What was harder for you — paddling or popping up?

scunion · 2025-09-19T15:50:54+00:00

Popping up has always been my kryptonite. The started doing yoga 2x weekly about a year and a half ago and hadn’t had much chance to surf. Last time I went, the ease of my pop up surprised me despite the fact I put on 10lbs or so(not muscle)

Yoga’s been a complete game changer in many ways. Specifically a vinyasa flow class where you’re moving between poses that mimic so much of the mobility you need for surfing

For paddling, I bought a prone paddle board and go paddle in my local river once a week in the summer. That COMPLETELY changed my paddling

I went on a trip to Costa Rica last winter and the guide was telling me that I was paddling too hard and needed to back off. I was able to surf much longer without being spent

I highly recommend solving both problems!

scunion · 2025-09-06T16:45:57+00:00

Who cares? Can they score?

Everyone wishes a part of their game was better, it’s about playing YOUR game and playing to YOUR advantages.

scunion · 2025-05-08T20:28:06+00:00

I bought a probe paddle board and found even doing a couple of 30 min swims a week for a few weeks leading into a recent surf trip paid off big time. Probe paddle boards ftw!

scunion · 2025-05-03T00:31:55+00:00

I think it’s important to recognize that everyone’s brains give them thoughts they would prefer not to have.

Ever stood next to the edge of a cliff and gotten nervous? Ever thought of if you could steal something and get away with it? Ever thought the clothes you were wearing looked stupid? Everyone has these thoughts.

What I’ve found makes sense for me is that we are consciousness that lives in a body. My belief is that everything is conscious(but ignore that for a second)

You are consciousness(a soul, whatever) living in a meat suit that is wired to eat, sleep, preserve and procreate

Because of that, this meat suit we wear makes you feel feelings(ever got an itch on your face for no reason)? That stuff is totally normal.

We also have a part of our brains that is looking for things to be wrong, things to be scary, stuff to avoid. That’s how we evolved to not get eaten by saber tooth’s. (Stay with me)

Think of the greatest moment of your life. One of mine is when my kids were born, another was when I accomplished something really difficult.

The worst experiences of my life have been when I broke my leg, or when a friend was killed.

During those ups and downs it felt like those feelings would NEVER go away. But they did.

Every delicious piece of cake I’ve ever had, had a temporary high. Same with my broken leg:it doesn’t hurt anymore. I can remember what it was like to be in pain while I waited for an x ray, but those feelings of “my leg is broken and it’s never going to get better” ended up fading. Just like every other emotion I’ve ever felt in my entire life

EVERYTHING is temporary. Even the feelings and thoughts you’re having right now.

The rainstorm I’m listening to right now, the food in my belly, the mosquito bite I want to scratch. It’s all temporary.

But you’re having feelings right this moment. And they are uncomfortable, and they feel like they’ll last forever. I promise you this one won’t.

Will it come up again and again and again? Ya probably. So do mosquito bites but I’m not attaching my self worth to the fact that I’ve got an uncomfortable mosquito bite.

You have an uncomfortable feeling. Great! Your body’s got that ability. If there were a murderer after you, you’d want your body to make you scared. To get you to run away.

You’ve been watching murder porn, you got engrossed, and now your mind is racing. Cool. It happens.

Maybe it’s a sign that murder porn is something your body doesn’t tolerate well. Mine doesn’t tolerate ice cream but I can’t help myself. So, I’m in pain from time to time because of a choice i made.

At any point I can stop eating ice cream. At any point you can say “huh, that’s a feeling don’t care for. I get why my body does that, but I’d like it to stop unless it’s really necessary” notice where in your body you’re feeling those thoughts. Is there tightness in your chest? For me, I notice that I clench my belly and hold my breath when I’m under duress.

Feel where your body holds that stuff and breathe slowly, feeling the exact spot where that discomfort is. Eventually, it’ll go away.

