Skimboarding boss!

Another one of my side projects, the round the world quest to learn surfing, took me to the local skimboard heroes of Boracay today. Carlos spends every day on the beach, playing around with his board, and made a little money for food whenever one of the many tourists would like to try.

Me and Jaguar got up early to try it before I would leave the island. The other evening, I was sitting at a restaurant, observing the locals skimboarding, and was seriously impressed by the moves they pulled off on the small waves.

We had a one hour lesson in the morning before Jaguar went to work. The learning curve was pretty steep for me. Both because there is no real waiting to attempt again when one fails, but also because much of the balancing, body mechanics and postures resemble Jiu jitsu a lot. As Jaguar left, I had lunch, then walked back to Carlos for another hour of practice. It was very interesting to sit down and talk with him about his life and I also got pretty good at riding the board, if I should say it myself ;)

Another thing I take with me from BJJ is, that as a beginners, it is important to trust experience. My body was really trying to convince me to lean backward to keep my balance, but when I listened to what Carlos said and squatted forward, it made the whole difference and I was able to ride for 10-15 meters easily.

I was tempted to buy a board, but carrying it around the world would be a pain in the ass. Will try to find one when I get home, then try it out on the local beach.