Quote blog

“Kook means ‘beginner surfer.’ It is not a neutral term; it carries a slug of derision, a brand for the clueless, for those without hope, without grace, without rhythm.” _______________ PG. 1 ____________ The board sport world is known for its language. Instead of sounding like chatter around the cafeteria, any event in this industry has this one tone of voice that everybody shares, and it is chalk full of new vocabulary. Terms such as gnarly, spitted, stoked, shacked, pitted, groms, bunk, sesh and shredded are often used all in the same sentence. In my opinion, this is a very notable quality of the action sport industry as a whole. Going back to the word “kook,” everybody is a kook at one point. Similar to other sports, in surfing, kooks are often ragged on, called out and sometimes are punished if they disrespect another surfer of higher ability. In all honesty, it is very comparable to hazing. The faster the kook phase passes, the better. This is all based on natural ability for the sport, as well as a conscience for general respect. With the term kook comes the term kook move, which are actions often carried out by kooks. Examples of kook moves are dropping in on a wave that someone else is already “shredding,” getting in someone’s way on your paddle back out to the lineup (where people wait to catch the waves), and claiming every wave that rolls into the lineup. As a novice surfer develops into a real surfer, he or she goes through goes through their kook moments, and they stay in your mind to remind you what is right and wrong throughout your entire surfing career. 

Photo: Ed O'Donnel 

Like all other surfers, I have gone through some pretty humorous kook moments. Moments that I would now call myself out on, openly laugh at or pick fun at the action with the guy straddled on his board the left of me. One time out at Jenness beach, I was getting a little bored with the lameish waves rolling in to the crowded beach, and a little agitated by all of the surfers around me. I knew of this spot from a buddy on the north point of the beach called Straws. Straws is a reef break, meaning that the break is formed from a steep change in seafloor elevation. So I got out there after a long 15 minute or so paddle through deep water. Instead of a beach break most reef breaks, including Straws, have only one spot you can drop into the wave, and these kinds of drop-ins are brutally tough for a beginner surfer mainly because it requires precision that only experience can get you. It was my turn in the respected lineup, I paddled into it and got spun tail over nose as the lip of the wave brought me from its 6 foot peak to the two and a half foot deep water below, head first. I was laughed at, actually called a kook and I went back to the beach break. Anyways, everybody goes through this phase, but the reward of such a technical skill such as surfing makes it much worth it.

Photo: James Kelley Photography

Analytical

The motive behind all progression is passion. It’s no coincidence these two words sound alike; people that have a passion for a specific sport sacrifice spending time on things that score results on paper for time spent doing what they love. When people follow their passion, they noticeably get better in their field and truly push the boundaries of the activity, while at the same time pushing their own personal boundaries. One of the questions I developed as part of my quarter plan was, “What fuels the drive to push the limits of his or her sport?” This question can easily be answered by passion. And with recent changes in the board culture industry, people can now be supported both physically and financially to follow their passion. Yes, this may seem like a dream come true and these athletes have it too easy, but at this point in the standings of action sports the athletes have to risk their lives, no questions asked, in order to make a name for themselves. The few athletes that find true success through actions sports aren’t just dedicated adrenaline junkies either. These men and women are artists, and have trained themselves to carry out a skill at such an intensely high level. In “California Surf Project” the passion for surfing is completely evident. Both men possess jobs and are part of the community. Regardless of whatever was going on with their lives at home, they decided to abandon it for 65 days to travel down the California coast in search of new waves. This is noticeably passion driven due to the fact that surfing was more important to them than moving their life forward. They weren’t junkies, their life was on track, but for some reason they decided they needed to test themselves. As their journey went on down the coast, they ran into situations that would turn most around. These include getting almost attacked by a rag-tag skate clan, extreme/extremely expensive car malfunctions, and an inspiring stack of parking tickets. Playing it by ear, making day-by-day decisions the two surfers carried out their dream and found themselves a great deal of personal success. They discovered new surf spots that are now publically known and are used to practice on by hundreds of surfers every day. In conclusion, the “California Surf Project” was a successful passion driven adventure that helped advance the sport of surfing.

