Nothing is more conducive to writing than bad weather. It keeps you inside and provides atmosphere and energy. So this morning is awesome for writing, not so much for surfing. Tropical Storm Fay is sitting stationary just overhead. Its relentless onshore winds are churning the ocean into some meaty swell but nothing all that surfable. As the 40 MPH winds and heavy rains swirl just outside my window, I came across an old piece about surf style:

"A surfer lives his/her life like the waves themselves. Although battered by cross-winds and cross-chop and bent by reefs and sandbars, they always stay true to their source and direction. And a surfer, no matter how heavy the responsibilities of life may become, will always make it to the beach. This experience goes far beyond simply the thrill of a good ride. The sun rising over the ocean, a good wipeout, the view of a perfect unridden wave, or even a joke made among friends in between sets all serve as food for the surfer's soul."

A pretty ridiculous surfing as life metaphor? I won't deny that, but it also sheds light on the surfing spirit and brings to my mind the strange reality that I have met non-surfers with a surfing spirit. Ya know, folks who were not fortunate enough to be birthed near Mother Ocean, but nonetheless exude gobs of obvious surf spirit. It's not something you have to describe; it's something you just know. Surf style isn't just the way you ride a wave but also the way you ride through life: the lines you choose and the way you respond to the falling lips and jagged reef of a day in your life. Do you straighten out or pull in and drive that shack? If you are reading this and you have never caught a wave in your life, it doesn't mean you can't plug into a piece of the surf spirit.

The spirit comes out from your pencil as you write and is present in that connection between you and your child and there is no doubt it is in Fay's wind as it lashes against my window. It's love and nature and religion all ground together, stuffed into a tea bag and steeped in the ocean of your soul.

Bring it on Fay. I want to keep on writing.

Uhg! School is coming back around for the youngsters and the days of free flowing days at the beach riding waves and lying in the sand under the summer sun are quickly coming to an end. But surfing isn't the stuff of pariahs, hippies, and maniacs anymore. Surfing is a sport these days with all the trappings of Pop Warner and little league. Ever heard of the NSL? The rambling beach rats of yesterday are fast becoming the meal tickets of tomorrow...sponsored at 7 years old and traveling the globe as a pre-teen...with hopes of making big bank on the deck of a thruster by 20. Is it a natural progression that all sports experience or a manipulation by little league parents who just happen to be surfers? Is there anything wrong with pushing your little one to compete if he/she enjoys it? Shoot, some kids thrive on competition and the thrill of winning. It's Darwinism I think.

But it's the bigger picture that makes some cringe. Surfing at its core was always a free form artistic expression that cannot be quantified, graded, or all fenced in by rules. Sounds a lot like school or politics or something which surfing was meant to be an escape from. Another idea is that competitive surfing is a viable option for kids who are without focus or direction. The truth is that surfing is all things to all people, but should always be fun and enriching to the spirit. Without those qualities, surfing is just like any activity (which maybe it is...I mean doesn't a tennis player have his/her own style and get a blast of stoke from scoring?), and as with any real dilemma, we are really left with questions because only closed minds find easy answers. Surfing is more complex than that, and in essence more simple. Did I just blow your mind? Probably not; however, kids are surfing and competing at extremely young ages (my own 7 year-old is paddling in to waves on his own and I'm stoked). Maybe it's all a non-issue, but I always thought that school and surfing were very different beasts, but they seem to be on a collision course.

Okay, I have joked about Hollywood surf flicks in the past. Ya know...the campy fun of Point Break, the utter gut spasms induced by In God's Hands, my unabashed praise of the sentimental awesomeness of North Shore and, of course, how the cartoon characters in Surf's Up are probably Hollywood's most realistic surfers yet. I dug Big Wednesday and savored every cinematic moment of The Endless Summer. I have stacks of surf vids that range from Searching for Tom Curren, The Occumentary, all the old Billabong flicks like Surf into Summer leading all the way to all the Taylor Steele shred fests. Whew! That was a long way to go to establish the fact that I have been exposed to a sea of surf-related cinema in my day. However, Matt McConaughey's new attempt to drop into the Hollywood surf cess pool looks to be a real stank burger. Of course, I am basing this simply on the trailer (and Willie Nelson is in it), so I could always be wrong. But probably not. Check out the clip above of Surfer Dude and judge for yourself. However, this pile of "dude" doo isn't the only major surfing release on the horizon. Kelly Slater is looking to add something more to his already endless wave riding media accomplishments by starring in a 3-D IMAX surf travel explosion entitled the Ultimate Wave.

The question is, of course, which film will pack the house and allow Joe Movie-goer a chance to see the artistc beauty and adventure of the true surfing experience. What do you think?

All Original Surf Instruction Articles
After surfing and writing for many years, I have now drafted enough beginner info to take you from paddling and standing to doing floaters and airs. You can even learn to compete and judge a contest heat through my original articles. So get your move on and get out in the water.