paddling technique?

[nz girl]

hi guys, yet another question!
does anyone have any tips on paddling? i mean i get out the back ok and all, but everyone always overtakes me! do i just need to get stronger or is there simply an easier/better way of paddling? cheers.

[Inletsurfer]

cup your hands, get a little deeper in the water...

...speed isnt as important as how much muscle you put into the stroke..do shoulder excersizes...and practice paddle as much as you can and you will beat anyone in a paddle battle

I had the same problem until i started lifting and i cant believe what a difference it made

[nz girl]

cheers for the tips.
i got told that if you splay your fingers slightly you get better water displacement then if you cup your hands, but it does sound slightly crazy. also that gloves inhibit your paddling speed...? is it better to be a little further forward or further back when paddling or does it not really make a difference? exactly where is the sweet spot on the board for paddling? i'm trying to get better balance and keep my legs together on the board to steamline more, but i still seem to have sh..t technique!

[saffasurfer7]

one good tip about paddling is a similar technique to the swimming stroke, crawl. instead of just dropping your hands in and pushing back to bring them out again do an S-shape underwater. As you drop your right hand in, pull it out to the right a little and curve it back to the left almost under the board (actually I think your hand does go under the board a bit, I'll have to think about that when I'm next paddling) and then pull it to the right again to bring it out the water. Don't know if that makes sense but basically the S-shape thing is what I mean. You may even be doing it already. Another thing I find when paddling out is paddling with both hands together as opposed to one at a time gives me pretty good speed in the water.

Guess it's all about preference at the end of the day. Not everyone's technique is the same. But definitely try the S-shape if you're not doing it already, it does make a difference.

The strength is the key too. Take Inletsurfer's advice on that one. Few sets of push-ups a day should help...Good luck.

[sinistapenguin]

Here's a little tip about paddling and oddly enough it's about legs!!

I used to have real problems paddling, I felt like I was really having to drag myself through the water but I came up with a solution.

Move slightly further forward on the board (so that the nose is not very high above the water), next lift your legs to about 45 degrees, this will shift the weight so that the nose comes up a little higher. Also it will stop your feet dragging in the water. Now pull your shoulders up and look forward. Once you get the balance of this position right you will notice a difference. Essentially you are keeping as much of you out of the water as possible and just having the planing surface of the board cutting through the water. If you raise or lower your legs, you will notice a difference with how easy it is to paddle, play around with this!

Now, I agree with the S- shape thing and in addition is to get a rythmn going - Once you have your board position sorted and a good rythmn going you will notice that when you stop paddling you keep moving forwards - there is less resistance in the water.

You will also notice that this helps when catching waves!

Cheers

Sinista

[swimer + surfer]

Defintiely go the s-shape when paddling the board. To increae your paddling spped swim some laps on the days it is flat. Believe me it will improve your paddling, your balance when surfing and your energy levels. As a recen convert to swimming using the s-shape I can't believe the improvemnt in my swimming and booard paddling.

[jonny]

the best tip to paddle faster - buy a longboard!

[Guest]

i have a 7/6 mini mal, so i guess you would consider that a long board!
i'm getting a bit better at paddling, but when its big ( ie anything over 6 ft) then i tend to not actually get anywhere. i found lifting your legs helps though, so cheers sinista and everyone else for your tips.
ps this is nz girl, i'm just too lazy to sign on...

[Brent]

NZ Girl, being a poor Dunners Student you should head into the Unicol Gym and start doing some work, do shoulders, lower back and arm workouts. Do them hard & properly and you'll instantly see an improvement to your paddling & surfing in general. If you are really serious about becoming paddling fit...get on up to Moana Pool 2 or 3 times a week as well and do some serious lengths. Make it your winter project...in 2-3 months you'll be a different woman in the water...trust me.
You'll enjoy it more, be able to catch waves easier, you'll be able to stay out as long as you want...rather than being shattered after 2 hours.

There is no easy way to say this. You have to be strong & fit to really enjoy surfing.

Brent

[nz girl]

yeah, you're right for sure. i've been to moana pool once when i was 13, so probably time to redescover the wonders of chlorine. as for unipol, never been there, i vaguely know where it is...do you know how much it costs for students? my paddling is getting heaps better simply cos i spend so much time out at st clairs paddling round, but i could definatly improve !

[Brent]

OK, I'm going tell you a personal story about surfing & fitness.

