How Hard Does This Thing Have to be?*

Unfamiliar break. Overhead waves. On a mat!

I suppose if you're going to learn from some of the best, you have to see them on waves that allowed them to show their stuff. And that they did.

What did I show? Well, let's see . . . I showed how to get the mat snatched from your grasp while getting worked. I then showed how to lose your fin in the shorepound. I think I will spend days giving lessons in the fine art of getting sand out of dreadlocks.

My goal, though, was to see mats being ridden by people who know what they're doing. "Watch and learn" was what I went to do. All I can say is that I got schooled . . . in the best way.

Riding a mat well is difficult. Good mat riders make it look easy. I, on the other hand, make it look like what it is. Nevertheless, I remain undaunted in my efforts to become comfortable on the mat. I'm going back out on the mat on Tuesday and plan to make riding the mat a consistent part of my water routine.

This picture is indicative of why I ride a mat:

Jason and Prana sharing the stoke!

* That's what he said!