History_Of_Surfing

History Of Surfing The ancient Hawaiian’s left accurate evidence of their sport. Petroglyphs of surfers carved in to the lava-rock landscape, and chants that tell the stories of great surfing feats. Some of these chants date back as far as 1500 A.D. Surfing was a part of the Kapu system of laws, which held Hawaiian royalty above the commoners in the kingdom. The Kapu system also decided how, why and with what the boards were to be made with. It also depended on the future rider’s status in society. The ancient Hawaiians had four basic types of surf boards. The olo. The olo boards was only used by Hawaiian royalty. It was a lengthy board between 16 & 24 feet long up to 20 inches wide and 5 inches thick. Because of its size the olo board could weigh up to 175 pounds. The kiko. The kiko was usually between 12 & 18 feet long. Using this board needed a lot of skill and experience. The alia or omo – the alia was used by commoners and was between 10 to 12 feet in length, The Paipo or kioe – this board was more like a body or belly board and was used by the children. This board, boards, surfing, feet, duke, understood, sport, olo, made, long, foam, between, wood, west, wasn’t, using, until, today, system, surf, simmons, royalty, out, one, kiko, kapu, inches, hawaiian, freshwater, four, first, far, exhibition, different, curl