I'd like to know if one's paddling stroke changes when you do SUP surfing (even small waves) or SUP foiling? I've checked some videos talking about a "J" stroke, which may assist in keeping the board going in a straight line? If this is an option, is this stroke shorter that a "standard" SUP stroke? I'm an intermediate wing foiler, but because we only get enough wind 2 days out of 20 compared to waves or swell nearly every day, I've taken up learning to SUP. My main motivation is to learn a new skill (at 56!) and to learn to SUP foil as we have great downwind swells and waves in our bay. There's no one else doing this in Mossel Bay (a small seaside town in South Africa), so I'm trying stuff on my own. My friend from Cape Town lent me his 7'8" SUP, (34'inch wide, 4 inch thick) to learn on 3 weeks ago. He used it when he started to SUP foil (he now uses a 6'5"). . I found it very challenging to stand on, but are getting better at it after about 6 times (in flat water). I also surf regularly and used to be an advanced windsurfer. I'd appreciate your comments as I'm thinking back to the difficult learning phases of windsurfing and surfing and want to get to a decent level within the shortest possible time. I'm able to spend at least an hour on the water, 6 days a week. Much appreciated! Jurie
@@thelicencecoliquorwisedivi8364 Hi Jurie, apologies for the delay replying. So this is quite a complex topic. As you are finding, the problem on smaller surfing/foiling SUP boards is that the boards are more inclined to turn. The shorter the board, the more of a problem this is - to the point that on a very short surf SUP just one 'normal' stroke can turn the board 90 degrees. Greater width, and/or a more rounded planshape generally, also increases this problem. So how do you deal with this? There are a whole bunch of minor technique variations that can mitigate it, but here are your main three work-ons: 1. Ensure that your current stroke is as efficient as possible. Again it comes back to the catch. The more of your stroke out front, where is it pulling the board forward, rather than encouraging it to turn, the better. So you still want to get that perfect catch as far forward as is comfortable. The paddle needs to be as vertical as possible, perhaps even over-canted, ie slightly more than vertical, so it feels like you are pulling the blade in under your board. 2. Shorten your stroke slightly, at the back. In other words stop applying power even before the paddle reaches your feet. Because this end of the stroke is where the most turning is happening. High cadence short strokes out front really helps to pull your board forward. 3. Introduce some draw into your stroke AT THE FRONT. You absolutely do not want to do a J stroke, where the turning element of the stroke happens at the back. Instead, learn to introduce some draw into the start of your stroke. This is absolutely best learned on flat water, well away from any distractions of surf. To start with, break it down into its two components - put the blade into the water up by the nose but further out than usual, then just pull it in to the nose, at 90 degrees to your direction of travel. So it is JUST a turning stroke. The nose should come towards the blade. Learn to do this draw. Then, just as the blade is about to make contact with the board, turn it so it becomes a normal paddle stroke. So basically the blade is doing an inverted L . Once you have got the hang of this and can keep paddling on one side all the time without the board turning, then you can start working on smoothing out the path of the blade, so it is less of a right angles corner on your stroke line. It becomes a 'reverse J' stroke. Learning this will take time and practice. But for SUP surfing it's a really game-changing skill to have. If you have to change sides when you are paddling for a wave - you will not catch the wave. Ultimately, this type of paddling is much less efficient than normal paddling, and you would never really use this technique in a race, for example. But on a short board it allows you to paddle straight which is a major winner. There is a whole lot more to say on this, so maybe we'll do a video on it soon. But hopefully this is of some help.
Middle school teacher here. Just want to say that was the best instructional info I’ve seen on paddling technique in the last 2 years, bravo! Thank you for sharing your insight!
Nice one, hopefully you found a few things of use in it? It's one of the great things about the SUP stroke, there's always more to learn, more to understand. Bill has been paddling even longer than your impressive stats, yet he's the first to admit that he's still learning all the time and he certainly doesn't have all the answers yet.
It is so refreshing to find somebody who is thoughtful observant and knows what hi /she is talking about in any activity today. Thank you for insightful analysis and stimulating advice. I am teaching people about various movement for more than 40 years be it Alpine skiing, Aikido, or giving medical advice and I really enjoy your clear simple and functionally sound instructions. Respect from a self thought Sup-boarder of 6 years experience
Well, you did it again Bill! I watched the video and thought hmm, interesting. I hopped on my board the next day and gave it a try. Whoa! It’s freeing. When I hit it just right, there’s no resistance. This will take time to drill in for sure. Side note- I was running with this video in mind, applied the same concept to my feet and ta da. Much nicer plant and felt really nice and light. Thank you!
