When is an activity considered “dead”?
I’ve read/heard kneeboarding is dying- same thing about bodysurfing, paipo riding, surfmats, too. Bodyboarding has surpassed them all in number of users, worldwide marketing, equipment technology, level of performance, etc.
thats so cryptic …
not dead
just sleeping
Heh heh…we ain’t dead, more like gone back underground. Or just so elitist that we don’t care what worldwide marketing aims for.
"Early in life I had to choose between honest arrogance and hypocritical humility. I chose the former and have seen no reason to change. "
"If a man does not keep pace with his companions,
perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer."
"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself,
than be crowded on a velvet cushion."
from the chapter “Economy” in Walden
Henry David Thoreau
doc…
When is an activity considered “dead”?
I’ve read/heard kneeboarding is dying- …
I kneeboard quite a bit. If anything, it seems to be growing on the east coast of the US. Small, hollow, clean waves are perfect for getting tube time. I’ve had my kneeboard out in 15’ surf and it rocks. Plus, having swim fins on is an extra safety measure in big surf. Now that I’m completely out-of-shape, I can still take off as deep and steep as anyone and get into the critical part of the wave anytime. Plus kneeboards are fun to shape and glass 
Not a lot of real estate to have to deal with.
Pardon my ignorance but, do kneeboards have leashes?
Just saw some old Geenough footage in this movie called “State of S”
Amazign to think how far ahead of the curve he was.
Drew
When is an activity considered “dead”?
I’ve read/heard kneeboarding is dying- same thing about bodysurfing, paipo riding, surfmats, too. Bodyboarding has surpassed them all in number of users, worldwide marketing, equipment technology, level of performance, etc.
Nothing is truly, ultimately dead until it is no longer remembered. That said, in the totally dumbed-down market-fed media-manipulated western culture, defining what is no longer remembered becomes the issue. “Old guys” remember when kneeboarding was a regular feature in surf media. “Old guys” are no longer remembered in modern media advertorial meetings…so therefore kneeboarding is no longer remembered? See how that gets funky?
Bodyboarding was once a media-legitimized activity on par with surfing, snowboarding and wakeboarding. For mostly political reasons with direct links to media/advertising/standup surfer preconceived perceptions that has ceased…died in that regard. Part of that certainly has to do with the general ease of learning how to standup surf now…not so much a leap of technology as some kind of mix of the leash, safe boards, surf schools, and money to buy the accessories which make it much more comfortable. In the arrogance of some standup cliques bodyboarding was once seen as a conduit to crowded lineups. Since surf schools advertise you don’t hear much squawking about that sea change.
Bodyboarding itself is not dead as an activity. On the best days of their lives at the best waves in the world neither Kelly Slater nor Andy Irons can complete the cutting edge bodyboarding manuevers on their standup equipment…yet…but you won’t read that on paper outside of bodyboarding media.
I used to rail about bodyboaridng magazines opening up to inclue the other sports Parker mentioned as they have the same basic equipment needs and might actually provide more value to advertisers, but it never happened. Frankly “the bodyboard” has never really been defined. Now bodyboarding has joined the other activities as being portrayed as a very marginal part of waveriding, considered a bastard son or mutant gibbering offspring, but most certainly not “surfing”.
The guy goes out…and I’m watching…and he goes for a wave …and I’m watching…and I wanna yell HEY BUDDY, TOO LATE…and he GOES LIKE HELL! He gets to the end of the wave where any good longboarder is gonna just head straight for a while and wait for the mush so he can do his poses for the beach crowd, what they called a ‘cutback’, then…WOW! He RIPPED that turn! He’s headed BACK? INTO IT? And now he’s gonna make ANOTHER GODDAMNED TURN! Just RIPPING IT UP!!!
I carried the GODDAMNED HEAVY TANK to the top, later. Much later. Never wasted my time with another one. Scored me a paipo, later a kneeboard. Nat had hit the scene, Greenough. It all changed. It came alive.
The Stone Age was dead.
Doc’s words, culled by Rod Rodgers from the vastness of cyberspace…today he says this…
Heh heh…we ain’t dead, more like gone back underground. Or just so elitist that we don’t care what worldwide marketing aims for.
Death in the conventional sports media sense may well be called by another name: Freedom.
I like that it’s dead. What’s wierd to me is kneeriding has faded ALOT and the fish is thriving like never before.
good point , liguid ! and , that’s an UNREAL photo mate !!!
[even Larry Bertlemann didn’t get THAT low on his backhand bottom turns !! ]…
… the beauty of kneeboarding . [Plus , it can all be forehand or backhand …]
follow up shot … [wouldn’t post on last one , for some reason ?]
Thanks, I don’t think you will ever see a standup drive off the bottom as hard as that on such a short fish.That’s a Rich Pavel fish by the way from the early eighties.
which begs the question …
do fish have to be nursed through bottom turns when stood up on [two and four fins varieties ] ?
compared to jammed on edge when kneeboarding ?
…just someting you don’t hear mentioned a lot about “standup fishes” , that’s all …
cheers !
ben
You can also KNOW it will not fail you … Blast Kneeboards hawaii–pic’s and quad fish in both pic’s *
GREAT shots !!
two of the blokes I surf with regularly are kneeboarders [or “cripples”, as they are affectionately known in Australia!].
