Daily Speculations
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James Sogi
Philosopher, Juris Doctor, surfer,
trader, investor, musician, black belt, sailor,
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(address is not clickable)12/08/2005
Heart of a Champion, by
Jim Sogi
I compete for surf with the 20 and 30 year olds in the water everyday, and they don't cut me any slack, and neither do the waves. At 50+, I'm one of the few old guys still out there. My good friend Makalawena Bob surfs at 70. One of things that gave me the most inspiration was age bracket competition and I won the Island Grandmaster division, a local division. No big deal, but it felt just great! A lot of the swimmers do age bracket competition as do the triathletes. The old guys train hard, but still have a chance because the other guys the same age have the same limitations. The young guys give a little respect, not much, but some. They know they will be old one day too.
It's big wave season now, and your life depends on being in top shape. You can't go out in the 15-20 foot waves with big currents without wind, strength, flexibility, stamina and knowledge. In the bigger waves, age isn't such a handicap as it's not so much about speed, it's more about knowledge, strength, courage. It takes as much guts to drop into a big 20 footer as it does to enter and hold a big position at what seems the trickiest point. Fear is inversely proportionate to one's current level of strength, wind, flexibility, stamina and knowledge. Its good to be in top shape physically as it helps with trading. Both sports and trading can push one to the limits of courage and stamina, so they complement each other in many ways.
Jim Sogi, May 2005
(address is not clickable)