This is an excellent video. I like his approach, I am a fairly recent SUP owner and am 61 years old, I love his comments about the ideal stroke, I'm not a 20 something highly tuned athlete
Bill/and team, Active SUP boarder middle/intermediate QuickBlade adjustable carbon paddle NRS Escape 11.6 SUP board. Thank you so much for these invaluable tips. It all makes perfect "pounce" sense. The tip about when the stroke actually starts - at the back of your body, coming forward, and then finishing at the back, and then starting the next stroke all over again - is brilliant. Plus, the great analogies about a boxing punch or a tennis/golf hit - hitting the 'sweet' spot - give the viewer/supboarder a new perspective on how to visualize >>>>AND
I have only been on a SUP twice and am so happy to have found this video. It is extremely helpful, so well explained and useful for absolute beginners. You must be an extraordinary coach. Thank you for this video!
I am completely guilty of everything you described at the beginning, but after watching this video I totally agree with the logic behind your method. I am going to start putting it into practice and will definitely come back and edit this post with an update on my progress!
Fantastic! More of these instructional videos for technique would be welcomed. Just purchased a second board, so it would keep viewers coming to the site (as less interested in reviews at the moment).
Really really helpful. Still a beginner but didn't realise the catch has such an impact. Followed your exercise from this video and made such a difference to the speed I travelled. Keep the videos coming .Huge help for a beginner such as myself or someone more advanced I'm sure
Hi I paddle at the sea and watching your video Ive realised that i look at it as if you would be about to spear a big fish on the side forward of your board , its like you have to be accurate with that hit !! Very nice video. 👍
This coach is as impeccably articulate as he is adept at communicating essential information by illustration. As new to SUP, I'm grateful to him and hopeful to find someone like him on youtube for wind surfing, kiteboarding and other water sports that my wife and I intend to pursue now that we live on the coast.
Hey this is a worthwhile watch. Find myself thinking..catch, catch, catch, right through the race, untill we're slogging it out at the end and all my technique goes out the door😉. But honestly, it's made me faster, and it's a great pre race warm up.🤙🏻
I don't think I've seen any videos where they speak of listening. I often hear a splash and it drives me crazy. Because in my mind I know I probably didn't get it right. And sadly I find myself hearing that every third or fourth stroke. So it was nice to hear someone speak of it in those terms. And after watching this I now realize it's something I really really need to work on.
Absolutely! But don't worry you are most certainly not alone. Anyone who reckons they are getting every stroke perfect is either a) an incredible pro who practices this all the time, or b) dreaming. It's actually incredibly hard - but your practice really well pay off. The more you work on it, the better you'll get. (Which isn't exactly ground-breaking news, is it! But it still comes as a surprise to so many people). Go for it, you're clearly already conscious of what's going on if you're listening to your stroke. I hope the vid helped, and do check out the others in our series.
7 месяцев назад+1
Merci beaucoup ! A brilliant teaching I would practice as soon as possible ! Especially the slow strokes at the beginning and ending of the session. 👍🙏🤙 J.C. from France
I’ve had my first lesson this week and I’ve been told the paddle needs to exit the water in line with my feet, and I shouldn’t reach too far forward. In my mind this is producing smaller ineffective stokes. I’m confused as I’m told I’m wasting power if the paddle goes behind my feet. I’m watching your stroke carefully and you are definitely going behind your feet which makes more sense to me
This is one of the many myths about the paddleboard stroke, repeated by all too many paddleboard instructors because it is what they've been told. However, there is plenty of power to be had from that rear section of the stroke. What you absolutely do NOT want to do is pull the paddle through that last part in a lifting motion, so that you're lifting water up. That is a common mistake, because it does feel like you're generating power, but you're not - the blade is at a heavily negative angle and actually all you're doing is pulling your weight back onto your heels and the tail of the board down. At your early stage of progress, my advice would be to not worry about the paddle coming past your feet, let the stroke finish where it feels comfortable, but just be careful not to PULL once it's past your feet. Your instructor is also badly wrong if they are telling you not to reach too far forward. You should definitely aim to start the stroke as far forward as is a comfortable reach. I hope this helps?
