A Few Words On SUP YOGA by Len Barrow

I was flipping through a surf journal a few months ago and I saw a number of photos of what seemed to be people doing yoga on their SUPs.  At first, I was aghast at where the “trend” was going.  But upon further contemplation, I thought is it was a great idea.

Over the past few months I have seen friends gathering into two camps in regards to surf Yoga.  One group roughly thought it was a corruption of the sport, while another group felt that it was a positive trend.  As to myself, I shall explain.

I have always had a concern that SUP sports are easily popularized.  No one can deny that the SUP sport gives quick access to the sport of surfing or ocean paddling for people who have not had a long background in the ocean sports.  In fact, some surf breaks our over run by SUP surfers and conflicts do arise yet is surf Yoga a good development, and not a “corruption of the sport”?

I think it is a good development.  In the context of this blog “Zen-Waterman” it is appropriate to investigate this phenomena.   In Zen the control of one’s attention, into a laser-like focus is key to the practice.  That is why Zen folk of old meditate.  The Abidharma written 2,500 years ago (literally translated “super-dharma”) has a theory of Zen psychology that is remarkably modern and dealt with the control of attention.  They regarded the mind as an infinite field with every possible seed.  These included seeds of anger, hatred and frustration and the like.  The field also included seeds of equanimity, happiness, calmness, kindness and compassion.  Conscious focused attention attained during meditation was regarded as a “garden watering pot” of sorts.  If you watered angry seeds with attention, you would become an angry person.  On the other hand if you watered the seeds of happiness, compassion and the such, you would become a more positive person.  That is literally why Zen people meditate, to control their attention so can be careful as to what seeds they water. 

So let us apply this to Stand Up Yoga.  I must admit, I thought it was a bit silly and a corruption to our sport.  I then looked at the “sport” more closely.   Yoga on flat ground takes a great deal of attention to physical posture and breathing.  I once entered a yoga class thinking it would be easy only to have been schooled by “nimble humans” who were really into it.  It was hard for me and required a lot of attention. I then thought to myself, “that to do this on a Sup would even require more attention”.  Remember a Sup surfboard has a center point and can tip one over into the water.  Yoga on a Sup must be exponentially harder on a Sup than it is on flat land, as you have to be literally absolutely centered or you fall off thus it must require a great deal of attention.  This is where I came to my endpoint.  This new sport requires focused attention and therefore it is a benefit to all involved.  This focused attention can be used to water positive seeds of the mind and the person can “cultivate” a life with more equanimity.  Therefore SUP Yoga is a legitimate sport with great physical and especially mental benefits.

I suppose I will have to give it a try one day.

But then I still think it is funny looking, and dorkey thing to do…but after all I am a dork!  Haha!

 

Related post:  SUP yoga at Surf Expo

    

If the fin don't fit- fitting a center fin that is too tight or too loose

The US center fin boxes that are installed on most longboards and SUP's are supposed to be a universal fit.  In real life, however, there a small variances in the width and depth of different boxes and fin sizes, so sometimes the fin won't go into the box or fit too loose.  We are often asked about this and here is what you can do if the fin does not fit well:

If the fin fits too loose, the fix is to use a shim.  This is an easy fix.  At our shop we use some packing tape and fold it on itself so no sticky tape is exposed.  You can adjust the thickness of the shim by using more folds if the fit is very loose or less if you just need a little shimming.
Put the shim under the base of the fin and push it into the finbox as you push down the fin, like in the pictures below,  you should have a tight fit with the shim, no wiggling.  If you still have some wiggle with the shim, pull it back out and add a couple more folds of tape to the shim, if it's too tight, make a thinner shim with less tape.

If the fin is too tight and won't go into the box, you can carefully sand the sides of the fin base to make it fit, this takes a little bit more time and patience.  Carefully check where the fit is tight and slowly sand the area down until it fits tightly.  Often it is the bottom of the fin that is hitting the bottom of the box.  In that case, you have to sand the bottom of the base to make it fit, not the sides.  The other option is to find a fin that fits the box without sanding.

