It doesn’t matter what watersport of choice (or sport in general) you practise you’re likely to fall, fail, bail and wipeout (call it what you will). In fact, if you’re not falling then chances are you’re not improving.
Don’t get us wrong everyone likes a dry ride where you stick the move/manoeuvre of choice. That proves all that bailing has actually done some good, you’ve learnt from those mistakes and plateaus have been left for dust. But it never stops. The fun, if you want to look at it like that, is in trying new stuff. Maybe it’s a different board; maybe an alternative location; perhaps the conditions you’re doing with battle with aren’t your usual or it could be a new trick being worked on. In all instances the ‘new’ angle will put you out of your comfort zone which will most likely result in dunkings – multiple in some cases.
It’s easy to become disheartened following a session that’s been particularly wet – we can attest to this ourselves. Yet upon reflection, once you’ve taken stock, assessed what did go well (as some small part will no doubt have done) then you can move on. Next time round putting into practise those subtle changes to hopefully fall less are building blocks to improvement. We’re not saying you won’t bail further – you most likely will. At some point, however, you won’t… Then it’s time to move to the next stage of your watersports development. It never stops. But that’s the fun.
How you get up, wipe your mouth and move forwards doesn’t just apply to your surfing, windsurfing, stand up paddle boarding or whatever…It can be a metaphor for life. The strongest fall but learn from these failings then adapt and progress.
If you are falling though NCW can at least provide you with some decent rubberised protection that makes getting wet all the more comfortable (shameless plug we know!). So hats off for trying new things; keep on keeping on as the saying goes…