LaRonda gets a surfing lesson in ASL from Master surfer and fellow vlogger, Jon Savage! If nothing else, this video clip is worth a laugh! Watching me get my big old butt up on a surfboard is quite comical! (Brave me for showing it!) Kind of nice though to have this handsome young surfer-dude teach me the ways of the water! (Wink!) 
Worth every minute! Jon is a very experienced and wise surfer. His teaching was excellent, even if I didn’t make it all the way up on my feet. My son and husband did. Jon made us all feel wonderful for our efforts. He cheered us on all the way! Such a cool guy! While we were stretching, we compared vlogging and surfing addictions. Ha! See for yourself! (Transcripts below.)
Transcript:
LaRonda: Good morning! I’m here with my family in San Diego at a place called Moonlight Beach. I’m with my husband and son waiting for Jon Savage to come. He’s driving now from his home to give us a surfing lesson. I’m excited and terrified at the same time!
Actually, surfers tend to get up at 6:00 in the morning (Yes! 6am!) – Oy-vey! It’s already near 8am. I convinced Jon to “please postpone our surf time a little bit,” and he agreed. “Sure!” But I’m not sure if that was a good decision or not because the waves behind me are now getting bigger and bigger! (Oh my!)
Anyway, I will see you soon. I will look different then, very wet and soggy! But no matter…. Bye for now…..(ILY wave)
My son, Paul: ILY (I love you) sand hand.
My husband, Brent: The water’s fine.
Paul: It’s not cold.
LaRonda: Hello! Pah! Meet Jon Savage! He’s here to teach me how to get my big butt up on a surf board! Whoo! (Points to Jon’s shirt that says: VLOGGER.)
Jon: Welcome to surfing!
LaRonda: Yeah!
Jon: It’s interesting about surfing… you know a lot of people see surfers and think, “Whoa! That’s so cool to surf!” But surfing is really more deep. The more you analyze it, you come to realize there is a lot of thought involved.
For example: There are three things to understand before you begin to surf. The better you understand these three concepts, the more confidence you will have as you surf.
LaRonda: Ok.
Jon: First, know yourself. Feel your energy, your readiness and your drive.
LaRonda: I’m ready!
Jon: Second, try to handle your board.
LaRonda; Ok.
Jon: Understand the waves and how you feel in connection to them.
LaRonda: Oh, I see. Eeek! There are some big waves out there! Makes me nervous! (laughing)
Jon: So to review, you have the Self — your body, then you have Things you operate (your board), and then you have Nature.
LaRonda: Ok.
Jon: That combination can be applied to anything, you know? Anything out there in life! So these three things are the simple basics. So, first, are you ready?
LaRonda: Am I ready? (biting lips) I think so!
Jon: Watch how I stretch, then we can go from there.
LaRonda: I don’t want anything to fall out!
Jon: (laughing) Ha-Ha! Keep it hidden!
LaRonda: Yes! Yes! Keeping it hidden! (chuckling)
Jon: I will show you how to stretch your back as much as possible.
LaRonda: Yes! yes.
Jon: Feel the muscles pull.
LaRonda: (laughing)
Jon: (laughing) Oh, I see.
LaRonda: Hooked?
Jon: (Nods yes.) I have an addiction problem.
LaRonda: What do you mean?
Jon: It means you’ll want more surfing.
LaRonda: Ah, I see. You think?
Jon: That’s what happened to me. I’ve been surfing now for 12 years.
LaRonda: Does that mean the vlogging is the same as surfing? When you finish the learning curve, then you become hooked! Finish! That’s it!
LaRonda: Ah, yes. Yes. I feel that pull back there on my shoulder blade.
LaRonda: (laughing) I feel like I’m in P.E.
Jon: Be glad. You don’t want to have cramps in the water!
LaRonda: True. True. I’ll let him teach me. He’s the boss!
LaRonda: Jon’s 34. I’m 43. Duh-oh!
Jon: You ready?
