No Limits

Arriving in Cape Town is over whelming, the first thing you notice is the warmth and friendly attitude to you the surfer.  This country has been through so much in the past 30 years and it has always been my dream to set foot on its soil to surf the glorious waves that caress its shores daily. South Africa is blessed with some of the best and most consistent surf the world has to offer. Couple this with the mild climate and you have a surfing paradise. During the South African winter the coastline is supplied with almost endless groundswell and offshore winds due to the constant flow of cold front activity in the southern Atlantic.  So as a surfer arriving from a rainy Oregon to find warmth and amazing surf is a dream come true.

The tour I was on, involved sessions at numerous South African premier surf spots which include Jeffrey’s Bay, Seal Point, Victoria Bay, Bruce’s Beauties and as well as many other spots that “crank” in winter. Dylan collected me after arrival and we were all packed up to head off along the coast.  South African surfers are always so stoked it is amazing and Dylan was no acceptation to that rule and assured me that he had a thorough knowledge of surfing in the area and that he was our tour guide.  Furthermore he practically guaranteed me that I will get to the respective spots when they are at their best, he just fell short in advising me he had arranged the swell as well.

I may be starting to sound redundant always talking about trampoline but that’s because the trampoline is the greatest tool a snowboarder could own! With the exception of slides and presses, which require some sort of obstacle to execute, any trick you ever attempt in snowboarding should first be mastered on the trampoline. Just jumping and spinning on a trampoline won’t help you in snowboarding though.

This next statement might confuse some of you, but learning a trick on a trampoline is way different from taking it to a snowboard. So how can a trampoline help you get better at snowboarding then? Here are some tricks and techniques to use on your trampoline that will benefit you when you take them to the snowboard slope.

Springs Only!

We all know that those springs can snap and come flying. What you didn’t know is I guess somebody sued and now they make these really lame trampolines with elastic wraps instead of metal springs. The result: an almost unusable trampoline. It doesn’t bounce right, it doesn’t bounce high, and it’s a huge waste of money and time.

So in using the tips on this article, I am talking about a metal spring trampoline. The originals. You can usually get them super cheap just by looking in your penny saver or the classifieds. Trampolines are big cumbersome objects that people like to get off of their lawns once the kids grow up (I never grew up though… sorry mom). I found mine for a whopping $40 and it’s lasted going on two years.

Starters

JUMP! The first thing to do with your trampoline is jump as high in the air as you can. A couple things to concentrate are how you are timing the jump and your body’s orientation in the air.

Sand. Sun. Surf. Think beach, and those are the first descriptions that pop up. Images of azure waters gently rolling to pristine shores, coconut and palm fronds waving in the sea breeze, the soft tinkling of wood-and-string instruments accompanied by the staccato of percussions… all in keeping with the picture-perfect summer holiday. So the general, typical beach-going public would agree.

But take it to a different world: one of waves swelling to as high as thirty feet overhead, of deeply tanned pecs, abs, biceps and legs running, jumping and swimming in shape and of human figures skating the surface of these gigantic waves on colorful boards in a race against crashing foam and surf. It’s the world of surfing.

Surfing traces its historic roots in the early Polynesian people of Hawaii. Memoirs written by Capt. James Cook on his visits to the Pacific are the earliest records of surfing anywhere in the world. Traditionally, the people of Hawaii lay flat on their bellies on wooden boards to skim the waves. Surfing is deeply-rooted in Hawaiian and Polynesian culture, playing a role in the construction of legends and myths. The imminent danger faced while surfing, the thought of conquering the waves, the thrill of being atop them and the discipline it takes to reach all of the above: these elements are responsible for the excitement and popularity that surfing has become.