[shark]

Shit. I wasn't going to train today..

[comPiler]

TWO DAYS
11 January 2012, 2:47 pm



In the pics, the original sequence from another point of view, a point you can read about below.  

Two days, that's how long the new final sequence for my project lasted.

Yesterday I realized I cannot and I don't really want to use it, and for many reasons I want to stick to the old sequence, the original and the only one.

First of all, the original sequence is the original, and that's enough.

Second, I have climbed the original problem using the original sequence at least 20 times.

Third, I have climbed the project with the original sequence twice already, without managing to top it out.

More precisely, I cannot use the new sequence, because I rationally put myself into finding it, to cut off a low percentage move. Well, that's finding a shortcut; in reality not, because as I've said the new sequence added a move and was really more physical, but it was also, for me, a lot more steady (although I never got the chance to try how that last deep lock would feel, coming from the start); so, being more physical and more steady for me, it's also easier. And that's not fair.

Moreover, the first line to be climbed on that roof, was a problem I put up to start practicing the direct line: it featured its first hard moves, then abruptedly cut right to big holds and the top, in a sequence whose final move was the same of my new sequence of the project.

So, that is really dirty. If I go right at the top, why not going right lower? How could I justify, to a climber who attempts the problem in the future, that he or she cannot go right low, but only at the top? How could I explain that he or she cannot get the jug because it's out? How could I tell him or her that it's unfair to directly dyno to the good pinch skipping the nasty crimp?

You see, what a mess from a simple move.

Then, most importantly, what about myself? The new sequence, having already succeeded with the original one, is for sure a step back, both in terms of climbing ability and mental strength. If something feels easier, in a situation like this one, it equals cheating. It's not like using all the holds while others skip them, it's using holds that neither I, have never used. If I climb the problem with the new sequence, there could be only two possibilities: I never try it again, never fully appreciating how the original one would feel after topping it out, and having doubts forever about my ascent and never getting the chance to get better; or I keep trying it to repeat it with the old sequence. Both are useless.

The first one for the above reasons, the second one because it's just pointless.

So, in the brief space of two days I changed again my mind. I wonder if, last Sunday, when I was so weak, it was also because I had been searching that shortcut; I had cheated; I had admitted defeat. I'll never know.

What I know, is that one of my resolutions for this year was, and still is, to be pure. Especially to myself, which is my most severe judge.

So tomorrow I will go there, and again I will try to destroy that motherfucker that is ruining my life. If I can't, I'll pull out of my bag my weight vest, I'll wear it, and I will start lapping the motherfucker with 2 kg on, as a start. Then I will go on, and on, and on, until I'll feel satisfied.

When will I be satisfied? I don't know, but crushing the project in fine style without breaking a sweat could bring me some kind of joy, I reckon.

Chalking up before the final move, could.

Getting the jug so easily that Velasquez could have portrayed me in the meanwhile, could.

You got the idea, I'm sure.

Many years ago, when I was 14, one night I went with some friends to steal bengal lights from the train depot, to use them the following day at a football match. And I never liked football!!! We had to cut the barb wire, to crawl under the lights, and all that stuff. We nearly got caught. I wonder why I put myself in that situation.

I wonder why I put myself in this situation: this problem plays to all my weaknesses. It's long, 15 moves; the hard part is the last 4 moves; the hard moves are dynamic, something I'm very bad at, and reachy. Plus, it has small, painful holds, mostly pinches, a prehension I have never ever trained until recently. The enemies we choose qualify us more than our friends. Enemies are chosen by hate, friends by love, and hate is always more pure and more sincere than love. I wish I hadn't seen that line. Or do I?

But now it's too late. I'm stuck in it. I've done all the hard part, I only have to bear the pain and top it out, then I'll go home and I'll watch my face in the mirror for a long time. And what I'll see will be the true me.

Keep the fucking faith, love and destroy.



Source: TOTOLORE

[Dolly]

You've got a true gift for writing this stuff Nibs.
Do you write, rewrite and edit until its just right or is it all just a stream of consciousness approach ?

[Nibile]

thank you very much Dolly.
whatever I write, blog entries, letters, short stories, I generally start from a simple idea. then during the writing, other ideas follow and so on. for this one in particular I just had the simple thought that it was cheating!!!
once finished I read the whole thing, trying to correct grammar errors and to check it's comprehensible, and I fit in new ideas or ones that I forgot about. I rarely change things.
then it's done.
bear in mind that often for a blog post that I publish, there are many more that I dislike. Before I tried to write often, often about (more) stupid things; now I want to write when I have something to say, and that's why I write much less!!! if I struggle to find ideas, I drop it.
anyway, thank you very much for all the positive reactions, it's really a good feeling.
 