Another tip: You can use the fin key used for the side fins to put the fin plate into the box and to line it up with the screw hole so the screw goes into the plate easily.  That's it, enjoy!

This is a playlist, so keep watching for more videos about our Blue Planet products:

Inserting the fin plate into a US center box

If the fin is loose, you can make a shim like this one using packing tape folded in on itself

Aloha, Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Is Paddling in our DNA? by Robert Stehlik

I have been thinking about how easily paddling comes to many and how calming and natural it feels to  propel yourself along with a paddle.   If you think about it, humans have been paddling for a long time, a crude paddle is probably one of the first tools used by humans.  So, perhaps paddling is such an engrained human behavior that it has become part of our DNA.   Maybe we know how to paddle in the way that migratory birds instinctively know not just how to fly but when it is time to fly south for the winter, where to go, what altitude to fly at, where to stop to rest, how to fly in formation and work as a group to get to the destination.  Some of it is learned behavior but it is also engrained in their DNA and they know what to do without being taught.
Paddling is certainly engrained in Polynesian culture, the paddle was basically used to populate the vast Pacific.  Humans have used paddles for thousands of years in all cultures and in many forms.
As an instructor who coaches people on stroke technique, I sometimes wonder if paddling is something everyone already knows how to do instinctively, you just have to help them discover something they already know on some level.  Maybe thats why it feel it so natural and soothing to paddle.

Paddle on!

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

Canoe Drummond getting back to his roots
photo credit: http://www.legendarysurfers.com/2011/10/canoe-drummond.html

I posted these thoughts on the Standupzone as well, where some others commented on it, click here to read more.

The Upside and Downside of Ocean Competition by Len Barrow

Surfing competition or any competition can have its upsides and downsides.  As a former US Champion and Professional surfer and coach I would like to explore some of the benefits and pitfalls that can “manifest” when you begin competing and succeeding.

One of the benefits to competing whether SUP racing or surfing is that you can really focus your mind.  In Zen Meditation, one is taught to have an object of meditation.  This is usually ones breath.  When we compete we can use our surfing technique, or stroke technique as the object of our meditation.  This is a good thing as we learn to enhance and use our attention like a flashlight to solve our problems of technique and form.  You can then shift this “acquired attention” to benefit many other areas in life.  I use the benefits of attention partially acquired in competing to ” focus” on many things.  Use see, when we have the ability to keep our attention on just one thing we can analyze it and can come to creative solutions.  I have solved many problems in this method in relation to work, personal relationships and anthropology using this technique (I am a doctor in anthropology  also).  Our primary problem in modern life is that we don’t pay attention, or don’t have the ability to focus our attention for long periods of time.  We Multi-task and grovel our absent mindedly way along the path of life.  This can make us frustrated and sad.  Surfing and Sup competing can ” turn on” our gift of attention.  If we can transfer the gift of attention to other areas of life, we can be happier, and more creative people.

As proof of this, look at Kelly Slater.  No one could rationally argue against Kelly Slater’s freakish ability to observe and understand (pay attention) to any ocean condition.  He has won in 1 foot waves to 30 foot waves at the Eddie Aikau surf meet and this has resulted in his 11 world titles.  What a lot of people don’t know is that Kelly Slater applies his freakish attention to other projects.  He has designed a circular wave-pool that creates a never ending wave when it is turned on.  Kelly created a plan for an alternate to the ASP surf tour that utilizes a different competition format (if he retires, don’t be surprised to see another tour).   Slater created the 2 man, 4 man heat system (Yes it’s possible!!?)  that is used at Pipeline to allow more Hawaii surfers into the event as well as a quick event completion.  He is a genius in my opinion as he uses his attention gained in the ocean, and competition to be creative in life. I don’t know him personally but no one can argue that he has not been a humble and intelligent ambassador for the sport of surfing.   That he stayed humble is amazing which leads to our next segment of the article about the flipside harmful side or of ocean competition.

