Surfing History

The origins of Wave Surf are very old and the first evidence dates back to 1770. It was the era of the great discoveries of Captain James Cook, who undertook the navigation of the Pacific Ocean for the conquest of the Hawaiian Islands. The first testimony of the Surf is due to the drawings reported on the logbooks of European sailors in which we distinguish the Hawaiian natives, who bravely ride large waves with wooden planks.
At the time the Wave Surf was a traditional ritual of Hawaiian culture and was also practiced by the court nobles of King Kamehameha. The Surf was closely related to the mythological legends of the Polynesian culture of the Maori people and practiced to pay tribute to the God of the ocean Tangaroa.
The Hawaiian Deities related to the forces of nature were truly innumerable and the Hawaiian population venerated them daily with music, dance, surfing and with tests of courage. Unlike the Europeans, the Hawaiian people had a truly symbiotic relationship with the sea and water activities. The Hawaiians had turned into fun those activities that Europeans considered unhealthy, dangerous and threatening.

Many European sailors in 1750 did not even know how to swim and swimming was considered an unhealthy activity. This was one of the reasons why the Europeans decided to banish surfing, in addition to purely religious reasons related to modesty and the prohibition to exhibit certain parts of the body. The inhabitants of the Hawaiian islands did not give up their traditions and decided to secretly continue the ritual of surfing in very difficult places to reach.

A century and a half of great darkness passed slowly from the last testimonies of European sailors (1770) until the first public event of Surf took place. Thanks to Duke Kahanamoku (Hawaiian class 1890) the Surf came back into vogue. Duke was the first Olympic swimming athlete to take part in the Olympic Games in California in 1920. Duke won the gold medal and on the same day gave a show with a surf exhibition riding the long Californian waves. Thanks to Duke Kahanamoku ("father of modern Surf") Surf developed all over the world. On the beautiful Waikiki beach in Honolulu (Hawaii), there is a large bronze statue dedicated to him and decorated every day with fresh flowers. This statue seems to dispel the natural boundary between the earth and the aquatic world and invites people to share the wonders of the Pacific Ocean.

One of the fundamental principles of Surfing is contained in the term ALOHA, which means: Hello, Goodbye and I love you, even if a Hawaiian has been more generous with me telling me that Aloha means "sharing the breath of life". Meaning that I personally appreciated even more!

"Surf Language Staff members were lucky enough to study English for a few months in the Hawaiian Islands. Our desire is to pass on to the students of today the love for surfing, Nature, travel and culture, in the hope that these principles can spread like the waves of the ocean and reach the hearts of the students of tomorrow”.