----====dbah's Surfing Journey d(>.<)=b====---

[naniekso]

I want to start this thread that shows the progress of my surfing as well as tips from more experianced surfers and my journey. In this thread I want to explore my transitions and my experiances of learning and to see my road of progress. I want opinions and comments to be fully put into each posts or videos I will post in here. I want tips and a full discussion of things I as well as others can improve on and be able to learn from.

The dates are almost accurate, and the pictures of the boards are kinda in date(notice one has the green board in it, well cause i couldn't find teh other picturse of it lol)

BIO:
Age: 19
Height: 6'0
Weight: 204lb
Nationality: Persian
Current City: Laguna Niguel, California
Major: Chemical Engineering pursuit in BS degree
Stance: GoOfy FoOtEd
Places I surf: Doheney, San Onfre, Salt Creek, Laguna Beach, Bolsa Chica, Huntington Beach PIer(sometimes)
Favorite Quote: If it ain't flat go surf it, "Eddie would go"(even if its flat lol)

-------------------------------------
From NOOB




To TOOB

<3 Let the Journey begin!

[naniekso]

The Gateway Drug;
Girlfriends lost to surfing: 0





The first day I started surfing was about 4 weeks when I came to California. I came from Kansas, which has no source of water sports other than water sking, tubing, and wakeboarding as i can imagine. It is completely land locked.

Anyway on the week that I came to California besides loving the weather, I wanted to go to the beach, of which at the time was in Laguna Beach, where I saw surfers. I knew surfers existed in California but I had yet to see them. And when I did(they were just kids) I wanted to learn how to surf. I have competativly swimed for about 3 years in high school, wrestled, and played tennis, but I wanted to learn how to surf. I felt that swimming would help with the surfing action as it seemed mostly they had to paddle around alot, so I felt it would be somewhat easy. Then I got my first surfboard

.

[naniekso]

A new Horse for the Road:
Girlfriends lost to surfing: 0

I needed a board! STAT! I had a wetsuit I brought from Kansas that Costco sold super cheap at $30 spring wetsuits from the brand Gotcha(Little did i know about the brand, or that this was the FIRST brand of wetsuits.) I bought it about 2 years before acctually coming to California seeing that it might be useful in the future. My friend in my college class told me about how surfing was and how addicting it could be, I didn't belive him. Days went on in our classes where I saved enough money ($180) to buy a surfboard. He told me to check craigslist and we came across a blue soft-top for $165! I asked if it was a good deal and he said yeah for brand new. I acted. I called the guy and saw the board would not fit in my car at all! So I told him I could possibly call him again to buy it when I used my Dads van. The following day my Dad and I went to Costco and I saw the same 8ft Soft-top! It was selling for $100! I almost got ripped off! I told my dad what the other boards were selling for and we agreed to buy the soft top for $100.

[naniekso]

Taming a Surfboard:
Girlfriends lost to surfing:0

First of all an 8ft surfboard is HUGE! this baord was 8ft long, 22 inches wide, and almost 3 inchs thick! I went to laguna beach to start my surfing journey the next day. As soon as I put the leash on, i felt ready to surf. I knew i was goofy footed from skateboarding so i kinda guessed it was the same stance and so the leash should go on the left foot. Then, I lowerd the animal out to the water. As soon as I tried to mount the beast i was imediatley thrown off to the side! I knew this journey would not be as easy at it looked. I couldn't even lay on the damn thing! I was spending soo much energy just trying to lay on top of it, it would always flail left or right from behind me. As my dad laughed as hard as someone could laugh, a passer by saw me and my dad laughing and commented that I was too far on the back of the board. My dad told me this and i scooted up and had the same problem. Usually i would end up ass out in the air head first in the water. I just layed on the board to keep balence to see if I could try to just lay on it. I successfully was able to lay on the board on my first time out in the water, but COULD NOT sit on the board at all! I felt like i would just fall over if i tried to sit on it, which happend many times. So ended my first day out in the water, I learned how to look like a fool trying to lay on what I thought was a board not WIDE enough haha.