[ShortRound]

Shit. I wasn't going to train today..

Exactly! This blog is such a strong source of psyche.

[Duma]

I'm glad you've abandoned the new sequence Lore - didn't want to say anything before for fear of sounding like a cunt, but my first thought about the new sequence was "but now it's just an eliminate"
As you say, keep the fucking faith.

[comPiler]

TWO DAYS AND TWO KILOS
12 January 2012, 5:03 pm

I'll try to be brief this time.

Two days is not only how long the new final sequence lasted, it's also how long the bouldering season lasted.

I went today, and it was boiling. My fingertips are shredded and painful, and I could not have a decent go.

Luckily I had finally remembered, this morning, to bring the weightbelt with me, so I took the opportunity to start training, given that climbing the project was out of question.

What a difference two kilos made!

I don't think I've done more than three moves in a row! Skin was a problem for sure, it was painful without that extra weight, imagine how painful it was with it, but I don't care.

I am out of my (tiny little) mind with happiness. Trying so hard, failing so hard, feeling every move so hard, filled my heart with joy and my mind with psyche. I was stuck, I kept going there to repeat what I've already done basically, and as I've said, I had lost focus. Now, with a simple weightbelt on, my world is full of energy again.

It's clear that I love this shit. I love the struggle. I love the process of putting myself under pressure. I love to train, and to suffer when doing it. It's been like starting it all again: the enthusiasm, the dreaming, everything was there again, despite the boiling sun, my shredded tips and my aching muscles. My mind has never been so strong. I see a goal in front of myself, a new one. I needed it. If only I'd known it before.

After getting home and having a shower, I went for a walk with the dog. On the way home, I stopped by Trombicche, my favourite place in Siena, for a glass of red wine. Walking back home, I found myself so happy; I was thinking that I could relax, have a nice meal and go to bed without worries, because tomorrow I won't neither train nor climb, I will only have to work.

Imagine this, a life that works at the opposite. I can relax because I don't train. Ahah!!! That's mental, innit.

It's beautiful to have a new path in front of me and to know that with each step I will improve. The battle is the aim, enjoy the battle.



Source: TOTOLORE

[Nibile]

I'm glad you've abandoned the new sequence Lore - didn't want to say anything before for fear of sounding like a cunt, but my first thought about the new sequence was "but now it's just an eliminate"
As you say, keep the fucking faith.

I think you could have said it!!! sometimes it's hard for me to have a clear mind and a different opinion, although painful, must be always welcome.
anyway thank you for your sincerity and tact.

I think what gave more problems was that I was stuck and I felt was stagnating. now that I feel I'm moving again towards something new I feel better!!! 
I have to say writing the blog has been helpful, sometimes only when I write I can see the truth.
thank you all, you're spoiling me.

[iain]

Spoiling would imply it isn't deserved when it very much is. 

[comPiler]

LIGHTWEIGHT, BABY!
20 January 2012, 12:41 pm



In the pic, my dog Phoebe checking I respect the speed limit.

Yesterday I didn't work at the school, but at the roof.

The weather was quite bad, it was cloudy and a strange mixture of cold and warm, dry and humid, alternating.

I had a go at my project, but my skin start sweating from the second move on, so I immediately understood that it was time to bring the weightbelt out.

On my first session, climbing with 2 kilos on made me really struggle, as you see in ; three days later, my second session went better and I started linking a few more moves; last Tuesday I put in a really good training session: first some front levers on the Beastmaker, as you see in , then some bouldering on my wall, setting a nice problem and trying it until climbing it in two halves, and finally I climbed four easier problems with 5 kilos on, trying to focus on precision, core tension and footwork; this all seemed to pay dividends yesterday, because I nearly did the classic line under the roof twice with 2 kilos on, and managed to repeat "La stanzina verde della follia" with the extra weight. This great session is featured in for you all to enjoy.

These sessions with 2 and 5 kilos really worked my back and core: it's the way to go in my opinion; especially on the roof, all the move are dynamic and snatchy, and keeping the feet on despite the extra weight right at waist level, where it's most influential over body tension, is really important. The most important thing, then, is that it's fun as fuck; I mean, it's really really fun, interesting, challenging and physically exhausting.

