Learning in the soup

Clyde in the chaos

My experience in the surf zone last Sunday suggested two lines of practice and each is mutually exclusive of the other.

I had one thing in mind and that was to stay upright while doing some side surfing and practicing my braces. That was fun for a while until I got too close to where the waves were breaking. I braced onto the wave but it was too powerful and I went over.

I rode it out upside down and rolled once things settled but it was my trip under water in such violent conditions. That suggests another line of practice. Instead of trying to stay upright, plan to flip and ride some waves upside down. That needs practice too. That is, getting used to the the forces underwater. Anything can be learned but it needs to be practiced incrementally in more and more challenging conditions.