a crumbler

Had a little bit of free time, so I broke away and jumped into the water at Diamond Head. Wasn't expecting much; didn't get much. Surf was tiny--maybe waist-high at best--and pretty gutless.

Rather than just waste the session, I decided to "practice surfing" (funny as this sounds) in preparation for future bodyboarding competitions that I was hoping to enter.

Contest surfing is a whole different animal as far as wave riding approach. I tried to pack in as much maneuvers before the wave petered out, quickly choosing the most promising waves. Style quality is replaced by quantity of tricks done on a wave.

Soon, I was huffing and puffing, trying to quickly make it back out into the lineup. After failing doing mandatory el floppos and even hand-drag 360's, I realized I was not ready for contest surfing.

Finally got a decent waist-high wave that lined up nicely. Floppo, spin, floppo, spin, kick out. That felt a little better. Maybe I can still go into grovel mode.

Unfortunately, my session was cut short by a nagging neckache (actually an upper spine sometimes goes out on me). After one very nondescript left, I winced in pain as my neck seized up.

After less than an hour in the water, I decided to head in and give it a rest. Wasn't worth the pain.

Aloha from Paradise,