In the last two years I've really returned to my teenage passion of surfing after flitting back & forwards between my other lifelong sporting passion (cycling). Most of the 1990's especially was pretty intense for me with not alot of time for much else ...too tired after training & racing several days a week for most of the year. It pretty much took over my life for a long time.

Anyway I retired several years ago now (I'm now 38) and the first thing I did after burning myself out completely on the bike was go surfing again...it was like being born again. I returned home to a sport and lifestyle I actually enjoy and is fun rather than just being hard-work.....The stoke is an unchanging thing.

But returning to surfing with the knowledge gleaned from all those years in my other sport, with all the coaching & sports science stuff that I picked up along the way...it's like I maybe know afew secrets not alot of other surfers do...or don't really seem to think about.

The fact that if you treat surfing as a "sport" and train properly for it....when you do hit the water you're so much better. It's even more important if you are unable to surf daily due to work, University, daylight or family commitments. The thing is if you're surf-fit already, you can go hard whenever you're able to hit the water.

This is what I've learned & carried over into surfing.

Think of what you do when surfing...you paddle out the back (sustained effort with moderate exertion), you rest briefly out the back for a min or two, then you exert truely maximum effort for about 5-10 seconds to catch a wave. Then you do it all over again...and again & again & again & again....for several hours a session.

That's called doing intervals isn't it????

So why don't most average surfers do weights, train or even practice like that ??? buggered if I know.....look in any surfing mag, look at the likes of Kelly Slater & Andy Irons (especially), look at the rigs on those guys...if you think they don't do serious weights & train hard on dry land....who's kidding who...I read somewhere many of them even do Yoga these days....

I do weights regularly, I do whole body stuff but concentrate on shoulder-press exercises & upper body stuff, and man, it works. At my age I can out-paddle kids 15 years younger than me, and how many people my age are going DOWN in surfboard lengths (just gone from a 6'2" to a 6') and lovin every bit of it. and I can stay out for as long as I want without getting exhausted.

This I owe entirely to doing sport-specific weights and being honest about what I really want to do in the water. If it's the one thing I can suggest to anybody who reads this...hit the gym.

B

[nz girl]

stamina isn't too much of an issue at the mo as the water is so cold I usually can only stay in for an hour max....I currently surf bout three times a week inbetween classes. havn't been out for a week now and i think its actually the longest i've been away from the water since i first began surfing pretty much...
the swimming is a good idea, don't know bout the gym though, i've never even been in a gym before! course if you reckon its the way to go, i'll tag along with some of my mates and try and work out all that crazy exercise equipment... on another note, its nice to see another kiwi on the site, the brits have been dominating on here! i hear the water is still fully warm up north, must be nice eh?

[reverseswim]

Defintiely go the s-shape when paddling the board. To increae your paddling spped swim some laps on the days it is flat. Believe me it will improve your paddling, your balance when surfing and your energy levels. As a recen convert to swimming using the s-shape I can't believe the improvemnt in my swimming and booard paddling.

I definitely agree. While today was my first day surfing ever, I've been swimming competitively (state and national and college level for the past 8 or so) and s-shape will increase the amount of push you can get for each pull. I was flying around today just paddling using my normal swimming technique, and i had no problem getting up, or enough speed, on my first try (or any of my others) :)

[Ozzie]

Hi there,

Keep your head up high and chest out as you paddle, it can be a bit uncomfortable at first but once you get into it you will find it much easier.
The ''S'' stroke is good and try to bring your hand/arm under the board, this way you will get deeper and not waste any energy swinging your arm out. Do some push ups every morning, this goes a long way to conditioning your arms and shoulders.

Have fun,
Ozzie.

[jethro-bodine]

To get real fast good paddle going on.... not everyone can do.. paddling is a talent as well as surfing. Some people have the talent to work there arms the the water in such a way that you can move like no other. I myself can do this and should be in the olympics for swimming. There is a speacal way to paddle and if you find it then great but if you don't..... well there is alwase getting stronger and endurance.

[tiny2]

2 cents: as a former (ok along time ago) Div I univ. swimmer and 13 yrs. surfing....

...the 's' technique is good info...however, rasing you head and chest way up is not going to buy you anything except a sore neck. here's a couple of pointers not previously mentioned:

1. find your balance point on the board. you'll know you're there when the nose rides just above the surface. too far up and the nose drags under the water, too far back and the nose will stuck far out. the flatter you make yourself on water, the less drag you're creating.