I feel very tired today and am looking forward tomorrow's session; would be nice to go there again with my girlfriend and the dog: puts me in a good mood for pulling and always reminds me that my girlfriend has no clue about what's going on when I climb; last Saturday, while I was struggling under the roof, with poor holds in my sweaty hands, trying to stay on, she thought the best advice she could give me was "Relax, keep calm"...

I am eager to test my condition elsewhere, to see how much this kind of training applies to general skills and other problems: I will start discovering this from next month, hopefully; I want to climb tomorrow and train on my wall on Sunday, then for the next week the plan is still the same, Tuesday fingerboarding and bouldering, Thursday bouldering at the roof, then I want to go back to Varazze in the weekend.

I've been really surprised by the front levers session, because it's been a strong one, I front levered holds that I find very hard just to hang generally, like back2 in medium pockets and index monos, and I haven't done any fingerboarding in a long time.

I think it could be that a fingerboarding cycle really tears your fingers, it really works them to exhaustion, and progresses take a while to set in. Or maybe I don't know, or maybe it's climbing on the wall, or maybe the simple act of sleeping close to the Beastmaker.

It's nice to be on the move again, after stagnation. Makes me happy.



Source: TOTOLORE

[comPiler]

I GOT HERE, I START AGAIN FROM HERE
26 January 2012, 8:21 pm

I think that after today I really need to end a very long period of intense training and climbing: I went to the roof, and I couldn't even do the warm ups. Not the roof warm ups, the real warm ups, the 5+, the 6a.

I barely put my shoes on.

My mind was elsewhere, and my body wanted to be elsewhere, so I cut my losses, packed everything and went for a walk in the new-old sectors. Many years ago we found a new sector, full of boulders, but for a number of reasons we never developed it, except for a few small areas; recently Michele Caminati, during his stay, went there and checked things out with the eye of a professional, and was immediately hooked. Yes, the place is amazing and the boulders are hundreds.

I will try to fight my selfish attitude and spend some time cleaning new problems despite the little spare time I have to dedicate to climbing on rock.

So, the 17th of September I did my first session on my board, and from then on I trained very intensely and climbed with equal attitude.

Now I have really reached my present physical limit and I need some rest.

I spent the last weekend training both days, then last Tuesday I put in a very powerful session of max one arm dead hangs that really surprised me, then I set, worked and climbed three new problems, all quite close to my limit, and finally the usual 4 problems with 5 kilos on.

I think it's quite normal that today I was so spent.

I want to check my training of the last 6/8 weeks to assess things and see how I did in terms of progression and performance. Today was an all time low so from here I can move on.

I have four weeks with no work in front of me, all I want to do is relax and take advantage of this chance in as many ways as possible. I definitely want to surf again after one year without getting wet, and for sure I need to direct my energy in another direction from climbing on the roof. I want to go climbing in UK. We will see.

I am sipping the last drops of my Laphroaig 10 bottle, and this is the perfect conclusion.



Source: TOTOLORE

[comPiler]

SAY WHAT YOU MEAN...
30 January 2012, 5:04 pm

... but more importantly mean what you say.

I discovered it today: it's far easier to say things than to really mean things. It's easy to say "keep the fucking faith", it's cool, makes you feel hard core, it earns you other climbers' respect, and if you play it well it could even get you a one night stand at some climbing destination.

What is hard, I found out, is to follow that mantra deeply, to really keep that fucking faith.

Last post was about hitting the bottom; this one is about being on top again. Maybe not an all time top, but oh so close.

Turns out I really kept the fucking faith.

Last Thursday was hard. I did not want to think it was over, my form. It's natural to have highs and lows - only mediocre athletes are always at top form, once Gullich said - but I wasn't prepared for such a deep low.

What did I do? I got depressed, you can be sure about it. And then? Then I went to the gym on Friday to have a light session, then out for a kilo of pizza. Saturday morning I woke up and thought that I did not want to let it go. So I starved myself the whole day and trained in the afternoon on my board: it wasn't the most powerful of sessions, but it broke the spell; I kept throwing myself at the problems no matter what, until my fingers gave up. Then I climbed with 5 kilos on and I finally skipped dinner. There you go, pizza.

Next morning I was feeling a bit better and I went to the gym again for a very easy session, only two problems climbed and a few holds mounted. Lots of chatting, they all make me feel happy.

Today I went back to the roof.

I wasn't sure this morning about what to do, if it was a bad idea or not, to go back there so early after my epic defeat: only four days ago. But I went and I was rewarded.

Despite being a bit tired, I had the power. I had the mental and the physical power, and there, under that roof, with my weightbelt on, I found my faith, really.

