BIG WAVE SURFING
Unless you’ve tried it, floating face down on an empty lung, holding your breath for minutes at time, will be daunting, if not impossible. At least that’s what your mind might tell you.
If you have achieved an ideal state where you’re almost devoid of thought, devoid of panic and ‘at one’ with your physical being, then you will know what a blissed out, cosmic experience it can be. With repetition and familiarity, you might even fantasize the need to ever breathe again, as if you’re floating in utero.
It’s quite the opposite to the “fight” state just about every single one of us surfers can relate to; when after a long or unexpected hold down, you’re deep underwater, desperate for air, draining all your remaining resources as you wing your arms frantically towards the light in a frenzied attempt to reach the surface.
But it’s at this emotional nexus where a surfer’s battle against the sea is typically won, or lost. An unpleasant experience might deter a first-timer from ever paddling out again. A near-death experience for one of the best in the world will typically inspire him or her to train harder and extend their personal limits.
And while Nam will tell you that success in any genre is ultimately about