One of the downsides to competition is that it can transform you into a monster and in many ways destroy your attention-abilities.  One of the most common ways that this happens is after we have repeated competitive success, some of us become arrogant.  This is the complete opposite of the “goal of attention and practice” of Zen tradition.  Just a drop of arrogance destroys any of the “attention -benefit - gains” we have made during our successful competition and training. 

There is the famous story of a competitive surfer in the eighties from California that illustrates my point.  Let us call him “Jon Edward”.  Jon had an amazing talent.  He was a wave magnet which means he could pay attention to the waves so deeply that he was in the right place at the right time to get all the sets.  It was almost as if he had his hand on the telephone to call waves in.  We used to call him “jealously” 1-800-DAIL A BOMB”.  He could summon all the biggest waves in a heat (Big wave in surfing =bomb).  In competition, we call these guys “freaks” in a good way.   As he had repeated success he became exceedingly arrogant.  In Zen, Arrogance turns a person into a Demon, or Hungry Ghost metaphorically.  He soon dropped out of high school and went full time on tour, oddly with huge sponsorships from corporations.  He soon began destroying the top pros and after each success he got more arrogant.  This destroyed his ability to pay attention and  his wheels metaphorically fell off.  He lost his super powers gotten by paying attention suddenly due to his arrogance.  He ended up imploding using his sponsor’s money to finance rabid binges on hard drugs, destroying his mind.

I think the moral of the story is if you start to win and get arrogant and stuck up (Whether in SUP racing or surfing competition); you will lose in the end.  I have seen this time and time again as a professional coach.  If you do well and truly be humble, you can cultivate the gift of attention that you have gained to help yourself and others in many aspects of the life that is ahead of us.    

As some Locals say in Hawaii:  “BE HUMBLE, NO GRUMBLE”……..Lets all pay attention!

Weekly SUP training group: technique coaching, downwinders, and time trials every Wednesday

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Our Wednesday SUP training group is the longest continuously running training group in the world!

Please also sign up to this Facebook group for updates:  Hawaii Downwind Paddlers Facebook Group

The Stand Up Paddling Association of Hawaii (SUPAH), sponsored by Blue Planet Surf and Wet Feet, is holding a weekly training group event every Wednesday, this page will have the latest updates, results and coaching videos/ information posted.  The group is coached by Robert Stehlik and Jeff Chang as well as guest coaches.  Depending on wind conditions we meet to do a downwinder from Hawaii Kai to Kahala, or a time trial or interval training in Hawaii Kai.

Wednesday until further notice: We are meeting by the Hawaii Kai boat ramp, unless we are doing a downwinder, in which case we are meeting in Kahala.  Please make sure to subscribe to the e-mails so you get the latest information.  We also post updates on the Oahu Downwind Paddlers facebook group, please ask to join if you want to be part of this facebook group.

Meeting place for the Wednesdays training group: This sign by the Hawaii Kai boat ramp

Please subscribe to the newsletter to get updates on training start times and meeting place.

We welcome anyone to join our weekly training group, although these sessions are targeted towards intermediate and advanced paddlers to improve their technique and to improve fitness through regular high intensity training.  We will usually run the regular time trial course which can be shortened for those that do not want to paddle the whole 2 mile course.  Sometimes will do shorter sprint training sessions.  If the wind is good, we will do a Hawaii Kai to Kahala downwind run (for downwinders, we meet at Kahala earlier, please sign up for the e-mail newsletter to get updates).  If you are a beginner, we recommend taking some private SUP lessons first as our coaching topics are geared towards more advanced paddlers.

Click here for information on Blue Planet SUP rentals.

Click here for more information coached downwind runs.  

Click here for information on private SUP lessons.

This is the time trial course, approximately 2 miles. 

When the wind is good, our training group does a Kahala run downwinder instead of the time trial.  Please sign up for the newsletter to know when to meet for a downwinder instead of the time trial.  We meet at Wai'alae Beach park in Kahala and launch from the Canoe Hale in Hawaii Kai for downwinders.  If you have never done a downwinder before, please sign up for a private coached downwind run before you join the group runs. 

