Surfing: the freedom to be yourself

Tell me, what does surfing mean?

It happened that for me surfing became a life. Not "an integral part of it", which for many is a job or some kind of hobby, but a thing like breathing: breathing - you live, you do not breathe - you do not live. And this is the secret of my surfing. Is not it simple?

However, surfing can be all. Someone fitness, somebody sports, somebody else's way to have a good time, tumbling in waves on a more suitable mattress than a mattress. But there is something that unites all this "different" surfing, and for whatever purpose you are not going to the waves, holding the board under your arm, you are going to participate in one of the most majestic and powerful natural phenomena - in the surf. And do not watch, namely, participate!

How to become a part of the surf? How to start?

At first you do not need a lot of strength, agility andspeed of reaction. First of all, you need to understand, explain yourself why you need surfing. For what do you want to enter the surf and hug the waves? At the first stage this is much more important than stretching and flexibility.

To get to surf, you need not just to know,how to do it, but also for what. This is important. Only after understanding "why", "how" - it will become obvious. In surfing there is no technology - there is expediency. There is no speed and effort, but there is the timeliness of the application of forces.

When you understand and accept, then, as experienced athletes say, you begin to understand the ocean?

I think understanding the ocean is necessary in order tohe could leave. At the same time it is desirable not with a broken board, a ruined dream and a back torn about corals. It is important to remember, the ocean is absolutely indifferent to the human element. It makes everyone feel a fine line between self-confidence and self-confidence.

Is it possible to learn surfing on your own?

It is possible, if you are the owner of a board and great patience to learn numerous mistakes with your own back, face and legs.

In 1994, I myself learned how to surf onBlack Sea in the Crimea. Then I did not have the opportunity to ask someone for advice or take lessons. I do not regret that I had to study on my own. However, if I had an instructor, I would have mastered technical surfing much earlier. In addition, the learning process would proceed without injury.

What are the main myths about surfing crumbling in the beginner in the first lesson?

Eighty percent of newcomers are destroying the mythAbout Me. Waves do not care who you are, what your plans for dinner, and what you ate for breakfast. You want to participate in their lives - forget about your "I", which you have erected in your Facebook or gym. To overcome self-confidence is possible not all at once. And then the myths that the wave carries, that you will immediately enter the pipe, crumble. And also that the shark is more dangerous than coral.

Where can I winter in the winter?

Winter, perhaps, the time that disposes to surfing is much stronger than summer - it's beautiful in the summer and at home. But in winter to go for the warmth and white-blue surf - the very thing.

Firstly, is a beautiful Bali. The main training spot Kut from December to March because of the winds blowing from the island of Java, is not very good. But there are starting to work such spots as Sirangan, Nusadua and Sanur.

Surf Discovery Surfing School, where I teach, knowingly chose the island of Bali for nothing. The totality of infrastructure and waves for all, I stress, for surfers of ALL levels.

In total, with all the "secret spots"the banks of the island form about one hundred different waves. Among them, Padang-Padang, where world-class competitions are held, Geger, Uluwatu, Balangan. The picturesqueness of these places corresponds to the quality of the waves in them.

The second place in this list is occupied by Sri Lanka,in particular a place called Willigama. Sri Lanka is good and the fact that on it, as well as on the magnificent Bali, there are both reef waves, and less demanding - rising over the bottom of sandy beaches.

Maldives, especially the atoll called Kaadaadhu. Maldivian surfing is an adventure in general, as it is possible to ride fully there only by living on a yacht, spending the night in the shadow of new islands, which would push new waves every morning.

Peru, of course. Waves in Lima are great for learning. There are three main spots where a lot of people learn, give both right and left waves, but, at the entrance to the water, a rather hard surf awaits you and you need to take into account the fact that the beach is not sandy, but consists of huge stones, the size of a ball . And, of course, we need a wetsuit. In Peru, the longest left wave is Chikama. Before her ride 9 hours by bus, the wave is incredibly long, but the current is also incredibly strong. However, Peru can restore all the physical costs with ease: the local cuisine is magnificent, and the abundance of both tropical and European fruits is amazing.

The Atlantic offers a variety of waves of Morocco and the Canary Islands, but lovers of the Atlantic needprepare itself for a cool, in contrast to the Indian Ocean, water, because this part of the Atlantic not only in winter but also in summer retains a moderate temperature of the waters.

But it's not the cold that scares our people. So, there are enthusiasts who skate in winter and in our, Russian, latitudes. Fortunately, modern technology has made it possible to create wetsuits that are comfortable and in very cold water.

Black Sea: Crimea, Anapa, Sochi, winter storms, fragile ice puddles on piers andgorgeous, sometimes very small and not quite simple waves have long been waiting for their riders and, they have appeared. And now you can say for sure - there is surfing in Russia.

And fortunately, its beaches are not limited to the Azov-Black Sea basin.

The Far East, Kamchatka, Kuriles, Sakhalin. Here are the places where surfing has not simply taken root since recently, but where it actively develops and finds a response in ever new hearts. However, a deep winter on the eastern shores of Russia is not entirely suitable for surfing, but autumn and spring are very good. Especially for those who ride in the north of our country not only in the Baltic Sea, but also on such lakes as Ladoga and Onega.

Are there any features of winter surfing?

Oh sure. It should be understood that such a "northern" surfing has a number of differences from its tropical counterpart. First of all, the duration of stay in water. And not because the wetsuit "does not hold", as the surfers say, but because it is simply more difficult to swim in it. The choice of a wetsuit should not occur from the criterion of its low price affordability, but solely because of the quality. Often, as well, surfers of the northern seas, use several large boards in volume, which facilitates dispersal in a wet suit.

And of course, every "winter" surfer should lovesurfing is much stronger than its tropical fellow, because to enter the stern water smoking a frosty day to embrace the wave is much more difficult than to fly into its warm embrace.

A photo:

Denis Moskvinov, Evgeny Filatov, Anna Shalashova, Julia Ilina