2. where are you're feet? must newbies hang their feet off the side because it affords better balance, but it also acts as a big speedbrake. try and keep your feet together and the toes will naturally point aft. sometimes, i'll even cross my ankles to keep 'em together.

3. read the break and figure out the currents. rather than blowing the arms out charging through the impact zone, look for a rip or a channel to help out. if there's a drift, walk up the beach (usually upwind) and paddle straight out while letting the drift carry you into the lineup. all else fails, watch the locals and see how they do it. trust me, they've figured the path of least resistance already.

4. finally, pick your spots. no need to paddle full power with each stroke. for example, repositioning youself in the lineup doesn't need the same effort as trying get through impact zone to the outside or taking off into a wave....

hope it helps...enjoy

[flex]

one good tip about paddling is a similar technique to the swimming stroke, crawl. instead of just dropping your hands in and pushing back to bring them out again do an S-shape underwater. As you drop your right hand in, pull it out to the right a little and curve it back to the left almost under the board (actually I think your hand does go under the board a bit, I'll have to think about that when I'm next paddling) and then pull it to the right again to bring it out the water. Don't know if that makes sense but basically the S-shape thing is what I mean. You may even be doing it already. Another thing I find when paddling out is paddling with both hands together as opposed to one at a time gives me pretty good speed in the water.

Guess it's all about preference at the end of the day. Not everyone's technique is the same. But definitely try the S-shape if you're not doing it already, it does make a difference.

The strength is the key too. Take Inletsurfer's advice on that one. Few sets of push-ups a day should help...Good luck.

isnt the crawl just like freestyle? i never knew an S shaped stroke was used in freestyle.

[joem]

So why don't most average surfers do weights, train or even practice like that ??? buggered if I know.....look in any surfing mag, look at the likes of Kelly Slater & Andy Irons (especially), look at the rigs on those guys...if you think they don't do serious weights & train hard on dry land....who's kidding who...I read somewhere many of them even do Yoga these days....



B

if your a pro you can surf nearly all day evry day

[Otter]

Like Big Z says, "Long, smooth strokes." Pretend like there's a diamond ring on the bottom and you could reach down and pick it up... OK, that's lame, but the idea is sound. Reach as far forward as you can, I cup my hands, dig down as deep as you can and follow through pushing back as much water as you can for as long as you can with each stroke.

I'll bet your real problem is positioning on your board though. If you're to far back, you're pushing alot of extra water out of the way. This will seriously deplete your speed and make you tired much more quickly. Try to position yourself so that our board planes over the water, rather than pushes through it. Your speed will definitely improve if this is the issue.

On a board like that, you may also find that by using your knees, you can change the center of gravity sufficiently to make a difference in your paddling speed. Ever watch the old surfer movies, and the guys paddling out all have their feet out of the water with knees fully bent? They are using the weight of their lower legs to change the center of gravity. The "sweet spot" is actually the center of gravity. To paddle faster they may bend their knees at 45+ degrees, if they run into chop or rougher water, they lower their legs to pull the nose up a bit. Not alot of people use this technique here in So Cal, but I find it very effective and have been doing it since I started surfing.

[flex]

Like Big Z says, "Long, smooth strokes." Pretend like there's a diamond ring on the bottom and you could reach down and pick it up... OK, that's lame, but the idea is sound. Reach as far forward as you can, I cup my hands, dig down as deep as you can and follow through pushing back as much water as you can for as long as you can with each stroke.

I'll bet your real problem is positioning on your board though. If you're to far back, you're pushing alot of extra water out of the way. This will seriously deplete your speed and make you tired much more quickly. Try to position yourself so that our board planes over the water, rather than pushes through it. Your speed will definitely improve if this is the issue.

On a board like that, you may also find that by using your knees, you can change the center of gravity sufficiently to make a difference in your paddling speed. Ever watch the old surfer movies, and the guys paddling out all have their feet out of the water with knees fully bent? They are using the weight of their lower legs to change the center of gravity. The "sweet spot" is actually the center of gravity. To paddle faster they may bend their knees at 45+ degrees, if they run into chop or rougher water, they lower their legs to pull the nose up a bit. Not alot of people use this technique here in So Cal, but I find it very effective and have been doing it since I started surfing.

about positioning on the board...when i'm on mine i cant get my board to plane over the water like you said. if i lie on the board so the board is 0 degrees as in straight, the whole board is underwater. HELP!