LaRonda: (enthusiastically) I’m ready!
Jon: When you get up on the surf board, don’t get up on your knees and then to your feet. Get straight up from your stomach to your feet. Jump straight to your feet.
Jon: Keep your shoulder up. Why? Because you can paddle better. If your neck is down, your arms will be in the water causing you to drag more as the waves pull you to the side. Also, pay attention to your neck. Don’t let it hang down, bring it up. When you do this, you will feel the muscles in your back tighten up, as well as the muscles in your shoulders. You will notice you feel different muscles than you would use to go swimming.
As you paddle, keep your elbows up and your fingers pointed down. Keep your neck up and shoulders back. Why keep them up? Your neck can move around freely. It’s nice, compared to the limited movement of having your neck low down. It’s too hard that way. You can’t see the waves coming. So keep your shoulders up and you can look around clearly.
When you start to paddle and you see the swell begin to push you, then increase your paddle strength to push you along. Then, when you feel the surfboard begin to rise and then you see the board itself move forward, and you know it’s time to get up, then place your hands on the board near your chest, but don’t grip it from underneath. Place them flat on the board and then push yourself up onto your feet with bended knees.
Keep yourself flexible while in the water so you can gain balance.
Jon: That’s fine. Now… that’s good enough. Now, try to get up on your feet as fast as possible.
LaRonda: (laughing) I thought I did!
LaRonda: (laughing) Oh mercy! I’m done for! Finish!
LaRonda: Ok. How do I carry this thing?
Jon: Ok. When you go into the water, never hold the board horizontally across your body. The wave will knock it to the side of you or it could smack you in the head! Go straight. Run the board through the wave. When you feel the wave roll over, push the board through the wave. Push it through! Push! Push!
LaRonda: You know what would help me? Let me see you do it one time before I do it myself. Let me see you do it!
Jon: Sure! You want me to show you how I surf?
LaRonda: Yes! Yes!
Jon: Ok. Watch me…
Jon: Understand now?
Jon: The water temperature is really nice!
Jon: Did you feel it move?
LaRonda and Jon: (Hands waving – Yeah!)
LaRonda: I can get up on my knees, but I can’t get my butt up on the board!
Jon: (laughing) …not now, but when you become skilled, you’ll remember. Here comes the water…
LaRonda: (sticking tongue out! Blahhhhh….) I can’t stand up. (Paulie laughing at Mama…) Paulie shush!
LaRonda: Sigh…. that’s it. I’m done! Whew!
Jon: Ok. Ok.
Jon to Paulie: You ready?
LaRonda: (Cheering Paulie) Yeah! Yeah! (Clapping) You beat your old Mama!
Jon: (Cheering Brent) Yeah! Yeah! Thumbs up! Yeah!
My name is LaRonda Zupp.
I am Deaf. Welcome to
"The Ear of My Heart."
Alot of fun!! Thanks for sharing with us
gwlj
Left by Grant W Laird Jr on August 19th, 2007
Cool. Surfin’ Zupp w/ Jon. Looks like a fun day at the beach for all!
Left by MikeS on August 20th, 2007
Looks like fun!
I want to learn how to surf one day.
Left by Mish on August 20th, 2007
you brave soul
Left by human on August 20th, 2007
Awesome… I am impressed with you LaRonda…. Wow. You rock!
Next time my boyfriend and I will be in San Diego, I will contact Jon and teach us how to surf.
Jon should set up his own surfer business whenever Deaf or Hearing-ASL tourists come in town and experience being a surfer for a day with Jon’s guidance.
Aidan
Left by Aidan Mack on August 20th, 2007
Definitely will have to try surfing myself! Seems easy to me but can’t say for sure until I try!
Left by Brian on August 20th, 2007
WWOOWW (hereeeeeeee I go again!!!)
Looks like alot of fun….I admit…I’m alittle afraid of the ocean…and I admire you and your family and Jon going out there!!!