On the biggest days , they are often the only two out …taking off “too deep” , pulling in , and usually getting spat out , too !
ben
when the ol’ sciatica prevents me jumping to my feet , I sometimes kneeboard on my fish … [those are the days when “cripple” nearly fits!]
funny, one of the things I love about riding my 5’7" stubbie is the option to cripple on it, it rides great as a kneeboard and its good on small lefts where standing isn’t so fun.
theres a fair few kneelos on the superbank who just make absolutly incredable, un-makable sections.
its a fun thing everyone should try!
“the option to cripple on it…”
Which reminds me - of something our fwoggy fwench modewator mate said once …
Enthusiast
Jul 16, 2005, 8:53 AM
Post #23 of 27 (230 views)
[=1][ 3]Re: [chipfish61] " four …!! "[/] [In reply to] [/]Quote | Reply
"…this one shot is proof enough of how hardcore Ben is: Ben was recently attacked by a 20’ white shark while surfing his home break in Perth and the shark ripped out both his legs… Many would have quit surfing after such a tragedy. But not Ben! Says he: “I still have my arms to paddle out, mate… And I used to have two legs, but now I have four fins instead…”
he jests he jokes he drives mini mokes
Pardon my ignorance but, do kneeboards have leashes?
As the average kneelo these days is something like 50 years old, it’s a Real Good Idea. Swim fins or no, chasing your board is still not exactly fun…
Hope nobody minds me jamming a few replies into one post…
Drew wrote
Just saw some old Greenough footage in this movie called “State of S”
Amazing to think how far ahead of the curve he was.
And that was 30+ years ago. Consider where state of the art in kneeriding is now. It’s interesting to note that kneelos are very disproportionately represented here and in tech in general. Check out some of the more innovative folks here and see what their equipment choice is.
Nels writes;
considered a bastard son or mutant gibbering offspring, but most certainly not “surfing”.
and then
Death in the conventional sports media sense may well be called by another name: Freedom.
Back in the day, as it were, I caught a lot of aggravation from conventional types, especially those of limited abilities on overgrown boards. All they could do was point, run up front and do Stupid Human Tricks such as quasimodos and the like. Posing, waving their arms and generally looking silly. Might win contests, but then again I take considerable pride in never having surfed in a contest in my life.
While I was doing free-fall drops, going faster, doing things with turns they could never dream of, let alone do, and much more. Right, I want to give that up to pose on the nose? I don’t think so…
The different medium is not only closer to the wave, it has other advantages. Lower CG, better side-side wright transfer ( and thus harder turning ), better accelleration and more.
This being a more enlightened group than the vast unwashed majority-with-surfboards, let me extend an invite to try our little and little known mode. You’ll be surprised, if you push it some, what ya can do with a kneeboard.
doc…‘mutant gibbering offspring’…glad The Old Man never thought of that one…
the first 360s I ever saw , as well as legitimate barrel rolls were done by kneeboarders . Novakov at north narrabeen , Peter Crawford [R.I.P.] at D.Y. point , and Mark McEvoy [a mate of my brother’s] at little Av .
Needless to say , as a 14yo grom , I was dumbfounded / stoked !!
ben
This being a more enlightened group than the vast unwashed majority-with-surfboards, let me extend an invite to try our little and little known mode. You’ll be surprised, if you push it some, what ya can do with a kneeboard.
Surprised…an interesting term and so applicable. Should we stir the pot a bit? Bear with me…
About 6 years ago, as standup surfing was exploding, I began to evaluate things and look more at alternatives. The one thing in surfing I hadn’t ever tried was a kneeboard. Somehow va the internet I got in touch with Rob DiStephano, who was making kneeboards and bodyboards out of New Jersey on the East Coast of the U.S. In my 40’s, nearly geriatric in modern cultural terms and nearly dead in surf industry terms, I thought maybe the soft foam bodyboard tech mught be a good way to try it out. Rob was kind enough to finish off and sell a project board to me.
It turned out that one of my knees was apparently fairly shot - really hurt to kneel on it even on a soft top kneeboard with a wetsuit. I got a few memorable rides anyway. Later one summer I got the best kneeride of my life on a small wave that was breaking so fast I didn’t get to my feet on a 7’10" conventional hybrid board. In an e-mail Rob casually mentioned that any board is a kneeboard if you ride it on your knees…very typical of a certain sort of person with a wide open mind. Rob was making first class kneeboards and bodyboards in New Jersey, for God’s sake…as good as anything I ever saw from the long established bodyboard companies on the West Coast.
Surprising…I had this great kneeboard and a crappy knee…what to do? I started using it as a bodyboard without the twin fins, and …with the fins, making it a bellyboard? Paipo? My definitions of all these aspects of surfing got blown apart. What exactly is a bodyboard? A bellyboard? A Paipo? And are they not all “surfing”? I had a 54" racy bodyboard that really flew on waves, but bodyboards don’t have fins unless you’re a kook, right? All verbal/mental barriers were washed away. Nobody was more surprised than me. I didn’t have another experience like that until later when I barely started to unlock the surfmat and again when (courtesy of Swaylock’s and Proneman) I first read about and saw photos of El Paipo Grande.
There is something about the kneeboard community traditionally and alternative surfcraft people in general that is just plain warmer than anything you get in regular standup surfing. Things are still wild and exciting and fun in this territory, not judged, divided, branded, herded, bought and sold the way “surfing” is. I walked past a current or recent issue of Surfer yesterday and saw a cover photo of a kid on a wave…I don’t know the kid or know of him but the look on his face was sullen and joyless…emblamatic of where that world is at. His sponsors probably bought him a new car for the cover shot publicity but you know what? I have a 24 year old car with a whole trunkful of fun just waiting for a future yet unwritten…