On windy days, our training group does this Kahala Run (about 5 miles) and a shorter run (about 2.5 miles) for those less experienced in downwind paddling.  

Wai'alae Beach park in Kahala is the meeting place (and finish) when we do the downwind course.  Please sign up for the weekly newsletter to fins out when and where to meet on Wednesdays afternoons.

The results of the time trials are posted online on Racesplitter:

http://racesplitter.com/blueplanetsurf-wetfeet

The first training group is always FREE to newcomers.  If you are attending for the second (or more) time, we ask that you make a contribution to SUPAH. You can purchase a single session for $15 or a 10 session pass for $100. If you purchase a pass we will keep track of your usage. All proceeds are a donation to the Stand Up Paddle Association of Hawaii, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote SUP training, racing and youth development.  We don't take payments at the event, so please go to this link to make a payment: http://wetfeet.rezgo.com/details/50782/training-clinic Demo boards: Please reserve a demo race board with 24 hour notice with either Robert or Jeff, please make a $40 contribution per demo board use which includes transport to and from the event. Mahalo! This is the windguru wind forecast page we like to check, if we have good, moderate Tradewinds from an easterly direction, we will usually do a downwinder: http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?sc=20449

All participants are required to sign this waiver form before participating.  We will have forms available or you can print the form and bring it to the next meeting

This is a video playlists of videos from our weekly training groups, so keep watching to see all the videos from the last few years:

Below is the video from last weeks class, taking another look at stroke technique.  Everyone has been improving their technique.  We will watch this as a group and talk about things we notice, this video has no narrating or music, just raw footage.  I edited the footage to put each paddlers clips together.  Watch yourself a few times and see what you can learn about your own stoke.  Look at the reach, catch, lower hand grip position, stroke rate, shoulder twist, lean, exit, feather, relaxed recovery, breathing, etc, all the things we have talked about.

The Blue Planet team with the 2016 race board models

 Subscribe to our weekly training group mailing list:

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Aloha, Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com

Waves Can Be Our Zen Teachers, by Len Barrow

We have not done a philosophical article for a while here at Zen Waterman so I thought I would have a go at it, as this blog is about Zen, whatever that means.   My late Zen Master Aitken Roshi actually commented to me that (approximately) “some surfers have some realization{in Buddhism} as they engage with waves”.  I thought that this was rather odd but I kept thinking about what he said and came to a conclusion that his statement actually made sense.

We can learn a lot about the Zen and by extension ourselves by just paying attention to waves.  In Zen Waves are dependently originated.  This just means that many natural causes comes together to cause a wave to “become”.  The waves are not on their own individual power.  They are an aggregate of nature and various causes and conditions.  Waves do not have “selves” that steer them around in a scientific view.  They logically have specific causes and conditions in nature that cause them to manifest or become.

 Let us take a clean 4 foot wave on the south shore.  To get a South Swell on the shores on Oahu (Hawaii) you need a storm in the southern hemisphere.  The storm has to be in just the right swell window.  This takes specific weather patterns by New Zealand and Australia to keep the cyclone pointed at Hawaii’s swell window.  To get a storm in the southern hemisphere you need the Suns energy which drives weather patterns on earth.  For a clean 4’ wave to manifest you need the right tide and offshore winds as well as correct reef shape.  In other words the wave that you see as independent and on its own power is actually highly dependent on many causes and conditions in nature.  It is as if the whole universe is behind it.  There really is no wave per se but an aggregate of causes and natural conditions.   This is what Zen Buddhism argues and this wonderfully correlates with the western scientific view.

Theich Nhat Han, the Vietnamese Zen Master who helped stop the Vietnam war and was nominated for the noble peace prize by Martin Luther King, clearly states the above phenomena in the following statement:

“People normally cut reality into compartments, and so are unable to see the interdependence of all phenomena.  To see all in one and one in all is to break through the great barrier which narrow’s ones perception of reality, a barrier which Buddhism calls the attachment to false view of self”.

In relation to the above quote, let us look at our conception of self from a Buddhist manner.  Selves manifest in the same ways as waves! Science has shown us this.  This idea is not even controversial. 