I think they say to to beginners to prevent them from making a very bad mistake of trying to paddle through and lifting up which would pull you down into the water and waste a lot of energy. But if you can keep a proper angle with the paddle and move it in the right direction through the stroke you're good. Just don't paddle through and lift up water with the paddle. The paddle should only be pushing water backwards.
Glad we were able to help! If you don't mind us asking, was it the whole video in general, or some particular aspect of the discussion that you were looking for? It's always good to know what people find useful, as we are happy to do more deep dives into those particular areas of technique if the interest is there.
Fantastic video, thank you. I've been guilty of watching dozens of 5-7 minute videos because I think it's the quickest way to get up the learning curve but ended up just confusing myself. So glad I took a pause and watched this instead. Really thorough explanation and a great exercise. Tried it today and it makes such a difference. Also a very relaxing way to work on your stroke :-) I found the idea of pouncing onto the catch and also thinking about the paddle gripping the water really useful. Do you have more videos in the pipeline? I'm particularly interested in guidance on how to apply power to the stroke.
Thank you for an informative, helpful video. Absolutely agree with your assessment that one style of stroke cannot possibly fit all. I will certainly be concentrating more on the catch and carrying out this drill. Nice work, look forward to further videos and tips.
Gracias por la explicación, y lo más importante para aquellos de habla hispana, la excelente traducción al español, gran mención, destacar la importancia de intentar "percibir" la entrada del remo al agua como parte de la técnica. Gracias Ariel de Argentina
Hi there. I am 5'2" and have been paddling for about 3 years. However, although I understand the perfect catch, I find if my paddle goes right in at the nose I am leaning right over to the point where I am off balance as I am so short, also sometimes I don't have the strength to follow the pull through from the nose in the ocean bays where I paddleboard.. hope this makes sense!
@kaymanuel7266 Hi, yes for sure, I totally understand what you're saying. Don't worry about trying to get the paddle in up at the nose. What matters is simply getting the paddle in nice and far forward. But no further forward than is comfortable for your own personal biomechanics. As long as the paddle blade is entering the water with a positive catch angle, you are doing it right. Hope this helps!?
I’d like tips for the non dominant side. Does it make sense to shorten my stroke length slightly? At least until I even it out? Catching beautifully on my dominant side.
I've heard that you should commit your weight to the resistance of the catch, to the degree that you can lift the far foot from the board. Is this a useful idea?
@marionsutcliffe1119 I freely admit that I have not heard this one before. It's a really interesting suggestion and I will explore it next time I'm on the water. My initial thoughts, from trying this in the studio, is that yes, for sure, the far heel ought to be able to lift up, as your weight drives forward onto your toes. However, lifting the entire foot off the board sounds as though it could be very destabilising. Unless you're on a very round hulled board (uncommon these days) the general aim is to keep the board running flat and smooth. So lifting the foot off might not be wise. However, I'm saying all this without having actually tried it yet. So, watch this space!
@marionsutcliffe1119 Ok, I have spent some time exploring this, and I couldn't find any merit in it at all, it was in fact deeply destabilising. Allowing your heel to come up, yes. But there's simply no way that your foot can come off completely, the balance is all wrong. I suspect that this simply might be a 'lost in translation' thing, and whoever you heard this from was referring to letting the heel come up, rather than actually lifting the foot come off completely. Have you given it a try yourself?
@@supboardguide Thanks for checking it out! This was about lifting the foot entirely - I found another video that showed this as a balance drill, not just for the catch - multiple strokes on one leg. I did try but it was a complete non-starter. I'm working on getting confidence shuffling my feet around a bit, as well as brief heel-toe lifting to unblock my feet.
@@marionsutcliffe1119 Ah, ok! So yes, that is a thing. But you need to put your other foot right on the center line when you do it, in order to balance the board. And it's really not anything to do with good or proper paddling. What you're doing is great though; getting used to moving about on the board really helps you become lighter on your feet and also significantly reduces the tension in your legs and stops the build up of lactic acid in the feet. Happy paddling!
Great instructions. But it seems to me that your paddle goes too low/deep in the water? That is, you bend too much downwards with every stroke? As you said, the paddle blade should be all submerged. But it doesn't need to be 2 feet down?