Glad you had such a great time, I can see that you really enjoyed yourself
Left by B.A.D. on August 20th, 2007
Was that a pair of red lifeguard shorts Jon was wearing? He saved the day, eh?
Left by todos la vie on August 20th, 2007
I was smiling WHOLE time! I’m impressive with the transcript on this blog! Also, awesome to see two different vlogs in one place and same time!
Left by Jon on August 20th, 2007
Wow! Sounds like fun. I’m sure I would have Jon give me a lesson when we go to SD someday. I’m a snowboarder. Surfing lesson would be lot different and interesting to learn. My oldest son had taken a surfing lesson at the SD beach with his soccer team during the tournament weekend in 2000.
Left by Lisa C on August 20th, 2007
cool! you gonna try it again?
Left by Ella on August 20th, 2007
Yeah, that sounds like a lot of fun to do! Jon is fortunate that he has the skills/talent to teach deaf surfers! I also notice that he is a great communicator too.
By the way, I wonder why some surfers have specific outfit for surfing – like what Jon had on his top and a couple of surfers who were walking by. I am just curious as to what the reason for this specific outfit. Does it help a surfer slide on his surf more easily or helps protect against the rough waves or what?
LaRonda, thanks for sharing!
Left by michele on August 20th, 2007
Michelle,
I wear that short and it’s called boardshort. It made of Nylon and water won’t stay on fabric. If you wear cotton then it will very soak as sponge in a fabric.
Now, what I wear on top. It’s called jacket wetsuit with small zipper on back and lower. I tends to wear it in very early morning during summertime. When I get wet then sit on board as keep myself warm against from chill air while wait for catch next wave . Also, protective on chest or tummy away from rash. If jacket is too hot to wear then could wear rash guard tee those shirt made of spandex and nylon or polyester.
Some surfers wear spring wetsuit that short sleeves and shorts in one piece. Also, I do have full wetsuit that good for wintertime. Diving Scuba and surfer’s wetsuits are complete different designed because surfer’s wetsuit have specific location on wetsuit where must be flexible as comfortable to paddling or get up on a surfboard.
Left by Jon on August 20th, 2007
Hi Everyone. Thanks for your comments.
Human,
Indeed I was a brave soul to get my big old self out there looking like a drowned rat! Oy! But I was having fun and it was amazing to see how much Jon taught. I had to share it!
Aidan,
I agree. Jon should charge a fee. He is hoping to get his CPR license so he can teach more deaf families and individuals how to surf. He may be out in Santa Cruz next summer to teach some kids how to surf! If so, we’ll be there for sure!
Brian,
Surfing is much harder than it looks, especially if you’re older with a different distribution of muscle and weight. I wished I tried it 20 years ago! I’m sure I would’ve gotten up on the board then. My son popped right up on it.
B.A.D.,
I was nervous of the waves, for sure. Those nerves had a lot to do with my awkwardness controlling the surfboard and my body. Just like Jon said in the video, if one part of that Body/Board/Beach triangle is off, it influences the others. I would do it again though if I were stronger. The waves can really toss you around. But I can see how it can be addicting!
Todos La Vie,
Jon’s shorts were not lifeguard short, but they were made of a special fabric. Regardless, I definitely felt safe with him.
Lisa C.,
If you’re a snowboarder, I bet you’d have no problem surfing!
Ella,
I don’t know if I can get my big old butt up on the surfboard, but I would certainly play around at it some more, now that I’ve learned a thing or two. We had body boards to play with over our vacation. Those were great for me! I’d like to know if I could actually ever make it up on a surfboard though. This video certainly motivated me to shed the flab! Blah! (Again, brave me!)
Michele,
Jon did wear a special wet suit top. Surfers wear them sometimes if the water is cold – but it wasn’t! It was actually warm – 70 degrees! – It just looked foggy in the morning, but the clouds burned off in an hour or two. The top he wore was also to protect his stomach from board rash and it was very lightweight. I liked that it made him look like he belonged to the “Incredibles” family! Very buff! Ha!
