If you surf, you have probably experienced the power of the ocean at least once.
The key to improve your wipeouts experience lies in your ability to maintain inner relaxation, a positive mindset a good decision making even if the situation is getting rough.
Before we move on to the tips, I will share with you guys one of the most inspirational videos in Big wave Surfing history: the one and only KAI LENNY getting into any surfers nightmare at the heaviest surf spot on planet earth: Nazaré.
From this video, we can also highlight the 3 simple yet POWERFUL tips we can get from Big wave Surfers and Freedivers that will help us perform better during surfing hold downs and we you are stuck in the set.
- Self Awareness and Self Control
As simple as it sounds, a surfing wipeout scenario can turn into a challenging experience or a nightmare depending on how you decide to react to that stress. As pretty much anything in life, if you start getting anxious, letting your emotions rule your thoughts, your breathing, your physicality and your mindset, the experience will most likely turn into an unforgettable nightmare.
However, if manage to avoid anxiety or fear taking over, maybe become aware of your breathing, trying to slow it down, to remain calm, once the hold down starts, you do not hesitate to go back to surface, but instead focus on body and mind relaxation, etc, the ending result will be very different.
A situation is as bad as the way you choose to react to it. The last thing we loose in life is how we decide to handle things.
Freediving is the absolute best tool to work on self control, developing a strong resilient mind and improve your ocean behaviours.
- Breath Training = Emotion & Mastery
Knowledge is power. The more you know about how your body and physiology respond to different breathing protocols, the more tools you will have to respond better in ocean situations. Do you breathe through your nose or through your mouth? How do you take a proper last breath? What do you do when you are being held down by a wave? Do you actually know what is happening in your body as you hold your breath?
If you were not able to answer or felt unsure about these questions, we recommend you to enroll on one of our Surf Survival Courses: the most complete Freediving for Surfers experience in Costa Rica or ONLINE.
Knowing and experiencing what your body and mind are capable of will boost your ocean confidence and take your surfing to the next level.
- SMILE!
Yes, just smile, laugh, have fun even though the situation is probably not really “fun” at all.
There is endless footage of Big wave Riders doing “weird” rituals right before getting absolutely pounded: all the way from just laughing ridiculously before a huge wave breaks on their head to doing the “f*** you” sign to the wave, smiling or laughing help our physiology release serotonin, dopamine, endorphin & even adrenaline, which will help us to deal better with the whole scenario both mentally and physically.
Instead of trying to convince you about all these tips, I will drop another outstanding Big wave Surfing Video at Nazare, this time watch carefully how Professional Big Wave Surfer Toby Cunningham behaves during this crazy scenario.
Self Control. Breath & Emotion Mastery. Smile & Flow.
Hope you enjoyed our Blogs content and looking forward to seeing you all soon in the line up!
If you are interested in deepening your knowledge about Surf Apnea Training, do not hesitate anymore:
