First lesson did not go well. Struggling and disheartened. Bigger person

[mrbig]

Inflatable not the best to learn on.

I am small and had to go to a 10'6" x 32" x 180 to figure it out.

Rent a Battlestar Galactica. You cannot go too wide or too big to start!

Have fun in your quest. It will come to you once you have a board that works for you!

[Wetstuff]

Horse...  I re-read a bit so I did not duplicate, but I would print a water-proof copy of Nalu's instructions.  My balance is actually degrading rather than improving, so I keep looking for things I can do easily to challenge it during a regular day.  Taking forward steps where your heel plunks into your toe is no easy thing for me.   I got cocky a number of years ago after seeing acrobats on Venice Beach doing Slack Line - I got up to 5-10sec.  ...and kept snapping my crotch.

I re-discovered Slack Line in the form of a 16' 4x4 from Home Depot. I propped it up on another 4x4 and about busted my ass a few times as it rolled.  I made a cradle to prevent the roll and jump it every time I am near it at work.  I got 3-4 steps ...4-6... 'on a good day', I can walk it. 

Some are simply 'naturals' — those of us who are not have to work at it.  Press on... show them little F'ers.

Jim

[eastbound]

go big early!

like biggie says: go big, dont buy other than cheap used, or rent

and just start paddling--if you feel solid on the starter barge, push your limits til you fall in--see how far you can push

get barge-solid, and only then shd you consider a serious purchase of board and paddle---come here for best advice then

inflatable? simply...NO

[horsey44]

Hi everyone, I'm back!

I'll try and reply to everyone's replies. Be forewarned, this will probably be super long.

Thought I'd give a brief update on the situation.

I went out on Monday with my experienced friend. She hired a board from her friend who instructs and has his own business, selling equipment.
We had a 9'6 Jobe windsurfing board which I believe was 35" or 36" wide and I felt so much happier.
We went out to a little bay/small beach. I mostly stayed in water that was only *just* too deep for me to put my feet down but I fell off a few times and didn't panic so much and all in all, had a nice time. I managed to stand up and paddle for maybe 5 minutes at a time, before losing my nerve and kneeling again.

I had my second lesson on Wednesday night, back on one of the centre's boards. I took their most stable one which was 11'6 (I think!) by 32" (that's the widest they have) and I totally panicked again. We started off in the small pool again for about 10 minutes, before moving out onto the river.
I stood up for all of about 1 minute and my legs were shaking like jelly!
I've come to the conclusion that it's being in a large group and also the fear of falling off in very deep water. 😳 Think I clearly have some social anxiety going on!

Totally typical of my logic: terrified in an enclosed, safe class environment but completely fine in shallower water in the sea(!), with a friend. 😆 I make no sense.

I've booked a private one to one session before the third week of class. I'm hoping once I get over the fear of standing up and staying up, I won't be so worried about it in a large group lesson come week 3.


Windwarrior: Thank you. I've taken on a lot of advice from yourself and others. I admit I did 97% of the last session on my knees!

Dusk Patrol: I'm definitely planning on this being the way forward for a while. I'd like to rent the wide board again - I just hope I can get over the issue in big groups. All the follow-up/social club paddles (after the end of the 4 week course) will be on a Wed evening in a group, with a trained instructor at the front and back. Realistically that's the only way I'm going to get out safely, longterm.

Ststesting:
 I was repeating your mantra of reteaching my brain when I went out on the sea - it helped me try to stop over correcting.

Bulky: Thanks for the encouragement. Impressed at your goddaughter. Wow!
Well done for pushing through, having had people laugh at you (that's awful - shame on them!). Bet if you could see the same people now, you'd have the last laugh.

Thank you, Bean. I had a brief smile through the panic, last lesson. 😆

JEG: That's my plan for the one to one. I'm going to put on my brave pants and just try to concentrate on getting up and down repeatedly, while it's just me and the instructor so hopefully I won't freak about falling so much.

Wetstuff: I'm about 15 stone😳 UK dress size 16.
Thank you, you are completely right. I've realised it's totally a mental thing with me and getting over the worry.

Quickbeam:
Thank you, it did make sense and I've remembered as a technique to try as my confidence hopefully gets better.

PonoBill: Thank you for sharing both your own story and the lady's.  It's really helped and given me some inspiration.

Dwight: Tried the biggest one they had last week 11'2 x 32" - still felt unstable but felt a lot more comfortable on the 35" (maybe 36") one my friend rented Monday. Sadly that's not available for use during the lessons. The biggest one they have is the 11'2, I was on.

805Standup: Thank you. I think I ultimately have to get used to a 32" wide board if I want to continue paddling through the organised groups/from the white water centre. I'm hoping I can stick with it! We will see.

Ichabod: As mentioned above, sadly I'm stuck at 32" if I want to continue doing it safely, setting off from the centre. I'm hoping to get out more with my friend, on a casual "playing around/practicing" basis, in which case we can rent the 35" again. Totally agree with you though, my confidence was miles higher on the wider board.
I should also mention, I'm limited to inflatable only, from
a local resource POV. No one has hardboards to use or hire.

[horsey44]

Nalu-sup: Thank you for the kind words and advice. I did use the paddle vertically to stand up, this time round and it worked for me.

Supthecreek: You look amazing! Please can you be my 'thinspiration'?!
One of the reasons I'm wanting to keep going is to get fit and lose weight. You look absolutely awesome!
Your 35yo student sounds like me! I'm trying to use the lessons as something to push myself out if my comfort zone and a reason to eat healthy!

Lucabrasi: Yes, on the 10'6 x 32", I got very wet. Spent more time drinking water than I had hoped. Haha!
I'm limited to what the centre has, unfortunately. There only seems to be the small community of paddleboarders and instructors that work around or from the centre, in my area.

Area 10: Thank you for the kind words. I would tell the adult riding a bike that they were doing well and to keep going and I respected them for trying. Perhaps I do need to take my own advice after all, oops!

Admin: I checked my position on solid ground and yes, I did sort of 'roll' forward subconsciously when shifting weight into my right foot.
I'm hopefully going to practice your method of the paddle straight across in front of me, during my one to one on Tues. Fingers crossed!

JimK: Thank you. I'm hoping to rent the 35" inflatable again, as said above but that's the best I have access to.

Ospreysup: Thank you for the advice and the video recommendations. I'm definitely going to watch them when I get a chance.

SanoSlatch: Thanks. I loved the way you described balancing. It did make me laugh. I'm feeling happier that the replies are pretty much telling me it's all practice. It's making me feel like it may be doable, after all.
Glad to hear your friend is kicking cancer in the butt!

SlatchJim: I'm 15 stone. Maybe one day I can buy myself a decent board i feel comfortable on, if I stick at it. It's frustrating that the size choice to rent round here is limited.
Best wishes to your brother in his recovery.

I have to pop out but I'll reply to everyone else once I'm home.
Thanks again to everyone for the encouragement.
 

[PonoBill]

Very cool of you to respond to everyone. People are generally kind and polite here, but we sometimes forget to acknowledge the help we get from others--I know that I do.

The used board market is often full of large, wide beginner boards, because that's the first thing people buy and outgrow. You might be able to pick something up locally for about the cost of a few rentals. The big advantage of committing to your own board is that it IS a commitment, and you'll get used to the board quickly.