if i had to choose what was the best feeling of surfing, i’d have to say getting barreled. the feeling is unexplainable. it’s a surfers dream. i’ve been getting barreled for 35 years and i keep on wanting more and more. the absolute best feeling in the world!
anyway, i was texting my friend about getting barreled. she texted me:
“I want barrel! Very big dream! It takes 10 years? 20 years? So big dream.”
i texted her back:
“No, it only takes one wave!”
she texted me:
“Hawaiian joke?”
that made me laugh!! haha. getting barreled is very easy. in fact, i learned how to get barreled before i could even do a cutback. i was getting barreled since i was 12 years old. what’s the secret?
first is finding a wave that barrels. if the wave don’t barrel, you won’t get barreled. simple. there are many spots in the world that barrels. some easy, some hard, some perfect, some ugly. but hey, a barrel is a barrel. you can find them all over the place in hawaii. and for you japanese dreamers, you can find them all over japan too. this particular spot in japan is a perfect barrel with nobody out. if you can turn sidewards, you can get barreled. where is this wave? sorry, i can’t tell you. all i can say is if you search, you will find.
second is confidence. if you don’t have confidence, forget the barrel. in fact, forget everything. you have to visualize yourself in the barrel, and visualize yourself making it out. every single barrel i enter, i expect to make out. and when i’m feeling super confident, i’m making almost all of them.
so hey, getting barreled is pretty easy. go look for a barreling wave, have some confidence, and you can do it! and when that barrel happens, i would love to hear all about it! ganbatte!
