preview

Eddie Aikau Research Paper

Decent Essays

Being a native to Hawaii was a helpful push towards legendary status for Eddie Aikau. The act of riding waves with a wooden type board originated in Western Polynesia over three thousand years ago (The Origins of Surfing). The first Polynesian settlers to land in Hawaii were said to be skilled in simple surfing, and after a few hundred years of riding waves in Hawaii, the well-known Hawaiian form of the sport emerged (The Origins of Surfing). Eddie Aikau propelled in surfing because of his love for the ocean, his job as a lifeguard, and his first surfing competitions.
Eddie Aikau’s love for the ocean shined through on a surfboard. Most people enjoy the ocean in the summer months when the ocean is placid and family-friendly but Eddie loved the ocean all year around. (Pasulka). When it came to surfing, it was never a competition for Eddie. Surfing for Eddie was a connection to the ocean and the ancestral roots that were found within each wave he rode (Rolland). Surfing was symbolized as being one of the last traditional arts that the Hawaiian people practiced, and when Eddie surfed, it was a revival for his people every time he was in the water (Rolland). The ocean symbolized so much for Eddie Aikau and …show more content…

Eddie was such a skilled waterman that he was hired as the first lifeguard ever to work on the North Shore. This job only improved his surfing skills because during his breaks and lunches, Eddie would surf. He became more skillful and daring by having this kind of access to big waves every day (Dubiel). Eddie never even had a high school diploma, but because he was such an extraordinary surfer he was awarded the position (Dubiel). There was never a loss of life while Eddie was on duty and he went on to save over find hundred lives in the course of his career there (Dubiel). Eddie was honored by his fellow lifeguards in 1971 and was named “Lifeguard of the Year”

Get Access