It's not too late! The improvement method I used to join the ranks of slalom sailors within a few years after starting windsurfing at age 47

It was about 20 years ago, around the time I started to feel my body was declining. I will talk about the secrets of improvement I practiced when I started windsurfing at that time, which allowed me to improve my skills to a surprising degree in no time, and join the ranks of proper slalom sailors in less than a few years.

<The Trigger>

There was a time in the early 1970s, when I was in college, when windsurfing became popular. I heard my friends were doing it, so I went to check it out, and I borrowed a friend's equipment to ride it once at the beach in Suma. I remember having a bitter experience back then because no matter how much I struggled, I couldn't move forward or backward at all.

When I was in junior high school, I went to Akakura Onsen for a school ski camp, and that was when I learned the basics of skiing from my physical education teacher. I remember the teacher, who skied dashingly, looked like Superman to me. Since then, I had been going skiing every winter without fail, but driving from my home in Kobe all the way to Shinshu became too far and tedious, and eventually, I gradually started going less often even to the nearby ski resorts in the northern part of Hyogo Prefecture.

<Taking a Step Forward>

Since I was originally an outdoor sports enthusiast, I thought, 'If I don't do anything, my body will continue to decline, and that would be very painful; I have to do something.' Encouraged by my wife, who saw me like that, I decided to try windsurfing.

That was the summer I turned 47.

The first place I went to was Hamanomiya in Kainan City, Wakayama Prefecture, where I had been for beach swimming. There was a windsurfing shop there called 'Point Moore,' which no longer exists, and I joined their school.

<Basics are Important>

The young owner, who said he had been in Australia, taught me for a full day, including lunch.

First, at a table inside the shop, he drew pictures of a board and a sail on paper and explained in great detail why it moves forward just with the wind, and in which direction it moves depending on which direction the wind is coming from. I remember recalling how I couldn't move forward at all in my student days and thinking to myself, 'So that's how it works!'

After the land-based training, such as explanations of the equipment, was over and we finally went out to the sea, he taught me how to read the wind. I learned later through study that there are many ways to read the wind, such as looking at how the smoke from nearby chimneys drifts, looking at how wind socks or flags at construction sites drift, looking at the orientation of tankers anchored offshore, looking at how floating lighthouses sway, or looking at the color of the sea surface and how ripples or whitecaps form. What he emphasized at the time was to feel with my own skin which direction the wind was coming from and how strong it was. In the end, this was the most important thing.

<The Memorable First Voyage>

Then, we placed the board and sail on the sandy beach to practice standing on the board, pulling up the sail, and checking the wind direction. Only after that could we finally enter the sea. When it was time to stand on the board and pull the sail up from the water, I couldn't even stand on the board properly, and because I couldn't stand, I couldn't pull the sail up either. Looking back now, I wonder why I kept flipping over with such a huge board and such a small, child-like sail, but at first, just crawling onto the board was a struggle. Even when I finally managed to stand up, I couldn't pull the sail up. When I thought I had it up, I would pull too hard and fall into the water on the other side, over and over again. By evening, I was finally able to stand on the board, hold the sail, and move forward 'whoosh.' Looking back now, it was only about 2 or 3 meters, but I was able to move quietly as if gliding.

This was truly moving. I was shouting 'I did it!' in my heart. The owner had kindly taken a photo of me at that moment. (I need to find where that commemorative photo went!)

<The thought I had held onto ever since that time>

That sensation was truly similar to the feeling of skiing, and for someone like me who had enjoyed skiing for many years, it was very surprising and exciting. Looking back now, I believe this thrill is what drew me into the world of windsurfing. Conversely, I would say that holding onto this excitement is one of the secrets to improvement.

As I wrote in my previous article, it is very important to cherish your "thoughts," and I think it can be said that you should "never forget that passion!"

<The start is here>

After that, I went through a shop member period at Nishiki-no-hama in Kaizuka, and then returned to Hamanomiya to become a member of a windsurfing shop called KAZE. At that time, I was blessed with a great shop manager and fun members, and I think I was very happy to be able to continue comfortably.

If you are thinking about starting marine sports like windsurfing or SUP, please take a look. I highly recommend it. I will include the website URL at the end.

<Concentration when you are dedicated>

Having become captivated by windsurfing in this way, I began to buy up guidebooks and magazines, haunt libraries, search the internet almost every day, and watch videos over and over again, wondering, "How can I get better?"

Since what I could and couldn't do became clear depending on my technical level at the time, I greedily sought knowledge, asking myself what I wanted to do next, what I wanted to try, what I wanted to be able to do, and how I could achieve those things. Then, before going out to the sea next, I would create an image of how I could do it, and I would repeat that in my head wherever I was every day. This is what you call image training.

However, just because I could do it in my house or in my head doesn't mean I could actually do it on the sea. As I repeatedly challenged myself during the limited time I had on the water, I became able to do it just a little bit. Sometimes, there were tricks or new discoveries that were a bit different from what I had imagined in my head beforehand, so it escalated to the point where I felt that if I did more, I could get better, and that there were more new discoveries to be made. That is why I remember coming out early in the morning on windy days and riding until sunset.

My mind is completely focused on windsurfing. It means to heighten your concentration and push yourself forward!

I think this level of concentration is also very important for work and study. I will write about this in another article.

<Chasing the wind>

By the time I was able to perform the next level of technique, which is planing—speeding across the sea surface—I started looking for spots with strong winds and going to different beaches. By that time, I was aware that I had improved, and I became greedy to get even better.

Before I started, I was a bit depressed, thinking my life was on a downward slope, but I was filled with the joy of "I've started to grow!" and felt as if I had been revived. This is a pleasure I could not have felt when I was younger.

Once that happened, renting equipment was no longer enough, and I started buying my own gear for strong winds, medium winds, and light winds, and my garage became overflowing with windsurfing gear. The daughter of the neighbor who loved the sea used to come and look at it with great interest.

<My apologies>

However, because I would head out every holiday for years like that, leaving my family behind, I ended up making them feel very lonely. Even when I went to the beach with my family, I would go so far offshore that I couldn't be seen from the shore, leaving them waiting on the beach for a long time. Even now, I am still blamed for how lonely they were back then.

Everyone, let's make sure not to forget about our families.

<Summary>

To summarize what has been covered so far,

1. Don't forget your initial passion

1. Once you start, focus on it completely

1. Don't forget about your family

is what it comes down to.

It's not about your physical strength declining or lacking talent; as long as you have "passion" and "focus," there is nothing you cannot do. "It's not too late!" is the secret to my improvement.

Thank you for reading until the end. This time, I talked about the mindset when tackling things, and I hope there was something that could serve as a hint for you. I would be very happy if you could give me a like or follow. I will continue to post articles that will be useful to you, so thank you for your support.

Now, what shall we challenge next?

Everyone, please keep taking on new challenges.

<Afterword>

For my past blogs, the URL for KAZE, and explanations of specific windsurfing techniques, I have included the following for your reference.

This is my past blog.

Senior Windsurfer Diary (seesaa.net)

This is the KAZE homepage that I have been indebted to.

KAZE (eonet.ne.jp)

This is the homepage I used to check and refer to every day.

Zushi WSF Racing Index (zushiracing.com)

This is the Japan Windsurfing Association homepage.

JWA Japan Windsurfing Association Website » Windsurfing Techniques and Improvement Methods (jw-a.org)