Analytical Post 9/19/14

The change in ways which professional action sport athletes go about their lives on a daily basis, aside from average skill level, is one of the ways that the change in a sport can easily be recognized by. Now after reading "Lords of Dogtown", I have been able to get a strong grasp on how this works, and, what causes the change in the athletes' lifestyles. "Lords of Dogtown" is a book written purely about the roots of skateboarding. This is done basically by following the lives of the Z-Boys (original skateboard team riding for Zephyr Skateboards) as they gain fame by pursuing their passion. This novel is a prime example of power corrupts. From these so called corruptions, it is extremely easy to tell how the sport of skateboarding itself changed throughout the 6 year span that it took the crew to make a name for themselves. Known as the "most aggressive skate crew on the planet", as skateboarding magazine titled the Z-Boys, the group ended up splitting in to separate paths. Tony Alva, widely recognized as the most talented skateboarder of the bunch, ends up signing with G&S Skateboards and leaves his crew behind. With a new signature skateboard out named after him, financial support and his name on headlines of newspapers, Tony begins to lose his roots with his original crew, and tension increases between everyone as a result. While some supported his decision others like Jay Adams, another former member of the Z-Boys, let their stubborn attitude and one-tracked mind take over and develop a close to hatred relationship between those who left the original crew and those who stayed.

"With lack of a clear, true meaning of the sport, surfing served as a source for adventure over the coarse of the trip" This quote, found in the "Humboldt" section, is reasonably self explanatory and does not really have any hidden meanings. Although it is one without much literary intelligence, it still retains a stiff meaning that any surfer can relate to. Yes, of coarse, people surf for the fun; but to get the most fun out of the sport in its entirety, one must use his/her surfboard as a symbol for exploration. This could mean many things; finding new breaks along secluded parts of the coast line, or base an entire trip around it, similar to the way that the two men in California Surf Project did. The author here is trying to capture what being a die-hard surfer in California is truly like. With rural coastline stretching for miles at a time, surfing can be used much more as a tool for adventure than it can in say, New England where no matter where you are on the coastline there is some sort of structure obstructing the coasts naturality. Regardless of being in New England, I can personally and truly say that I do use my surfboard as a source of adventure. Here in northern New England, the only undeveloped spots along the coastline that haven't really been discovered by surfers are hidden in state reservations. By passing the legal boundaries, however, I have found at leased 3 spots along the coast of the Plum Island Reservation that break and barrel far better than the spot where everybody goes easily. I always seemed to be fearless to cross these boundaries. I feel that as long as you're respectful to the protected environment which you are entering, leave no trace and don't "accidentally step on a piping plover" you have the right to cross those boundaries. And, that is where you will find the strongest connection to nature.

Quarter One Plan

Topics in Literature Quarter Plan Board culture, the atmosphere and lifestyle of all of the board sports, has become a large part of my life throughout my high school years. To stay interested during this quarter, I have chosen to study this topic because simply, it's a part of me. With the passion I have toward these sports, I am hoping to accumulate more knowledge of the culture and lifestyle that follows the sports around. This includes legends, competitions, stories and those few moments where someone pushed the limits to turn their sport into what we know it today. The books that I have chosen have been carefully selected, ensuring that they are informational about the culture of whatever sport they involve. Three Essential Questions What fuels the drive to push the limits of his or her sport? How has the recent change in media affected the progression of the sports? What is to expect in the near future for these sports? California Surf Project: 176 Pages Dogtown, Legend of the Z-Boys: 256 Pages Surf Craft: 176 Pages

"They were so ruthlessly aggressive, they were more like a street gang than a skate crew"
Pg 67


The realism of this statement is completely evident in the context of this book. As the novel follows the Z Boys lifestyle, there are countless events driven by violence generated from the crew themselves. One, for example happens when the Z Boys lose to the more publicly known skate crew sponsored by G&S, a company that will in the future steal Tony Alva from the Z Boys due to a stellar competition result in San Francisco. The Z Boys themselves come from a small skate shop in northen california, mastering the surf/skate lifestyle. Coming from such a small background, the Z Boys were known for beinging what some may call "un-professional" behavior to large professional events. This reputation was never forgotten, this was because of the constant instances in which the team would get disqualified from a tournament, get into fights with other skate gains, or lose the rights to utilize local skateparks.
The ways of these riders at of such a different nature than people around New England, or at this point anyone in the industry.  The surf/skate world at a much more mellow state now then it ever has been. There's nothing even close to what  it used to be, instead of aggressive skate groups there are individuals that are more focused on pushing the sport than stealing the fame. Also, with new funding the lifestyle does not need to be fought for, it can be more or less bought. Large companies such as Red Bull pretty much pay for athletes to live the life. Skatings not how it used to be, whether the change is for the good or bad  it will never be the same as at rag tag roots.

First Post

My name is John-Luc, I'm a senior in high school and i am attending an english class titled "Topics in Literature." In this course, we choose a topic to read for the quarter, formulate 3 questiones that we keep in mind throughout the entire reading and then create a blog discussing what we have read. As a reader, I have a wide variety of strengths and weaknesses. Lacking a strong interest for the activity, I often find it difficult for myself to get passionate about what I am reading at the time. Along with this issue my attention span toward the book Iim reading is very short. There are so many times that I have found interest in a book and then not be able to finish it due to a short attention span.