I found out that I really had kept it. I had kept it there. When I went there it was there, where I'd left it.

Today really marked another step forward.

I had lost badly. I had gained something back and I gambled it all again. What I won with this bet is the faith. It's like when I watch those boxers that keep getting knocked down and keep getting up again. Do they know that they're going down again in a matter of seconds? I don't care. They don't care. They have the faith. They keep the faith. Why do they keep getting up? It's very simple: because they can.

Of course it doesn't escape me that I'm writing now after a very powerful day, with my naive mind full of happiness and testosterone.

Where was my faith Thursday? Have I ever lost it, even if for just a split second? Perhaps, but probably not. Only, I hadn't fully realized what a simple sentence really implies. If you say "keep the fucking faith", it means that you have to fucking keep the fucking faith, when things go well, and, especially, when they go bad, because only in this second case you are really challenged.

This is a lesson I learned today: we can say things and we can mean things. The first behaviour earns us other people's respect; the second one earns us our own respect.



Source: TOTOLORE

[chris05]

Another great post. What a final sentence! 

[Oldmanmatt]

Thanks Lore.
You are right.
That was exactly what I needed to hear, right now.
And,
I'm not talking about climbing...

[Nibile]

I thank YOU Matt.

[comPiler]

FEET ON THE GROUND!
10 February 2012, 2:13 pm



In the pics my new bass and some wonderful moments, pre and post party.

I think that my latest entries were too serious and presumptuous, but I am a presumptuous bastard, so I guess that's normal.

Anyway, I am two weeks into my holidays and things have been a bit hectic, at least in my mind.

I have been trying to arrange a trip up to UK, but until yesterday it was very unlikely; this drove me crazy because I felt absolutely useless. Then it snowed, and snowed, and snowed.

I found myself buried at home: temps ranging from -3° to -11°, closed roads and boulders covered in snow didn't help me in maintaining my self control and Italian aplomb. At moments I almost went crazy. After a few days of forced rest, and just before throwing furniture out of the window, I decided to break the spell and found myself under the Beastmaker, with my weightvest on. What a glorious decision!!! A great session, my first one with 5 kilos on, and it literally made me happy.

I still don't know how the Beastmaker works, after a layoff it seems like that one is still progressing, and it takes very little to regain a personal high even after a long time off it. Anyway I completed all the 6 prescribed sets on the 10 chosen holds; I surprised myself by hanging the 45°, the index monos, the slopey pockets and all the other ones, a real big step forward.

A good Beastmaker session for sure is miles better than Prozac.

This session left my forearms a bit worked, and after a rest day I decided do lift some weights, so I went to the gym and found out that I haven't lost much from August, when I worked out for the last time. Oh well!!! I went back home in a freezing wind, trying not to kill myself on the iced snow, only thinking about a big chicken meal and my comfy bed. It wasn't to be: from the road all the lights in the house seemed off, and when I opened the door I saw the shadows of many people singing "Happy Birthday" for me. My girlfriend had spent the last two weeks organizing a surprise party!!! I was truly shocked and for a good quarter of an hour was unable to really comprehend what was going on!!! It's been a great night with lots of friends, food, alcohol and presents!!!

In the following days I did some cross training under the form of shoveling tons of snow from my road to warrant me some mobility (to where I didn't know).

As I found out that climbing was out of question, with short one day windows of good weather between snowstorms, it was time to train again.

I still hadn't completely recovered so I knew I didn't have much volume, and I opted for one arm max hangs.

I did some tests and found out good improvements: I set a PB on the big rung with both the left and right arm (10 seconds with 14 kilos with the right, twice); and I also managed two very good right hand hangs of the small pockets with front2 (that's 7c+ in the charts bitch!); I did many other sets especially on front2 and mid2, to finish off with some max hangs on the incut jug (whose depht I reduced putting in some cardboard); then I was too tired to do anything else, but today I don't feel much tired, so maybe it could be possible to do another session.

As you can tell, this post is quite meaningless, if you A) don't have a Beastmaker (I pity the fool); and B) you don't like training; and even if you tick both boxes, it still does not say much.

What I can tell is that I really enjoyed these last sessions, and I'm sure I'll reap what I'm sowing. And I'm not sowing the seeds of love, mind.

Finally, some glorious moments in full video galore.



