Prone is for the Grown

I enjoy body boarding. There is something about being pushed by a force which is far stronger than one you can generate yourself to reach speeds which allow you to flip, spin, carve, and ride which brings a certain level of satisfaction for me. It’s also a gamble and fresh experience every time because every wave is different, even if you’re at the same break, at the same take off point. There is a certain amount of chance and exhilaration because you won’t know if you’re get it clean, if it’ll close out early, if the lip will curl, until you are on it and feel it.

But as I’ve expanded my repertoire of breaks, I’ve grown increasingly bothered by wave hogging surfers whom undoubtedly look down on spongers. I have experienced too many drop ins by surfers, and have grown tired of surfers who cut in line after I had already let them catch a wave before me; which is why I’d like to spend the next few paragraphs selling a case for respecting and appreciating the legitimacy and pros of body boarding. Just as a precaution, I will be ranting, so please either push aside judgmental and opinionated mindsets, or cease reading at this point.

1. Cost

Body boarding is cheaper than surfing. A new short board runs at least $400 from T&C, and a new long board about $700. Mean while, body boards are in the $100 price range, much more affordable. One might argue that spongers also have to buy fins, which is true, so you’d have to add about $70 or so to the total price, but surfers also have to buy fins for their boards, which can easily be the same price. Any way you cut it, body boarding costs less, while still providing an opportunity to riding most of the waves desired by surfers, plus the shore breaks.

1. Convenience

I keep my body board and fins in the trunk of my 4 door sedan, that way if I get off work early, or plan on hanging out after, I can easily do so. Just pack and go. There is nothing more convenient. If I were surfing, I would have to place the boards on a surf rack and hope they won’t get stolen as I take care of the other tasks I have throughout the day. Otherwise, I would have to drive all the way home, pick up the surf boards, go surf, then go back home, before I could do anything else, lest by surf boards be stolen.

1. Portability

Along the same lines, a body board can fit anywhere, in the back seat, the trunk, or even on the bus. Surf boards either go on the bed of a truck, take up 2 rows and the trunk of a van, or on surf racks. And vans and trucks offer poor gas mileage, and are difficult to park. The cost of owning a truck or van becomes greater than cars each day as gas prices increases. Meanwhile, you can just throw your body board in the back of your Civic and go. The portability of the body board is rivaled only by the trays used by body surfers.

1. Ease of Entry

Body boarding is also easier to pick up. It’s easy to begin riding, and it doesn’t take long before spongers learn to turn, drop knee, and pull off more difficult maneuvers. And since it was so easy to pick up, even if the advanced techniques are a struggle to grasp, you can still have fun in the water as you learn. Mean while, most aspiring surfers take at least a session or two to just learn how to stand. I argue that the same reason why some sports are more popular globally such as soccer and basketball over baseball and golf is because of simplicity to understand and play. In the same regard, the ease of body boarding should be an advantage over surfing.

1. The Spirit

People don’t want to do what everyone else is doing. They don’t like to hit crowded breaks, buy the same clothes, or generally do and buy what everyone else does. Surfers, especially, pride themselves on individuality, as each board is hand crafted and separate from the rest. So what’s more original, being one of two or three body boarders at Bowls, or one of 40 surfers? Yes, kids with body boards swamp Walls, but that’s only because they are unwelcome, or unable to reach other breaks. If uniqueness is what you seek, I’d suggest body boarding among surfers.

1. Fun

A common misconception is that there is less to do on a body board than on a surf board. Surfers can carve, pull floaters, shuffle their feet, rip the lip, and perhaps a few other moves. A body boarder easily matches those maneuvers with 360s, carves of their own, and off the lip flips. Plus, body boarders can drop knee, opening a whole new bag of tricks including 360s and ripping the lip. I’d argue that it’s just a much fun as surfing, and depending on the individual, maybe even more.

As I prepare to conclude my tirade, allow me to state that I love surfing. If I were in a different situation, I would surf as much as I body board, maybe more. I’m not arguing that body boarding is better, because that would be doing the whole apples and oranges thing. But I am stating that surfers should stop believing they are superior to body boarders and treat them with disrespect. This mostly pertains to young, twenty-something haole guys on their short boards, not so much to older local men on their long boards, those guys are always nice to me.

Share the waves, mahalo for reading. Shoots!

P.S. I’m always down with having sessions. I get off usually around 1pm, so if you like go, it me up!