf with a friend that is slightly better than me and that helps really a lot.
The fact I see him go for them and specially the fact that he is always encouraging me to go. Other than that I just laugh when I wipeout.
Used to get mad and frustrated but that was just holding me back and removing all the fun.