is anything harder than windsurfing?

[watermonkey]

Seriously. Just to be competent (forget wave sailing or tricks) - sailing comfortably in choppy conditions and able to stay / get upwind...100 hrs TOW? I never counted. And that's not even jibing! Easily another 100 hours on top of that (and counting - still not there). That also doesn't include the hours reading tips in assorted places, watching videos, forums, talking to friends, email, etc. I'm not complaining, I just honestly can't think of anything else I've done that's harder.

[jpellegrino]

The sport of a thousand falls is a challenge. Incremental improvements keeps me motivated.

A clinic at Calema gave me greater confidence. I was self taught starting at 53 yrs before I took the clinic at 58 and cleaned up some inefficient habits.

Surviving catapults is always a rush, as well as falling backwards with sail on top of me while,hooked in. Getting past that, it seems to get easier, hooking in and rocking out.

[techno900]

Is windsurfing any different than many other sports when it comes to achieving an advanced or expert level of accomplishment?

Consider:
Golf
Rock Climbing
Mountain Bikes
Snow skiing
White Water Kayaking
Mountaineering
Motocross
And many more

Persistence (dedicated to push to the next level), repetition, commitment, and access (time on the water). The true experts of all sports (add any number of pro or Olympic sports) spend years and years of practice to reach the top. Windsurfing isn't much different, other than the "practice" element is really fun.

Your question was about the time to achieve what may be the novice to intermediate level of skill. It does seem that it takes a lot of time, but there are a ton of factors that can get in the way of fast progress. Some mentioned above, but some innate/born in talent is a factor that's hard to measure, but if you don't have much, it will take longer. Equipment, wind and water conditions can hasten or hinder progress too. Good instruction saves a ton of time, otherwise it's trial and error. I learned from a book in the early 80's, which means trial and error, but almost everyone in the sport at the time where I lived was in the same boat. If you had a short board, you were a stud!

Stick with it, the payoff is worth it.

[gvogelsang]

I think that golf is more difficult.

But I am not sure that golf is a sport.

I completely lost my golf game at one point, only to take years and dedication to bring it back to single handicap level. Windsurfing is also difficult for the average person to learn, but once learned, it is more like riding a bike.

[boardsurfr]

In most martial arts, it takes 5 years or longer to get a black belt. That comes out to at least 500 hours of practice. Some disciplines like judo, aikido, and BJJ can take considerably longer. After my black belt test in Kempo, we were told that we now had an understanding of the basics, and that the real learning started now. So 100 hours does not sound like that much anymore.

One big difference: In martial arts, you get instruction every time that you practice. In windsurfing, we usually try to figure out stuff on our own. For all but the most gifted, that raises the number of hours to learn anything a lot. With qualified instruction, the windsurfing learning curve can be a lot faster. I have seen ABK students learn the planing jibe within a couple of day, to a level where they had a 90% dry rate (at least on their better tack).

Another big difference: the number of "bad" days. Plenty of related expression in windsurfing - "Walk of Shame" and "Bozo Beach" come to mind, and that's just for not being able to make it back upwind. Often (but not always), we can blame unusual conditions or the wind. In martial arts, you don't have such external factors. But you do have instructors who usually are motivated to have you come back, and who keep negative experiences to a minimum.

One thing that windsurfing and martial arts have in common: you can keep learning and having fun for the rest of your life. I'll never forget the 78-year old ABK student who outsailed the other 20 students in camp. He said he had learned most of the stuff in the previous 10 years!

[watermonkey]

I'm persistent. Or insane. Probably a bit of both. I guess the thing is that incremental improvements seem few and far between just getting to a minimum skill level, nowhere near mastery.

[NOVAAN]

I think the topic should be (Is anything more rewarding than windsurfing)
If it were easy, most of us would be on to something else. The time involved to acquire the skills needed speaks to the determination of us. We are not quitter's. I first stepped on a board in 1981. No one around to help out. Gear that was, heavy, no wind range and rigged completely wrong. I sailed at a lake in SO Cal (Lake Perris) that never got much wind. Needless to say, I ate it all over the lake and had to be pulled in by a boat after a very long time in the water. Man did I have fun. The next week out I actually made it back to shore. I did need to walk a mile to my truck and drive back to my gear. My point is that anything that we pursue that is difficult is rewarding. Every time we make the next step, on matter how small we get reward with a sense of accomplishment. Think back to your first beach start, first time in the footstraps, first time you made it back to shore at the point you launched. What a great feeling. The thing about windsurfing is the list of first never runs out. Yes it all takes time. But the sport is always rewarding. Maybe this is for another topic but think about how windsurfing has influenced your life. The places you have gone, the people you have met and the way you live your life....Its an amazing and rewarding thing that we do....

[cgoudie1]

A few sports have a similar learning curve, snow skiing for example, but....
I noticed that when this sport was taking off, that it attracted the thrill seeking elite coordinated types. Maybe they were bored with the
other sports they had mastered, or maybe they have a different psychological make-up that makes happy head chemistry from mastering
complex motions. It is a sport that you can continue to learn your entire life
without getting bored (at least so far for me).

I also think this is why the sport has shrunk down to a niche, it takes
a certain type of dementia to really enjoy this, and not everyone is willing to
invest the time and energy in what is a truly rewarding sport.

200 hours is nothing, but I've heard it said that anyone can become an
expert at anything with 10,000 hours. I think that's probably true.

.02

-Craig

[kevinkan]

it's different for everybody, but for me it's surfing

[J64TWB]

Acting and remembering lines in a 2 hour one person play. Triple full, triple back flip....on skis. Nothing is more fun than windsurfing though.