I don't think it's hard to pick up at all! A good friend of mine from Texas/West Point learned how to surf last December, and already he's doing 6-8s. While he probably won't be ready for the monster winter swells on the North Shore, it wasn't that hard to learn.

I can't remember how it was for me to learn. My dad threw me on my first board at 5 and I know I hated it, but I've been keeping at it all these years. It's just like riding a bike, you never really forget how.