Surfing
Don’t know the difference between a slob grab, a lien and a stalefish? Come on in and find out.
Grabs are confusing. Well, not the actual act of a grab — that’s as simple as a surfer reaching a certain way and clasping in just the right place. But the act of naming the grab correctly will get your head spinning faster than Kolohe Andino’s most nimble air reverse. One commentator’s slob grab is a spectator’s mute grab is a surfer’s stalefish grab. There seems to be no popularly accepted glossary of what’s right and what’s Hollister. Or if there is, it’s not etched in stone.
Let’s try and fix that.
As per usual, we must peer over our shoulders at our brethren in the realms of snow and skate. Our sport inspired theirs to come into being. Then, ironically, they took off running with it (might have something to do with being strapped in/being on a relatively tiny board and not dealing with an erratic ocean) and now we look to them for both answers and inspiration. For now, we’ll focus on the answers. They know their grabs and they know ‘em well. So here are the six most common grabs in surfing and their correct monikers. Know thy grab, folks.