[naniekso]

A parking meter paid is a happy meter:
Girlfriends lost to surfing:0

I was spending the rest of my money on paying the city of laguna for parking lol. Surfing a reef break is NOT easy, especially if its your first time learning. I learned much later that the reason my journey was so hard was cause I was trying to surf where the waves didn't break. I wanted to stay away from the other surfers because i didn't want to get in their way or become in any way endangering myself. So after many weeks of trying to catch a wave that was a close-out I learned later to scoot more over to the surfers. I began watching them in the water, pretending not to be as bad as i was. I could still hardely balence sitting down on the board I nicknamed "the Titanic" (little did i know that the name acctually fits more than just being big). But as I watched i soon found myself catching waves in no time! I could catch them as could any fool, but stand up was just a different issue! I could not stand up at all! After tons of $$$ to the parking meter I soon learned there was a free parking zone right across from where I would park, just a block away from the beach. This was like finding gold!!!! I had no idea how much money I could've saved from doing this(probably $20 lol) but I found that this secret spot was truly the vans new home. During all these times I went out with my surfboard was during the beginng of summertime, so waves were in the 2-3 foot range.

[naniekso]

Hooked on Surfing:
Girlfriends lost to surfing:0

Learning that every day and everytime i went out it seemed the ocean was differnt lead to the amazing internet technology called google. I had questions that needed awnsers! WHY WHY WHY! Why did the waves break sometimes where as sometimes they wouldn't even break at all! All of which lead me to surfline. Its a webpage that has to do everything with surfing and forecasting the waves for you, so you don't have to make the trip down to the ocean (in my case drive 10mins). I learned that it was pretty much the same unless i went early in the morning(tide was medium). So I started to learn the forecasting and ALL the different breaks from my lovely Laguna Beach. One caught my eye, Salt Creek, and from the webcam they have of it, it looked beautiful!

heres salt creek surfers and its beauty:







However, these waves are shorebreak/ pointbreak(didn know taht was not good for a learner) and the only peopel in this lineup are all shortboarders, and they are REALLY REALLY good too. I took the board out with my girlfriend to the beach(she wanted to tan, and watch me fail). So I went to salt creek and I coudln't stand up! these waves were huge and scary! VIOLENT!(cause they are hollow waves haha) it was nothing like i was slightly used to. The highlight and only highlight of that day was when i caught a nice 3foot wave and stood up and as soon as i stood up i pearled hard! straight into the fin of the surfbord that still has a scar on my wrist today. Of course you don't notice your hurt unless its really reallly bad. In this case, I didn't notice, but my hand got kinda tired so i went out and the peolpe who saw me fail hardcore ran to me and asked if i was ok. I said i was all good and dandy til i saw my hand and told them i'm done for the day. Till that day, my surfing was slown down basically cause i was scared from the fins of the drop, whereas before i wasn't afraid at all!
That saying what you don't know dosn't hurt you is only true in theory. But then again its a poor saying, and so i became afraid of the drops. Deciding to stay away from salt creek i felt like would be in my best for my surfing progress, as well as health. I began to surf laguna once again after a week or so off the board.

heres some pictures of some action shots at salt creek, defining the types of waves that are there

[naniekso]

Muscle memory dosn't work like its supose to:
Girlfriends lost to surfing:0

After taking some time to heal from the injury I was happy to tell my friends i fell of a monster wave and the fins caught me in the wrist. Soon I was ready to surf again, hadn't been out in a while. As soon as i got in the water, i noticed the difference. I was a stronger paddler, my balence had improved dramatically, and my experiances added up. I could sucessfully paddle, sit on the board(without some minor current sways), catch waves, and stand up with one retarded leg(left one) that would always go to my knees. After constantlly telling myself to stop standing on my knees i was able to stand up and just go straigt! I was thrilled! I felt like iwas ready for bigger challenges to apporach me, no, I was going to them.

Heres San Onofre




lol tahts right, its all close to a power plant. If i start to grow a third arm i'll let you know lol.

