UPDATE FROM BRAD

I hope you have been getting in the water more frequently and enjoying your time with the waves by prioritizing the essence of surfing as playful, expressive, and non-judgmental. Not such an easy thing to do, but worth a try because being in a playful state keeps us open and loose, which is the best feeling or state to be in for applying new techniques. The worst is trying too hard and using our will, and boy do I know that one. Lol.

Anyway, the team and I have been busy in the editing suite this past two weeks finalizing the advanced floaters for year 2. We are now onto the blow tails frontside and backside with some great footage of my students Parker Coffin and Noah Hill, amongst other top pros. My family and I have also hosted my long-time, top-level student Taro Watanabe. It was the first time we had worked together live since the pandemic's start, and I tell you, it was nice to surf with him to see how much he had grown and progressed. Fortunately, he timed it well because the waves were really fun. He was enjoyable to watch with good flow, a pleasing style, and more power with some seriously radical turns. Taro has a bright future.

The funny thing was that he was riding boards too thin for him. He had already outgrown his boards from a month ago and picked up some thicker ones while here. One of the intriguing things with surfboards is how they change as you improve and your weight changes. More volume equates to more speed and power, so you try to ride the thickest board you can without losing control. If a board is too thick, it will feel stiff, and you will notice yourself pushing more to get it to turn. If it's too thin, you go slow and feel like you have to overdo it to make it move forward. You want that magic speed and effortless feeling in turning it. This can be tricky and requires a conversation with a shaper or a specialist. It's essential to get this right for progress, and it's especially tough with a growing teenager.

In closing, I started working with Taro around his 11th birthday in 2013 when I split my time between Bali and Los Angeles.
When we moved to Australia at the beginning of 17, I had to learn how to use dropbox to review footage and use zoom to continue teaching Wave Ki to my students like Taro, that were abroad. It has worked well, and I am excited to be doing our first live interactive stream, where I will teach and help members like you by using the same tech. Perhaps there is something you want to know about Wave Ki or surfing. Or you would like me to look at how you are practicing Wave Ki so I can give you validation, refinement or an adjustment. I am excited about this as it will be an excellent opportunity to learn for all of us.
Try to get in a surf and see you this weekend

Brad