Jon,
I loved making the transcript of what you had to say while teaching. Most people who know ASL won’t look at the transcript, but they’re missing things if they don’t because the signs might be hard to read far away. The things we shared were informative and funny! Glad you paid attention. You were the star of the show! This was way cool to share! Hugs, hugs and more hugs!
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on August 20th, 2007
It looks like fun thing to do. I will end up looking like LaRonda. LOL. Thanks for sharing the fun moment.
Left by Awesome on August 20th, 2007
LaRonda,
Very interesting! I can see how you tried to balance to get up on surf! It is a bit hard. My two children had been learned how to surf back in Hawaii a couple years ago, they did make it. It worn them out by energy run out! But it was fun to learn how to do surf.
Thanks for showing this video.
Left by Jac on August 20th, 2007
Did your body become stiff the day after the surfing Lesson? I was very stiff all over my body the day after my snowboarding lesson with my youngest son. Some co-workers asked me why I couldn’t turn my head when i picked up the laptop from the shelf for repair. I felt like I was walking like a frankinstein.
Left by Lisa C on August 20th, 2007
Lisa,
Thanks to the stretching Jon and I did before entering the water, I felt pretty flexible when I got in. I wasn’t stiff at all. But those waves can really jostle you around. My balance felt a bit off afterwards, but no stiffness. In a way, I felt like mother nature had the upper hand and I knew from the beginning that she was in control. It is very tiresome, but I’m sure if I practiced and built up muscle strength, I would feel on top of the game!
~ LaRonda
Left by LaRonda on August 20th, 2007
Hey! Long time no see!!
Wow, that was really fantastic!!
I am incredibly jealous!
But, by the time I visit S.D., you’ll be an expert and I’ll be bugging you for some lessons when Jon is too busy with other customers!
Glad you and your family had a blast!!
Left by IamMine on August 21st, 2007
Thank you for a lesson how to swim on the surf board. I never know that you need to back up a little to see everything!
Sure, it was fun for you and your family! Lucky you!
Do it again!
Left by Judge on August 21st, 2007
Awesooome! I am bet you had a great time! Whoa – a huge wave over there. I’m over here in Northeast area (Massachusetts or Masshole) lol . A cheap wave lol lol ….. Diane
Left by Diane on August 22nd, 2007
Hey LaRonda,
Finally got a chance to watch this. Good for you taking a surfing lesson!
Like Diane, I live in Massachusetts. We don’t see many surfers over here on the East Coast.
In the many summer weekends I stayed at a cottage in Hampton Beach, NH, only ONCE did I see some early morning surfers while sipping coffee on the deck, and I sat and watched them the whole time. (I think we were getting better waves during that time because of a storm in the south.)
I’ve spent a lot of time during summers frolicking in the ocean, it’s my “happy place”. I’ve only done the boogie boarding thing where you have a short board and just ride the waves laying on the board. That’s no way near as hard as trying to get up on a surfboard! I’ve always wanted to learn to surf.
I’m glad you and your family shared this new adventure and had a great time! Thank you for sharing with us!
~Crystal
Left by Crystal on August 25th, 2007
I had a good laugh, watching your video of your trip to San Diego and learning how to surf, what a brave woman you are to learn…never too late to learn ANYthing!! I use boogie board to swim in the ocean (Atlantic) but haven’t ever tried surfing but wished I had learned…can’t turn back our clock to younger days, oh phooey! Thanks for entertaining us with your workout and learning to surf! Made my day! Smiles!
Left by DeafWoman on August 30th, 2007
Had a good laugh here – thanks! it looks like Jon (and you) are on the way to becoming ‘representatives’ for surfing and SD! *chuckles*.. Next thing you know, waves of (pun intended) deafies will be converging there, asking for Jon and later, the one and only LaRonda!
til next time..
Rob
Left by RFW on August 31st, 2007