I took my first surfing lesson yesterday up at Manly Beach and it was hard. I choose the Manly Surfing School because I hadn't been to Manly yet and from what I've heard it is less crowded than Bondi. After taking that first lesson, I'm glad I did. The class was full, probably 20 people. But we were isolated from the rest of the surfers who knew what they were doing.
I figured it would be a little tough, but I was a little hopeful that I'd be able to pick it up quicker than I have. The lesson itself was laughably similar to Kunu teaching Peter how to surf in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. A lot of stand up, get down, faster, now slower, nope still too fast. I was able to catch the waves easy enough, but couldn't for the life of me find my center of gravity on the board to be able to stand up with enough time to enjoy the ride. Sure, I stood up a few times but it was always at the end of the wave. By the time I had the windmill arms under control and presumably still on the board, I was at the beach. I wasn't able to get myself toward the front of the board enough and road the tail which meant the bulk of my weight was on the back of the board which ultimately meant that when I feel (yes when), I was certainly going to go backwards with the board shooting up in front of me.
I booked a pack of four lessons in hope that I'd learned enough to go out on my own for practice. But, after Sunday's trip, I might need to buy a few more afterwards. As long as the weather's good this weekend, I'll book another lesson. I'm also hoping the waves are a little smaller. For the most part they were normal, but there were a few bursts where the waves were at least 4 to 6 feet. In due time, hopefully. But right off the bat, I'll try to stick to the small, unassuming waves.
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