correct paddling technique?

[pig champion]

was reading a post where someone was asking about a board to get into waves easier & some suggested "learning how to paddle properly" ...

am curious to see people's different takes on paddling ... would be good to hear from nick carroll especially ...

[mustkillmulloway]

yeah...nice idea for a thread....i'm a born lazy paddler....i'm always hunting out rips and easy way outs

i reckon at least 50% paddling technique is actually reading the surf and finding those little eddys that can do some work for u

as far the physical aspect....i try and cup my hands and paddle with deep strokes

but if the surfs good i usually don't pay it any attn

i just sort do it

[bro]

I've read stuff about bringing your hands under your board during your sweep but it feels weird. NC is the man he reckons you can out paddle mals and increase speed dramatically with the correct technique.

So NC please enlighten us?

[FishStick]

I usually sit on my board and push back so that it sinks on the tail into the oncoming wave. I wait till the buoyancy of the board starts pushing back and then do a type of frog kick forward. I get enough forward movement that I hardly have to paddle when doing this. And sometimes I don't paddle at all.

Other than that is there a wrong way of paddling? The only bad paddling I see is beginners that don't have the strength to keep their head up. Oh and the occasional longboarder who is paddling like hell but can't seem to get very far. He probably has his body placement on the board all wrong.

[swift]

I love paddling!
I treat it as a workout (got to get rid of the beer gut somehow).
Deep strokes are the go but I never really think about it!

[creased]

...

[surfin39]

May sound like a boast but I am a natural swimmer ... in that I have a natural correct swimming style .... in my youth I did all the squad training etc. and ended up at national level competing .... my kids are the same, very smooth, effortless style but can achieve good speed ...

so ....

I believe that I have always had a good paddling stroke due to my swimming ability so there may be something in that combination .... thus correct swimming stroke could help stronger paddling stroke ....

[Tills]

I'd love to help, but I paddle like a bitch.

I don't get out near as much as I'd like, and I do no other work on the arms/shoulders at all.

[crooked]

LOL- those chicks should be chained to the sink/oven/bed.

[ric_vidal]

LOL- those chicks should be chained to the sink/oven/bed.

Wouldn’t mind being the stroke.

[Nick Carroll]

Well you get a bunch of hot 22 year old chicks and...

Nahh let's not go there.

Correct paddling technique doesn't come naturally to most people (perhaps about as many as have a naturally correct freestyle swim stroke eh surfin39!).

Most surfers paddle with a fairly stiff elbow, rotating most of the movement through the shoulder joint and relying on sheer grunt to get the job done. They swing their arms wide on the return and put a lot of effort into the middle of the stroke. Often they cup their hands. They tire fairly quickly, within 50 strokes or so, and have to take little rests all the way out to the lineup. Sound familiar?

You think this is OK, fine, but I've got a thousand surfers with rotator cuff injuries I can introduce you to who'll tell ya otherwise.

Correct technique takes the effort out of the arms and shoulders and transfers much of it into the larger muscles of the upper and middle back.

I'm not gonna do a tutorial here -- if you want one of them you're gonna have to pay for it. But here's some tips:

The "catch" -- the initial sliding your hand into the water and the first six to 12 inches of movement -- is the most important part of the paddle stroke.

Put your hand in soft and flat -- fingers slightly apart, wrist tilted at 45 degrees, neither the thumb or the little finger going in first, but nice and flat -- take a fraction of a second to gather some water under the palm of your hand, and pull through.

Keep the hand relaxed and the stroke pretty much straight from "catch" to release -- don't twist your hand under the board too much.

Once your's hand's past the line of your shoulder, effective transfer of power is finished. At that point, cut the straining and relax. The back end of the stroke -- the "release" -- is all about bringing the hand out smoothly.

Bring it out earlier than you think -- about at the hip line, max.

Instead of lifting the hand out, lift the elbow. The hand will follow.

Keep the elbow high and track the hand up to the "catch" in as straight a line as you can.

Keep the strokes per minute down and focus instead on correcting the stroke. 40 spm done right will ruin 80 spm done wrong. (As the actress said to the bishop.)

And ... consciously ... relax.

[surfin39]

Correct paddling technique doesn't come naturally to most people (perhaps about as many as have a naturally correct freestyle swim stroke eh surfin39!).....followed by extensive technical detail that only a mathematician could decifer ....

so in lamens terms ... do you think there could be a connection to good swimming style and paddling 'cause I was commenting that a good swimming style may assist good paddling, besides if your gonna surf you should be a decent swimmer ....

[Nick Carroll]

Oh yes! There's definitely a connection.

Think finger-drag drills, high elbows, pull and glide, posture, balance.

Another hint: a good paddler, just like a good swimmer, engages his/her whole body in the stroke. If your legs aren't moving (just a little bit!) your arms are working too hard.

[daryl]

I've read stuff about bringing your hands under your board during your sweep but it feels weird. NC is the man he reckons you can out paddle mals and increase speed dramatically with the correct technique.

So NC please enlighten us?

Okay when you've got humungous great paddle mitts, like
nick-nackers.

[mad]

The real question is if you've been in and out of the water for over 40 years how do you change and correct something like paddling and swimming which is so instinctive

[daryl]

bump

Only WISH I had paddle paws.

Santa One great set of paddlepaws.

Please .

[doowdle]

Another hint: a good paddler, just like a good swimmer, engages his/her whole body in the stroke. If your legs aren't moving (just a little bit!) your arms are working too hard.

Is that for balance Nick? Cos my feet arn't really engaging with the water when I'm lying on a 6' surfboard - can't imagine yours do either.


unless i stick em over the side?

[Tills]

Here's a great idea. Go out and get yourself a pair of those webbed gloves.

Not only will you have infinitely more paddle power, but you'll also look so much cooler.