"STATE OF S"

[surfhorn]

I've always let things go in the water except one thing..............a kneeboarder snaking other surfers - makes us all look like jerks.

When that has happened in the past (and I haven't seen it in over 20 years) I would paddle up the the KBer and hip him to the situation. If I got any lip I just told him that I would dog him on every wave and, if I had the opportunity, I would sink all of my fins as deeply as possible into his board.
No threat - just a fact.

[Beeline2.0]

..

[frankfqr]

Well RW you sure ruffled some feathers with that post! For the most part I agree with you. Probably because I am another old timer. Quoting John Lennon, "I don't think the Beatles were all that good, we just happened at the right time." In many previous posts, our generation is looked upon with respect and curiosity but kneeboarding is definitely moving in a different direction. Yes Lis is still underground, and Rex has stated that kneeboarders are a dying breed. It does seem to be the mind set of the area you come from. I was an offshoot of that area as a young rat. I moved on at the age of eighteen because I just don't like big cities (I am here in SD temporarily but very soon moving on.) The one thing I missed the most was seeing the power and most of all the style of the kneeboarders from that region, the cliffs. Please, inquire into film documentation. The world does want to know. In my opinion the North Shore is no more than a dot on the map. We blow minds worldwide. Any good kneeboarder knows that given just one hour on a good day and the line-up will be grinning in acknowledgement. These are the doors we opened, and I am fine with just that. Ask any young surfer or even the middle aged ones, and most don't know GG. And if that's all the film did then EQ was dead on. If they don't get it, then that will be our dirty little secret!

Frank

[RW]

Jack....yur a good guy and slipperry as an eel. You've always had that eloquent justification for not being more involved as the leading US Champion. Your water skill is amazing in your choice of surf. My only disappointment has been you've contributed far less to the whole than you've won over these many years being the frontrunner.


Dave....you missed the point, it's never been about Fame. I was addressing stewardship per se, within the bigger picture of surfing, not KneeBoarding exclusively. That traveling ambassodor cliche only works to a point. Being a representative is a completely different entity than being a steward; one is eye candy, the other carries responsibilities. It's all moot really. Thanks for the invite, however the allure of Black's (your canyon) faded for me after '78 as it isn't the same wave it was during the first years of my surfing it. Used to actually surf alone in dead winter perfection all the time. The beach is gone, the sandbars have changed, the crowd is incomprehensible, navigating the ascent/climb out of there is beyond the ability of my shredded knees, and where there was once hot naked chicks everywhere there are now trolling fags. FYI, The Cliff's, have never been a security blanket, they are a haven, it's the last remaining refuge of sanity in our overpopulated SD coasline where the rules of ettiquitte are still the norm. I came here by choice after a thorough recon of CA's surf zones. Anytime you want to visit call me up.


Mark....the guy you are talking about was the enforcer at the Rock. Nasty guy. Great guy. I've got his number/address and will get it to you. That flying fish tale is still circulating? He can also tell you his story about a certain somene's board being nailed to the pier in 1972. Toby is..well..he's Toby....cosmically unpredictable and outta touch. Those cinched down hoods have always been a big problem...however...they have evolved, and with a few insiders working in collusion, that info is slowly being made available to the right people. Took forever and a day but it will be forthcoming...and it will be told from our perspective...and not from a standup agenda.


Rob....you've always had some natural born cynical twist to your posting.


Martin...you are correct. Pissing people off has always been the best motivation to get them off the sidelines and involved. All those paths are there by design and intent. Thought only arises from provocation. It polarizes and leads us to bridges of understanding, purpose, and most importantly.....progress. Your boy is progressing nicely too!:D


MR.....see, yur already better at milking both ends of the cow. Maybe I should have stroked it a little more like you than banging heads with it.:lol:The award is done, the plaque is done, the info card will be done. It' always been about fun...always will be. You've pretty much summed it up correctly. The modern generation wants prestige without paying their dues.....like lazy teenagers. In hindsight Rex is becoming more of a visionary than a crabby old has been. It's OK on my end guys. I am not bitter like him.

On KneeBoarding......I've been watering it, pissing on it, feeding it, tending the soil around, and trying to keep the weeds from choking the life out of it. It's my nature to let the chips fall as you well know.


Mike...you've come in at the tail end of a party like a bouncer who isn't needed. Aloha is also protective in nature. It has preservational roots that go deeper than the smiley faces that inticed your long term plans of residency. Glad you got off the turnip barge and stayed in the Island's, it really needs more people like you to inforce your new culture. I'm sorry you had to make such a personal attack, I've made similar mistakes from ignorance myself, and so understand your emotional diatribe. Made me think of my mom so I gave her a call and told her I still love her. Most people cringe at the thought of Waipahu, Nanakuli, Waianae... my childhood roots...I'll happily show you around sometime. Aloha.


Frank....agreed, it's a dot on the map...yet it is a world unto it's own self by which all others are compared. I didn't initiate it....it's always been that way.


As for the anger and angst crap.....where?


This topic was orchestrated by Ed, Mark, and myself to polarize the issues and to inncite some interaction. In the past week it has shown nothing more than what we already knew. It generated nearly 1500 views as of this post, with nearly a thousand generating since my last rebuttal. In the reponses after that posting, most were progressive with the topic at hand, the remainder were reactionary, taking issue with the messenger, and not the issues under discussion. Overall pretty much what was expected, but not hoped for. It has only redefined the the enigmatic anomaly that constitutes KneeRiding in the US of A.

