Georgia surf instructor says he is “beyond happy” after a shark attacked him while teaching children

wjcl

A Georgia surf instructor was attacked by a shark during a lesson on Tuesday.

Atsushi Yamada is the owner of Hot Sushi’s Happy Surf Camp on Tybee Island. On Tuesday afternoon, he was sitting on his board helping one of his students back to shore when a shark bit him in the leg, he told WBRC.

Although he was startled by the encounter, Yamada told the news station that he did his best to remain calm so as not to alarm any of the students. After paddling back to shore, he was able to wrap his leg while he waited for one of the lifeguards to call an ambulance.

“I didn’t want to panic too much, so I hoped I could paddle close enough for them to listen to me,” Yamada told WBRC.

The shark left three cuts on his leg, requiring a trip to the hospital and multiple stitches, the outlet reported.

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In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Yamada commented on the incident, writing that he was “extremely grateful” that he was the only one in the water at the time of the attack.

“It could have been much, much worse,” he added.

Since the attack, Yamada told WJCL, he has a new outlook on life.

“I feel more alive,” he told the station as he stood on the beach Thursday and remembered what happened. “I feel like I want to do more.”

The incident won’t stop the surfer from getting back into the water any time soon, he assured his Facebook followers.

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“I have experienced the worst in my career as a water sportsman and as a high mountain skier,” he explained in his post earlier this week, adding that he knew that encountering sharks was part of the risk of getting into the water.

“I’m more than lucky,” he wrote. “We are the strangers in the sea water, so let’s all respect our precious Mother Nature… and it’s unavoidable, it can happen to virtually anyone at any time, anywhere and it’s part of the sport we love…”