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Real
Beach Boys Were Men
The
best instructors teach more than wave riding.
Knowledge
is essential in the quest of success for surfing and
life.
No
amount of white-hot desire or heartfelt inspiration
can take the place of applied comprehension and know-how.
The quickest and most efficient way to improve or learn
to surf - with a qualified and experienced surfing teacher
- proves this. Original surf instructors such as Duke
Kahanamoku, George Freeth, Turkey Love, the Makalena
brothers and Blue Makua taught students a lot more than
how to stand on a surfboard and ride a wave. Early beach
boys talked about life's lessons and taught the value
of spreading aloha. Great teachers care, have extreme
patience with others, extensive knowledge of their subject
and a deep understanding of how to disseminate information.
A good teacher can make a world of difference.
Early beach boys taught from the heart because they
cared. Many original beach boys did not have much money
or a place to call home. They earned a humble livelihood
from surfing instruction and giving outrigger canoe
rides. While others may have been seeking fortune or
fame at the time, it was a different source of wealth
these men were after. Surfing was more aloha than money.
Beach boys were rewarded with the priceless feeling
of having touched and influenced other lives for the
better.
Guaranteed, the gift of surfing and the aloha spirit
was infinitely more valuable than the meager economic
compensation beach boys received in return. But money
was not their motivating factor. No amount of economic
compensation could have equaled the value of love and
respect the beach boys received from students along
with the satisfaction of helping others succeed in more
ways than one.
Early beach boys were very patient, going more by what's
called Hawaiian time. A kind and patient teacher can
help make learning thoroughly more pleasant and enjoyable
while substantially increasing effectiveness of the
lesson. Patience is essential in surfing as well as
teaching. Surfers learn to be patient when waiting for
the right wave, when catching the wave and when standing
up on the wave.
If a teacher is patient with a student, then that student
will become patient, taking the time to do things correctly
with confidence. If a teacher is short on patience,
students quickly become nervous and in haste make mistakes
starting with not being patient.
When someone expertly and gently teaches from the heart
what he or she knows in the head, knowledge transference
will happen. By being patient, taking time to teach
and to learn, positive, long-lasting results will be
achieved much quicker. Whoever was lucky enough to take
a surfing lesson with a skilled, patient teacher walked
away a better and improved person.
Knowledge is the nutrition the mind needs to grow. Everyone
can stand on a surfboard and ride a wave, provided they
know what they are doing. Anyone can succeed at anything,
provided they know what they are doing.
Early beach boys knew the ocean like no others. They
were powerful swimmers, skilled free divers, master
surfers and overall great watermen. Kahanamoku and other
beach boys introduced surfing to tens of thousands,
helping them safely into the lineup and into the waves.
They also introduced a lifestyle to the world and shared
the meaning of aloha. For the early beach boys, surfing
was about accepting, loving and embracing all people,
no matter the color skin or shape of eye.
It's said the early teachers of surfing were fondly
referred to as the ambassadors of aloha. Perhaps their
knowledge will have a positive influence on future generations.
The original surfing instructors had deep understanding
of their subject - surfing - as well as life and the
students they taught. They taught the physical mechanics
of surfing as well as the mental aspects of surfing,
allowing the student to fully understand ahead of time
what to do.
One of mankind's finest examples of mind and body coordination
is found in the act of surfing as taught by the beach
boys. Perhaps early surfing instructors were some of
the world's best teachers.
As the classroom for surf instruction is the ocean,
beach boys had to have more than a little understanding
of currents, waves and environmental conditions. Some
could attend school for the rest of their lives and
still not achieve the depth of understanding about life,
physics, nature, people and more that the early beach
boys had. In the future the "simple" job of
surfing instruction might require an education equivalent
of a Ph.D. to properly teach.
Real teachers make a difference in people's lives. In
a way, everyone is a student as well as a teacher at
one time or another and usually simultaneously. The
student teaches the teacher how to teach better and
helps the sincere teacher understand his or her subject
better.
The teacher who teaches for real compensation - the
joy of helping others succeed - will be caring, patient,
knowledgeable and understanding.
Teachers, like the early beach boys, were successful
because they cared. They help change and impact other
lives positively, regardless of the subject at hand.
Specific lessons are sometimes less important than the
lessons learned by the way one is taught.
A great teacher is of much greater value than the knowledge
that teacher possesses, which is invaluable. We remain
thankful to the early surfing teachers who unselfishly
passed on their sacred knowledge, pure spirit and wise
understanding of surfing and life.
The vision is clear, with real knowledge comes real
understanding and real success.
Aloha. Sea you in the surf.
The Willis Bros. are surfing experts recognized for
surfing the worlds largest waves and teaching thousands
in Hawaii and California to surf.
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