Source: TOTOLORE

[comPiler]

UK AND SECOND CHANCES
24 February 2012, 10:30 am

Once again at a friend's house, once again at Stanage, once again at Parisella's cave, once again at the pubs, everything is apparently the same, yet it's completely different. I wasn't sure I could be doing this trip until the last days before leaving, due to a physical problem that gave me a real bad time and stopped my training for the first three weeks of February. But I made it, in the end. I came over with some other friends apart Michele this time, and when we dropped our pads at Plantation, I felt not only at home again, but also something very very new and different, whose origin I found in last year's successful trip: I was feeling happy. I didn't want to try anything in particular, I was just happy to show my friends around and watch their smiles. This has been priceless. I wanted to do Brad Pit again and I couldn't, to be honest at first I didn't even manage to heel hook and this left me shocked; my usual thought "It's time to quit" appeared again. Then I tried it again after carefully watching others try - or lap - it, and I realized that five months of face-on bouldering on my wall couldn't be translated into this problem. I carefully chose my position and did the heel hook and the cross easily. Maybe I won't quit yet. On that occasion I realized also that I made a big schoolboy error this time: I only brought new shoes. My Solutions are so tight that I can't wear them without a plastic bag, and the heel rubber is still so new that in the cold of Stanage didn't ever stick to the sloper. I had similar problems at Parisella's cave, whose strange placements I could not feel with new, stiff shoes. But that's another story. So yes, I was happy. I was happy also the following day, when a soaked hold hindered me - but not Rich - from doing Lou Ferrino. A true crusher would have crushed it anyway. I did it into the third move, fell, dried the hold then went to the end . One to come back for. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, I walked around Liverpool, had a haircut, chilled out, ate a lot, and I also visited the Cathedral's tower. Last year I found the tower closed for works, and I was very disappointed; I thought "When will I have another chance to see it?". Well, I don't believe much in second chances, I believe that one can simply try again. This is a very stupid thing to say, but I think there's a great difference between thinking in terms of "chances" and in terms of "trying again": in the first case we wait for something to happen, in the second case we want to make it happen. What do I want to make happen again? I still want to climb Brad Pit again, but I also want to finish Lou Ferrino and Jerry's Traverse at Stanage. I want to keep visiting my friends and I want to make them come to Italy. I want to keep training and believing that I am not the shittest climber I've ever seen. I want to keep the faith in my projects and become a better teacher. I also want to start deadlifting. I am close to the end of five weeks off work, and again I cannot help but think about how hard I fought to find myself in this position. Many people around me supported my decision, and thanks to them and to that little bit of foolishness and luck, I never had to ask for a second chance.



Source: TOTOLORE

[Doylo]

you probably would have done Lou Ferrino if you'd used all the holds. Don't copy those trying to milk extra grades out of established classics by missing holds out 

[Nibile]

Fair enough Reverend, fair enough!
I did miss a few ones, didn't I?
Not on purpose though!!!
 

[Richie Crouch]

Nice Post Lore and    @ Doylo's comment

[comPiler]

REALITY BITES!
1 March 2012, 10:49 am



In the pics, something to keep me warm, and the beast at work in the torture chamber.

"Fuck Italy" pretty much sums up my recent thoughts.

I went to the roof yesterday with my friend Filo, who was with me in UK as well, and it's been a good day, but only because of his company. I missed being at Stanage, pounded by a cold wind, and I missed being at Parisella's Cave, drying up holds.

I did not expect to come back home and find temps already in the 20° range.

The season is over.

I had one go on "Futurismo", and it felt good, but pain was really too much: shame because despite being tired, after more than ten days of climbing or training with only one day off, my forearms were responding well, and I didn't feel pumped.

Subsequent goes on the other problems with my weightbelt on proved impossible, I needed to squeeze too much on the hot rock to stay put, and pain was really unbearable. Whatever I want to do on rock in the close furure, must start very early in the morning.

I came home from UK really, really tired. My last day spent in Font was amazing, the clue is to be guided, without focusing on climbing hard on your first - and only - day in the forest in a year. I met a good bunch of Brits, some of them I had previously met under the roof of Parisella's Cave, and I had a very very good day.

I felt happy and in peace.

Now then, I need to change something.

I ache. I really ache. My fingers are OK, and my elbows also (touch wood), but my back, lower back, lats and knees are sore. The knees especially worry me: in the morning I barely can walk out of bed, and can't sit down without leaning on something. My body is not telling me something, it's yelling it.

So, I think I can still manage a new problem in an old area, the original version of what years ago became "Tailgunner". I could not climb it how I had imagined and resolved to use a few toe hooks that now I want to eliminate: this area is still under the snow, being in the deep shade, so that's still on the go.

