Maui Surf 98

I wanted to say a very sincere thank you for all of your positivity, kindness and hospitality during my trip. It was great. I learned lots about my surfing technique such as relaxing my legs so I carry less weight and standing like I am swinging for a baseball. The work you did with me helping me see the little things wrong with my technique has made all the difference. I caught the best wave I have in a long time on Friday morning. The main reason being I finally felt in control on my board because I wasn't looking at it :) Thanks Nancy, you rock. Joe Rogers

"Ms Emerson, Hawaiian star, lectured Miami High School students on water safety, learning to surf and the Hawaiian Culture. The joy she gives in her teaching, you don't want to miss if you meet her."
Bulletin Sports, Gold Coast, Australia

"She has businessmen, doctors, lawyers" (as students) "There are more women now than ever before learning the sport of surfing from the renowned Nancy Emerson surfing lessons of Malibu."
Los Angeles Times

"Nancy Emerson's experience gives her a keen eye for the subtle aspects of form that have a profound effect on how well you surf. The benefit of her insight will be a valuable and enlightening experience for any surfer."
Looking forward to taking some lessons in Maui sometime soon!
Stewart Carl Engineering

"Nancy Emerson is Maui's most successful pro female surf star, surfing instructor and a major contest supporter through producing amateur surfing events."
Makana Aloha Magazine

"Nancy Emerson's surfing lessons will be the highlight of your vacation. You will appreciate the ocean in a special way."
Here's Maui Magazine

"When it comes to Nancy Emerson's surfing instruction, the eagle has landed at its best."
Mark Hogge, Federal Attorney

"I've known and worked with Nancy Emerson for many years. I've seen her teach 100's of people to have a safe & enjoyable surfing experience. She is a True water person whose knowledge & experience is a product of more than 25 years in the surfing industry. I've surfed with Nancy all over the Hawaiian Islands & the South Pacific (Fiji-Namotu & Tavarua) so I speak from firsthand experience. I highly recommend her as a surfing teacher or partner. She helped me on many occasions......... Mahalo Nancy."
David Millen

"Nancy gives you the Freedom to Learn with the personal tips to keep you trying. She works with your personal style instead of trying to teach you her style. A Great Experience, a must for everyone."
Matthew Van Hoose,
Little League Coach

Dear Nancy,
well, I've been home long enough for my skin to peel, my arms to stop aching and my brain to sputter into gear sufficiently to comment on my surfing lessons last week. I want to say something about the sport, the school and the superintendent.
The basic idea was simple; I was coming to Maui to answer a question: would surfing be part of the second half of my life? Forty years old, living in a Midwestern grain-break and twenty-nine years removed from a California adolescence featuring no surfing instruction leading to no surfing technique, I wanted to determine if surfing itself, rather than just the clothes or the mags, could be a genuine part of my life. What I needed was a dollop of instruction atop an entree of encouragement. Fortunately, this is America.
I chose your school for three reasons: (1) nice glossy ads in major surf publications; (2) prompt and courteous, nay genuinely interested replies to my inquiries; (3) Maui location. I was in no way disappointed. Great spots, great organization, great equipment and, fortunately, great conditions for learning, combined to make for a week of solid instruction and modest but substantive improvement. Of course I never doubted I could get up and ride a wave... provided I could muster the courage and capacity to paddle out! That's where the teaching really paid off.
As they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I'm sure it's easier to instruct a novice than to try and correct the faults of someone like me who knows just enough to get into trouble. I mean, I never doubted that if a dog could surf so could I, but could I look as good as Apache doing it? What I really appreciated was your ability to combine tolerance for my faults (which after all, and despite their severity, had sustained my enthusiasm for decades) with specific guidance for eliminating them (eg. where to sit, where and how to paddle, where to look, how to kick out, etc.). It's true I was pretty hopeless at implementing your all-important Rule #1 (Relax), but my deep-seated predilection for tension and anxiety could hardly be undermined in a week. I should also mention how much I appreciate your efforts to inculcate respect and concern for Maui's natural environment, efforts refreshingly at odds with the prevalent Hawaii-as-amusement -park mentality.
My main goal in taking some lessons was to determine whether I could surf the rest of my life.. Whether I could master the techniques requisite for paddling out in moderate surf and catching a few waves.. Or whether I should simply be content with my childhood memories of taking off on and riding (but never pulling out of!) a handful of waves. My goal was completely realized: I can surf."