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpoint- Almost 2 weeks after buying the 8ft board
Girlfriends lost to surfing:0

Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes:

Summer was well in way!~ The beaches were crowded, girls, mainly girls, I like girls haha. I would walk past people and this kid would ask "mommy! Whats in his hand!" she would respond thats a surfboard hunny, hes a surfer! " Yeah tahts right! I'm a surfer! now time to not tell them i still have a hard time turning! I never really learned how to turn the board, I assumed it was like a skateboard, I would tilt the side and tilt but I wouldn't turn! I went online and soon realized that I needed to point in teh direction i wanted to go, and so i did just that. I would catch a wave, stand up to one knee, get my knee up, and assume surf stance! arms wide apart and legs open, like a soccer goalie sideways. Now to point, i wana go left, ok, i started to point left! HEY~ it works! now on the same ways, i wana go right. So i point right, well, it dosn't seem to work both ways haha. O well, my laguna beach waves break in the left direction anyway!(for south swells). Got a new board in addition to the other one!

[naniekso]

Divorcing your favorite break:
Girlfriends lost to surfing: 0

I felt like i wanted to explore more, stay away from salt creek but find a new wave other than laguna. So I decided to buy my own surfboard straps for the roof of my lancer(cedia for you asians and such). I spent a good $10 for these surfboard straps I found on craigslist and decided to start using my own car. The guy I talked to was named shawn, and he gave me the best advice I could get from anyone with knowlege. I like many was afraid to ask my surfing questions from other people, and it felt just uselses asking some kid for advice. But Shawn gave me a different approach, he gave me two bars of wax for my surfboard and told me where to surf for a beginner, Doheney State Beach. I was well on my way. TO DOHENEY! Using my awsome gps system i soon found myself to a perfect little nice harbor that would soon become my second home(didn't know it at the time). I was told it would cost me $10 to park here everytime or a $125 year round park ticket. I was well convinced I would spend more than the $125 to park in just singles, so i went ahead and bought it(good thing too, cause i've gone there more than 100 times since then) I took my board and was ready to go!

heres doheney:

Think your place is crowded?



And when its pumpN!








This place was the learners paradise! Slow longboard waves max height 3ft(at the time). I eargerly paddled out to findmyself around experianced old people and new people like myself.

Doheney has 3 sections, 3 breaks. One near the jetty, for learners, one in the middle(this gets teh biggest) for experianced to semi-experianced, and one near the creek, its a left and a pretty challengeing wave(as it intersects with the middle and sometimes you have to do a cutback and such, or sometimes it gets mushy)

I soon caught these waves in no time, my ride times have increased dramatically from 5 seconds at laguna beach to 20seconds+ at Doheney. Sorry laguna, I was having FUN!

New board!:

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpoint- 6 weeks from buying the 8ft board
Girlfiends lost to surfing: 1

Boring habbits die easy:

So longboarding eh? this is kinda boring...Your telling me all i can do is turn the boad and walk forward then turn back again? I want to throw massiev spray into teh air, I want to develope my surf to a challenging way, not some boring fashion walk show. So i went on the board hunt. I lost 20lbs from surfing to this day, most of it was probably muscle haha(stop working out, found something that made me go crazy) My girlfriend left me at this time cause we just weren't seeing each other as much, and the feeling we had went away( GEE I WONDER WHY!?) To get me out of my terrible depression(ya RIGHT) I wanted to progress to a smaller surfboard. Something i could thrash and smash around. I went seraching everywhere for a good deal, I wanted something good and yet forgiving, something that I wanted it to look like in my head, regaurdless of how the dimensions would play out. I wanted a fish.

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpoint- 7 weeks after buying the 8ft board
Girlfriends lost to surfing:1

Underground board dealers:

I have this friend of a friend of another friend that had a board to sell when I went to a shop, and it turns out to be my first board ever! A Bruce Jones Retro Fish surfboard, with the best shape ever! It had a traction pad! leash! and Fins! The WHOLE WHOPPER! I was soo excited to test it out, i took it out that evening!