Apart from that, I'm sure - at the moment - that this year I don't want to face another summer like the last one. Going to the boulders in boiling temps, falling on easy problems and getting angry is not for me. I want to keep training and go climbing in specific, good occasions. We will see if I can manage to keep the promise.

Moreover, last summer I had the project in my mind. Now I don't have this stimulus anymore. The line is there, I have done it many times and only need to top it out. It will happen sooner or later, and if it doesn't happen, the only thing that matters is that this project propelled me towards the best climbing form I've ever had. The progression is the only thing that matters to me, because it's certain. Once it levels out, it's time to move.

I want to go surfing again.

More than one year and half has passed since my last time in the water, and it's time to get wet again. Unluckily, surf spots now are super crowded, and gone are the good old times when I shared perfect sets only with my buddy Jac.

I have to time perfectly my reentry, because I don't want to spoil it with bad vibes and idiots. To start the ball rolling, today I used a birthday gift card to buy a new thermal rashguard to wear under my wetsuit, and also new gloves. I always hated to surf all rubbered up, and often paddled in with no booties even in full winter, but this time I want to be as comfy as I can get, because I surf for the joy, and because I'm fucking old and creaky.

Which leads me to another subject.

The other day it occurred to me that, besides a few occasions that I can count on a hand's fingers, I normally boulder with guys that are at least 8-10 years younger than me.

I never think about this, because I really don't care much about my age, but the fact is that I have that age, and my body does. I have come to the conclusion that my project of an endless progression throughout my entire life, with maybe a little plateau around the 90 years old mark, could be a bit optimistic. I think that at the current moment I am at the peak of my overall climbing capacity in terms of power, technique and skills on the rock; I know that even if this doesn't translate into amazing performances, with some more time to dedicate to the rock I could still do well in different areas. This last trip to UK and Font proved it, especially Font: I know I can do well in Parisella's, but having good goes on vertical 7b's in Font after few tries is a very good progress.

This age issue leads us back, in a perfect ringkomposition, to the fact that I ache and I need to change something right now. I have trained and climbed hard since mid September, and if I want to keep moving on I need to vary.

Hence the surfing.

But I also want to focus on dead lifting. I am thinking about a possible training schedule for the late spring-summer-early autumn, revolving around two weekly session in the gym (one session doing my usual weights routine and the other doing just dead lifts), two weekly sessions on my wall (adjusting the session to the feeling), and one weekly session on the Beastmaker; then forget about the rock until it gets cool again, and surf in the weekends when waves roll in.

This plan revitalized my mojo and gave me a decent psyche.

Last but not least, I want to thank once again all the friendly faces that I met during this trip. I always felt at home wherever I went, and this is why I keep coming.



Source: TOTOLORE

[SA Chris]

Scottish breaks never get crowded!

[Nibile]

 
Who knows, maybe one day I'll pack my van with bouldering mats and my longboard!!!
Dumbarton, then surfing, that can't be bad at all!!!
The problem here is that people watched too many times Point Break... They all think they're bad ass locals. They don't respect priorities, they drop you in, they shout, shortboarders stay in the bowl of lonboard spots, and so on. It really spoils my joy. That's why I always choose smaller spots, maybe with bad waves, but a good athmosphere and relaxed people.

[SA Chris]

It's an almost univeral problem. I think localism is more a case of territorial pissings and people who feel like they have to uphold a non-existent reputation that exists only in their own mind. It still amazes me that people have a herd mentality and hang around the best peak on the beach and duke it out over who gets priority, when there is an almost as good peak 100m away with hardly anyone on it.

I could show you some spots that would blow your mind. No need for Dumbarton, bouldering right on the beach!

[Nibile]

exactly, I agree.
I have surfed many localized spost, especially in Sardegna, where it can get really nasty, in the water and out.
what I've noticed is that the "real" locals, never drop you in, never shout or hassle. they simply put themselves in the perfect point where the wave breaks, they take their priority right.
those who scream and drop you in, from what I've seen, are never the best surfers in the water. they are often the most frustrated by their own rides and by the waves' quality.
I once spoke to a guy who told me "I only paddle in when it's at least 2 meters". well my friend you rarely surf, I thought. then he went away saying "let's go and do some localism". what? I thought I wanted to surf.
this guy is always sad and angry, and he's hated by his friends also. he dropped me in a few times, and I finally had to tell him.
gladly it all went well, no problems and no accidents, but you know, it's tricky.
now that I'm writing I remembered that he had applied to Rip Curl for a sponsorship... he could barely hang ten.