After being stranded at LAX airport for two days, I found myself at Moniz Family Surf on New Year’s Eve in a delirious state of mind yearning to get into the water to cleanse away the chaos. All private and group lessons were booked out for the holiday weekend, but Isaiah was able to accommodate me on New Year’s Day.
If you haven’t celebrated New Year’s Eve in Hawaii, you are missing out! The entire island was lit from 8:00 pm – 2:00 am. It was my first time experiencing being pelted by embers from being so close to the fireworks, and lose partial hearing from the loud continuous booms- buy boy it was a sight to see!
I kicked off 2023 catching the first wave of the year at Queens. I had a check list of items I wanted to learn, but I couldn’t remember anything due to my state of exhaustion.
What makes Isaiah such a great teacher is that he really watches how you interact with the water, and makes slight adjustments to finetune your skill set. He teaches you about the technique, the reasoning behind the technique, how to read the ocean, and how to have fun and love the experience of surfing.
Isaiah’s gift is his eye of observation. He noticed that I was able to navigate a wave that had more power behind it, and saw that I really struggled with soft, mushy waves, and he was absolutely correct. I am used to an unforgiving ocean, so when it was gentle, I didn’t really understand what was happening or how to react to it. He showed me the different types of energy behind different types of waves and shared tips on paddling techniques such as when to paddle with speed and when to paddle with power to match the energy of the wave. Isaiah was able to verbalize concepts I didn’t understand or was aware of. Matching the energy of the wave was a super helpful concept because at my home break I always feel like I am working against the ocean rather than with the ocean.
He told me about his experiences in pipeline and the training involved to take a hit in order to stand your ground to position yourself in the wave. The hour and a half lesson flew by, and my heart was so full with the knowledge he shared with me.
Moniz Family Surf has a such a homey feeling, and after two days of strenuous travel- the kindness and aloha spirit felt so comforting. It definitely keeps you wanting to come back for more. Look no further for surf schools- Moniz Family Surf is the real deal. – via 
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