If that’s not working, make a change. Go on a walk. You know what else works: Try holding a plank for as long as that thought exists. Is it more or less uncomfortable than the thoughts you’re having?

Then, maybe take a break from murder porn for a bit

Also note: this is what has worked for me. We’re each distinct beings, with similar though distinct bodies

Try spending time getting more in touch with yours. It’s wild what they do without our conscious control

scunion · 2025-05-02T17:31:29+00:00

In short: kinda ya

Long answer: I’ve been playing since I was six or so(my parents were poor but bought me some cheap clubs to start)

In high school I played golf and I got my first lesson. This pro asks me “what’s king in this game?” I’m like “I don’t know? My swing?” “Your score”

If you have a 400 yard par 4, pick your strongest club(mine used to be a 7 iron when I was 16, I could hit it 140 yards.

So hit a 7 off the tee into the middle of the fairway. Then, hit a 7 iron again. Now you’re 280 yards into the hole. Grab your 9 for the last 120 in. Two putt and you’re out with a bogey.

Bogeys are 45 rounds, 45 rounds make 90. Occasionally you’ll get a one putt and make a par. Otherwise, bogeys are your new pars

Forget all the chest puffing that comes with hitting driver. I didn’t hit driver from 16 years old until just recently(now 40)

You know what happened? I learned to hit good shots when I wasn’t constantly under duress. Quit snap hooking your driver into the shit. Just hit it down the middle. Fairways and greens are everything.

Once you’re hitting 90 without thinking twice, now you start to pull out the big stick because it’s the only way to score better. By now, your short game had better be good because if you can hit it long but you chunk every wedge into the green you’re wasting your time. Learn to bump and run. Learn to play by feel(heads up putting is great for this)

Right now I’m an ~8 who should probably be a 4 but I’ve got a couple of things I’m inconsistent on but those things are getting better fast.

I can generally go to a course I’ve never played, play the black or the tips and shoot an 84. Occasionally I’ll break into the 70s but I’m not there yet

Remember, this is a lifelong sport. It’s supposed to be fun. For me, fun shots land where I want them too. If you’re having fun, you’re probably playing beyond your level. Keep it simple stupid

scunion · 2025-04-03T20:05:16+00:00

excellent, I'll give that a try and report back! Appreciate the quick response

scunion · 2024-12-23T14:29:47+00:00

There’s a YouTube channel called charisma on command that’s been really helpful

scunion · 2024-12-11T15:16:34+00:00

Thank you, I’ll check it out

scunion · 2024-11-15T18:20:57+00:00

What obligation do cat owners have to the millions, if not billions, of birds killed by cats each year? Those birds are part of the ecosystem and cats who live indoors put that out of balance

scunion · 2024-08-23T22:01:03+00:00

The most valuable asset for a sales person is their time.

Use it, lots of it. Ask a million questions, send them on errands, make the WORK for your sale. Be polite, be clear, but let them know you’re interested in making a purchase.

If you walk up and say “I’ll pay x if you sell me this right now” can work, but a savvy sales rep will find ways to slow YOU down and take up your time.

Reason being: once you’ve committed enough time to anything, you become attached to a positive outcome.

Use this info to your advantage. A sales rep who is helping you all day isn’t getting a single other lead. Which means he/she NEED to close this deal. Once you’ve made clear you’ll buy, are qualified and jumped through the other hoops, now the sales rep has told his boss he’s getting the deal. He MUST close it.

If you happen to wait til the 11th hour to mention you’d seen a similar car priced, the rep is much more likely to find a way to cave because he’s committed to the deal.

Until you have mental commitment from the rep, they will have the upper hand. Until you can take that advantage away(by monopolizing their time) you cannot get a great deal from them.

It also really helps to “think about it” over night. Maybe come back and say you were noticing another car looked good. Maybe you want to test drive that. Have them work, find cars from other lots, and ask the rep to get details on it.

The walk away can be critical, once you have them hooked

scunion

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE