Do you realize that if you don't surf for awhile but stay in shape physically enough to be able to handle the physical demands of surfing you can surf after a long lay off?

 If you've learned how to surf and are good at it you'll have developed the muscle memory to surf, and after a lay off will have the ability in memory to continue your pursuit with little trouble. You may have some timing issues and foot placement adjustments to work out, but it will come back pretty fast.  The big problem with surfing after a long lay off is losing out physically.

 Surfing is very physically demanding and it's the physical part that is lost when you don't surf for a long time. If you're not up to it physically it will be much more difficult.

 Muscle or motor memory is amazing... like, once you've learned how to ride a bicycle you can always ride a bicycle. If you've done something enough it sticks, you do it with out thinking about it. If you can surf and have paddled into a wave you get to your feet without a thought.

 It's also the same with making surfboards. For the most part I don't think about what I'm doing when working on surfboards.  I just do it.  For the longest time I didn't shape any Greenough type hulls. Then when I was asked about making them again I simply ordered a blank the way I needed it to be for a hull, pulled out an old outline and went at it.  When I was done I looked at the finished blank and thought... wow! where did that come from?

 The motor memory archive. 

 The one thing that sucks about motor memory and working with out thinking about what you're doing is sometimes  you screw up in the process.... you stop and look and say " dang, what did I do that for"?  You may not be thinking but you've got to be paying attention.

 D.R.