I couldn't stand up on this midgets surfboard! how the HELL am I supose to stand on this!? My feet go WHERE?!? When am I gona catch a wave!?

Lucky for me that following week Doheney saw 3-4ft waves which would be great for me to learn on. Slow big waves that would allow plenty of movement on a smaller board. I soon discovered I was too far back, and i had to start archign my back to keep from pearling(which seemed to be my new favorite move). Too far forward and I would like to taste salt water please, too far back and i think i could just sleep here.

I FOUND THE PERFECT SPOT! My chin was to rest over the emblem taht the surfboard had! its the perfect spot! So I learned how to catch waves on the small 6'6 board. I went to try to stand now. One small step for surfers, one giant leap for the international surfing peoples. I stood up, and NEVER had i gone so fast on a surfboard! It was a 4ft wave on my backside(right) and I was going so fast I was soo happy! I was loosing my balance and my board going infront of me as i kept on yelling WOOHOOOOOOO! I took the next day off due to personal clean my room vacation day.

Warning, i do suck so bare with. HOWEVER there is a really cool part in the video where i fall with another guy syncronized.




surfboard came with a leash that had a key pouch! HOW FRIGN SWEET!

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpoint- 9 weeks and after surfing journey began, and 16 days after purchasing new 6'6 fish(sorry i have no pics)
Girlfriends lost to surfing:1

My Fish has twin fins, and goes 100mph:

I started to learn how to surf all over again, I never had soo much fun surfing. I had a new baord, looked awsome! green! It would PASS longboarders as I would just stand there kinda hoping to go faster. I needed to learn how to move it up and down the wave more(how would you say) dramatically? I needed it to mold to my style. I wanted to go up and down the wave with long powerful projection, up and down motion completely fluid. In order to achive this I still had much to learn, how do I go faster. Still surfing the longboard waves I found myself online once again to learn how to pump. Trying this i found to myself this board would MOVE! I would go ALL over the place going up and down up and down! I loved it! Soon i figured out that with my backward lean shoulder in my board would follow a great big arc to the top and back down. I loved teh speed of every up and down motion it was all i would ever do!

A warning, I suck so bare with it haha. Also that guy with the models is not me, i thought it was teh funniest thing ever haha.
notice how the song matches the wall wave crash! how cool! didn know that




NEW BOADR!

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpiont- 3 months after learning how to surf, Sun July 26,2009 joined surfing-waves.com
Girlfriends lost to surfing:1
Surf, Eat, Sleep, Repeat:

PUMP TO PUMP! I loved to pump! move up and down in nice lines and such then Continue to pump and go to the top of the wave and go back down again gOd i loved it! I wouldn't cut-back because I couldn't turn my surfboard fast enough so i felt like i could just slow down by leaning back. I was learning more about terms, waves, forcasting and how delecate some breaks can be from tide changes. I was learning more technical stuff, more technique and more of what I wanted to surf like, wasn't happening. I asked questions on these forums to which i found great anwsers to. I did my homework on youtube and watched god surf all the time trying to copy his mentality on waves, trying to read the waves. I became a strong paddler, I could surf for 5 hours straigt, i got really tan, I could stand up on any wave any time! I vistited Salt Creek frequently, when Doheney was 1-3ft. I honed in my skills on Salt Creek, developing more from the slow wave i was used to, to an all you can eat sand buffet. i learned surfing etiquette and how it dosn't apply to certain breaks and such. I didnt mind sharing waves, because I was used to Doheney's lineup, like Malibu. I loved Doheney too much to realize that there was way better, stronger surf, was what I needed in order to fully flow.