If we've made you think then we were successfull. If something comes out of this then we were successfull. If nothing stems from this, it wasn't from our lack of trying.


Surfing has never lost it's thrill for me. It's been the undoing of every other responsible thing I've ever done. When I'm in the water I'm alone. I'm free. I'm 17 years old going over the edge of my first 12' wave at Laniakea. I've no demons other than the day I won't be able to surf again.. ....on that day I will just roll over and die.

I'm just a guy who surfs....KneeRiding is not an identity....it's a thing I've efficiently done to avoid other forms of responsibility....like all of you guys.

I'm checkin' out.

Keep the faith.



RW

[Beeline2.0]

..

[W.G. Facenda]

I can't wait to hear more from RW . Sheeesh!! What an EGO! LOL
You have to be kidding with all this ........hot air.

[Man O' War]

I don't know if I want to be back on the rack. RW has the Marquis de Sade somewhere in his family tree.

[Greg Little]

RW I just finished reading your rant, and I must say that I can agree with you on the point of, some American kneelos who would like to progress the sport in this country, but not progress/back the American shaper. I myself am in full support of progessive kneeboard design. And there are a few incredible kneeboard shapers her in S.D. alone! And yes I do support them.
I have to admit that you lost me, when you started talking about proving oneself in Hawaii and doing something for the sport of kneeriding and lets not forget that the girls have even past us by. After reading your rant, and I could be waaay off base here. But I interpreted this as, you need the sport of kneeriding to be justified for yourself. You are sounding to me, that you are insecure about riding a wave on your knees, and that the justification of this style of wave riding would make you feel better as a person, because it is accepted by all others. I personally don't need to be accepted by others. I personally like being UNIQUE. I refuse to become homogenized like the rest of this country!!!! I love the fact that kneeboarding is still underground, and I think this websight is good for the kneeboard community and that we are not in the mainsream. I don't need a pile of stickers from whom ever on my board, or a room full of trophies to be accepted as a true and hardcore Kneerider.
And some of you thought I was BITTER.
Greg...

[wino]

RW, thanks for the entertainment on this late morning.
Expect a call this winter. It's been a while since I've made my way down the cliffs in your neck of the woods.
You bring up stewardship of the sport. Yesterday was an example of stewardship. (Thanks for hosting Mark and Danny, had a great time while we we there.)
Stewardship is what KSUSA is all about. That is why Don Harris is refered to as the "Don". There is now a younger generation of kneeboarders coming up. There were kids in the water on kneeboards yesterday, three years ago there were none. This is a direct result of KSUSA's stewardship of the art/sport of Kneeboard surfing.
Kneeboarding won't die out, hopefully, it won't become mainstream either. However, the stewardship that you say is lacking is there, it just might not be from the one or two individuals you feel should be leading the way.

[808]

i can only imagine the reception an outsider gets...

you guys are classic. as the only group of surfers that got vaporized by the advent of the boogieboard, reading this cracks me up. contests huh? besides all the crap baggage that comes with that trip, the question is why? ya wanna look like daffy duck on speed? whos goona do the boinkin kick flip, the 720, and those other nonsense tricks that kids like?

If you guys dont decide to go center stage, HAWAII, and make your presence felt, just craw back into the woodwork and wait for the orkin man. lay down some tracks, meanningful tracks - in real surf, for the world to see. nobody cares about some backyard contest between buddies.

[surfhorn]

808- many of us don't live for contests....and never have for over 40 years; today's contests are just a social gathering of friends. And KBers have proven themselves in substantial surf around the world, including Hawaii...if that's important to anyone.

KBing was the first vehicle that brought performance surfing to the world when the only standup option was a 10'2", 45 lb. plowmaster.

I still KB because I love the physics of the style and the rush of riding deep barrels and being tucked so tight to the face of the wave. But I can also standup surf well (I worked in the industry before it was an industry).
Longboarding is fun in certain conditions but so is riding my 7'2" pin in really big surf.

Whats being talked about here is a passion that each KBer holds near and dear to themselves. I don't care what other people think of my surfing......never did, never will. The rush of KBing and, more importantly, just being in the ocean environment, has been my motivating factor. I really don't care what other people ride.

[808]

my sentiments exactly, contests are judged by some fatass on the beach.. who cares what they think.

But you guys, you had the groovey-est trip going, and now look at ya. I have to say groovy - because thats the last time you guys were around.
The Aussies have pretty much carried the kneeo scene in Hawaii, i know Bud's been on it for 30 years, but the rest of you? Untill something better comes along, Hawaii was, is and will be the proving grounds. You can find out more about your board and yourself with one wave on a 8 -12' day at sunset than a month of waves at another break.

no one wants to step up and surf sunset with Bud? Its not worth it? I can splash and giggle in my bathtub, Hawaii's about laying it on the line. Its a personnal challenge, but the world does get to watch.

You guys have let kneeboarding, possibly one of the coolest forms of surfing, drop off the radar screen.

[Beeline2.0]

..

[808]

go big... tow in skim knee boarding... You're Back Now!!

i'm not trying to be abusive, but seriously think about it... who's ever had a cooler trip than kneeboarders?



Better yet, how many standup surfers even know a kneeboarder?






FellOffTheFaceOfTheEarthTheyDid.

[fooj]

Not that it matters, but are you one? 808, in Hawaii?