What are the causes and conditions that cause you to be dependently originated like the wave. What natural conditions and causes lead to the manifestation of yourself?  This list is almost endless that it boggles the mind.  Let us see look at some of the factors that allow “you” to come into being.  To start off with the absolute basics, you need oxygen and water.  You even need trees to create oxygen which we breath.  If you don’t have these natural factors you cease to manifest as yourself.  You also need your mother and father, not to mention their ancestors.  You need wheats, cows, etc., (if you are not a vegetarian) that become food.   Cows need grass to graze on.  To have your personality you need the culture around you which helps shape it.  If you are surfers you obviously exist in relation to the ocean which also shapes your mentality.  You even need bacteria for you to manifest.  In fact Scientific American (August issue) just stated that bacteria outnumber your cells in a ten to one ratio in your body!  To many scientists the question of a self independently existing is ludicrous and incorrect as bacteria seem to be at least partially running our bodies for their benefit!  The famous biologist Dr. Margulis stated that “the idea of a self is warped, we are a walking feeding trough for Bacteria and Cells”.  What “is” you?  According to Zen we are a matrix of nature and its causes and conditions.  Like the wave, we completely lack a self due to dependent origination.  This is the Buddhist concept of Anatta or “no self”.    

Remember that the western view of the self relies on a self-phenomena that is unchanging and concretely existing on its own power.  The western philosopher which structured our current view of the self, Renee Descarte, stated that “I think, therefore I am”.  A trained  Zen Buddhist would indicate the opposite by saying “I think therefore I am not”.

In the end Zen argues that there is no self (Annata) but just an aggregation of causes and natural conditions.  This may sound terrifying to some as your individuality becomes “shattered” yet this is pure freedom, for there becomes no real reason to be angry or fearful at anyone or anything.    If there is no self on its own power then logically there can be no death, no life span (stated in the Diamond Sutra…sutra or “bundled writing” which forms the basis of Zen!).  We can live in peace.  We are but wonderful manifestations of the “play of Nature” just as an ocean wave is.  What a noble heritage!  I find this view to be most gratifying and it gives me reason not to be too attached to things and people.  This is very important as Buddhism argues that attachment to things, people and events (Buddha’s 1^st Noble Truth) are our primary cause for suffering.  The antidote to this suffering is to see dependent arising (Buddha’s 3^rd  Noble Truth)  thus we become less attached and free (Nirvana or cessation of suffering).  The above discussion may seem a bit abstract and even bizarre yet test the logic scientifically.  I was actually pissed off when I found the logic (I study western logic) to be sound as I had to give up my conventional western view of self.  Despite this the happiness crept in after time. 

People wonder why I am happy driving a dilapidated VW van and living a surfing lifestyle that barely involves money yet involves tremendous unpaid public service (I have received civil awards for my homeless programs and work my ass off to enrich other people’s lives).  Many people think that my choice of lifestyle is bizarre and stupid but thanks to my teachers the waves, and a bit of Zen I am honestly content and happy about things! 

Let us realize this.  We can modify our behavior and be more kind and compassionate.  We already recognize a wave as being dependently originated and without a self.  That is why after the wave pounds us, we don’t say that “it” did us wrong.  We do not personify the wave and say “Hey Bob the wave, I hate you for what you did to me….and I will hate you forever Bob the wave”. This is what a deluded mind does in Zen theory.  Let us be free from this thinking.   We don’t think the wave is a concrete entity with a separate soul or self –substance.   Instead we view the wave as being dependently arisen. 

Let us do the same with people and events.  They are just like waves.

Let us see them as dependently arisen, as an aggregate of causes and natural conditions.  This will allow us to live in freedom just as the waves are free and perfect.   Why not be happy?

Let me leave you with this Zen Koan (type of riddle):  “What was your original face before you were born”.

Or better yet, a Koan that I have created: “What was the wave’s original face before it was born”

And   “Is there such a thing as Zen……..what is there to talk about?”

I must warn you, I am an exquisite liar!

Haha!