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpoint- 5 months
Girlfriends lost to surfing: 2
Board gets Hospitalized:

Learning on my board I have never progressed sooo fast! I loved the board more than the longboard for sure. I took it everywhere i went no matter how small or big. I travled up to Venice Beach to south to San Diego's beaches surfing different waves. Each wave was different and had its own rules and regulations. The tides and swells would change the waves would behave and teh people would add to my experiance. I've had my own bitterness surfing three times possibly. I've gotten mad only three times at people where words were exchnged. Mostly at salt screek. I've had my foot ran over by guy and he guy didn't even apologize! Of course this goes both ways. I kept my best to keep myself happy, so I avoided salt creek mainly because the over-crowdness causes lots of problems and tensions, especially on a wave hog machine where everyone else was riding a 6'0ish. Since beginning the board has taken a severe beating. It had a nose job, two surgeries where the organs were failing, turning brown, and 3 lacirations along the frame. ALl of which thanks to heatlhcare were fixed.

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpoint- 7 months from learning how to surf
Girlfriends lost to surfing: 3

Old dogs don't learn new tricks, so get a new dog:

The time has come. I needed a new board. The old 6'6 fish was sustaining massive damage and had some internal organ failure procedures done before. The Doc warned me of a new problem that was happening to my love, skin cancer. She was turning brown from the sun, not alot, but after what she had gone through I couldn't afford the health bills, so i put her up for auction. I had my eye a new breed for some time, a small 6'0 fish surfboard taht had teh volume i needed for my weight and height but the price was alittle after my other baby could be sold. So I had to do what every surfer hated to do, work a real job! YUK! Between studies and surfing i dont know how i found time but it turned out taht after my other girlfriend left me it fitted pretty well!

New board! but i broke it already lol!

[naniekso]

Progress Checkpoint- Current(almost 8 months ish ish)
Girlfriends lost to surfing: 3

What journey! Boards have been added and lost, money has been spent repairs beyond repairs. I've learned much that one could learn in alll this time! I learned to travel up and down teh wave, learned some tricks or two, and had a blast learning. I surf anywhere i can, big or small. I don't paddle out if its bigger than 6ft, thats out of my comfort zone. I did my first big huge full of spray snap today, to which I am super happy for. I'm learning cutbacks along with everything else taht I knew how to do, except on a smaller board thats more responsive.

NEW BOARD/ Current and only one i'll ever need!:




WOOO what i can do in two hours of massive free time lol.

[naniekso]

SO i think i can begin discussions lol. After that preface hahaha, hour long intro. That intro was so long that avatar is now in present time(joke from academys lol)

So i did my first Super Snap today on the blue board. It felt good, felt like a strong fluid motion. I think though I want it stronger, I want MASSIve amounts of spray to come. It felt like I pivoted around really hard and found myself back in position. I was really happy to pull it off! Its about time i do a full snap! but I want to do it again! tomorrow! I know i've asked before but i want this thread to be super full of info for tricks and tips and such. I want to do a snap, a super snap. Is it just practice? I know i go up the wave and about half way i turn and i snap my body. But how do i really snap? I want massive power behind it. I've heard to pull your arms down, and to extend your back leg kicking the board to the side. for example in thsi video:

At around 0:30, discuss

[PredationSA]

Really enjoyed reading your posts. Was very cool to see your progression, you're were definitely a lot further on than i was/am at 6 months

[naniekso]

Really enjoyed reading your posts. Was very cool to see your progression, you're were definitely a lot further on than i was/am at 6 months

Thanks! I plan on updating this with videos and pictures i can come aross while surfing. I'm only so good because i have talked and gone surfing almost 3 times a week at least. During summertime I was able to go almost every other day haha. Never took lessons or anything like that, just pure practice and dedication to something i think we are all addicted to. I've always been a water person, and as kid my family said i was never afraid of the ocean unlike others(COULD I BE THE NEXT KELLY!??!?)

Time Checkpoint: Current+1
Girlfriends lost to surfing: 3


Today I can't go surfing!! WHY? cause its blowing wind like 17knots! Too much unrideable stuff. Really wanted to go today too

I have alot of freetime anyway. Classes became easier and well no one will hire me for a job becaues of the economy blah blah blah.
I'm studying for a BS in chemical engineering and i'm 19 btw. I have PLENTY of LIFE LEFT IN ME !!!

[trifish]

"she wanted to tan, and watch me fail" that made me laugh, seems like you are progressing well, keep it up.