@jsjs6751 The reality is that it's almost impossible to put that paddle in too deeply. Pushing it down is a guaranteed way to generate power. I could show you a stack of pix of top paddlers bent so far over that their back is horizontal. It will never hurt the stroke. For sure, it will influence how the stroke develops and what happens next in the power phase, and for some types of paddlers there may be faster stroke styles, but ultimately, a deep stroke will always be a good effective stroke. It's complicated because there are a variety of different ways of getting power out of your stroke, which I didn't get into in the vid because it adds a whole lot of extra complexity to the picture. The points I discuss in the vid are valid for all strokes, but the actual power mechanism can be from compression, twist or thrust, and as said, that's a whole different vid in itself. My preferred method is compression, whereby I am using my upper body weight and muscles to power the paddle downwards, which generates a whole lot of power. The way I coach the stroke generally is to start by getting my client comfortable with a compression stroke (ie primarily downwards), because that sorts out so many of the fundamental issues that most people have with their set up and catch. Once that's all good, and a really strong early catch has been achieved, we can then look at fine tuning how the power phase develops. Which may well mean for some people a little bit less bend, and a slightly shallower paddle. Sorry, this probably doesn't help at all. The stroke is such a complex beast, it's impossible to do it justice in a few paragraphs!
Heh, well spotted. It's a consequence of concentrating on getting a good catch for the camera. You're absolutely right, there's no need to look down on every stroke normally.
Some very good guidance and points made. However, it’s easy to lose attention. This 20 minute video could have been half that length. Repetitive instructions are ok, but this is over repetition.
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SUP Question of the Day 🌊: What are some SUP technique tips you've received, and how have they been useful? Let us know in the comments below!
I'd like to know if one's paddling stroke changes when you do SUP surfing (even small waves) or SUP foiling? I've checked some videos talking about a "J" stroke, which may assist in keeping the board going in a straight line? If this is an option, is this stroke shorter that a "standard" SUP stroke? I'm an intermediate wing foiler, but because we only get enough wind 2 days out of 20 compared to waves or swell nearly every day, I've taken up learning to SUP. My main motivation is to learn a new skill (at 56!) and to learn to SUP foil as we have great downwind swells and waves in our bay. There's no one else doing this in Mossel Bay (a small seaside town in South Africa), so I'm trying stuff on my own. My friend from Cape Town lent me his 7'8" SUP, (34'inch wide, 4 inch thick) to learn on 3 weeks ago. He used it when he started to SUP foil (he now uses a 6'5"). . I found it very challenging to stand on, but are getting better at it after about 6 times (in flat water). I also surf regularly and used to be an advanced windsurfer. I'd appreciate your comments as I'm thinking back to the difficult learning phases of windsurfing and surfing and want to get to a decent level within the shortest possible time. I'm able to spend at least an hour on the water, 6 days a week. Much appreciated! Jurie
@@thelicencecoliquorwisedivi8364 Hi Jurie, apologies for the delay replying. So this is quite a complex topic. As you are finding, the problem on smaller surfing/foiling SUP boards is that the boards are more inclined to turn. The shorter the board, the more of a problem this is - to the point that on a very short surf SUP just one 'normal' stroke can turn the board 90 degrees. Greater width, and/or a more rounded planshape generally, also increases this problem.
So how do you deal with this? There are a whole bunch of minor technique variations that can mitigate it, but here are your main three work-ons:
1. Ensure that your current stroke is as efficient as possible. Again it comes back to the catch. The more of your stroke out front, where is it pulling the board forward, rather than encouraging it to turn, the better. So you still want to get that perfect catch as far forward as is comfortable. The paddle needs to be as vertical as possible, perhaps even over-canted, ie slightly more than vertical, so it feels like you are pulling the blade in under your board.
2. Shorten your stroke slightly, at the back. In other words stop applying power even before the paddle reaches your feet. Because this end of the stroke is where the most turning is happening. High cadence short strokes out front really helps to pull your board forward.
3. Introduce some draw into your stroke AT THE FRONT. You absolutely do not want to do a J stroke, where the turning element of the stroke happens at the back. Instead, learn to introduce some draw into the start of your stroke. This is absolutely best learned on flat water, well away from any distractions of surf. To start with, break it down into its two components - put the blade into the water up by the nose but further out than usual, then just pull it in to the nose, at 90 degrees to your direction of travel. So it is JUST a turning stroke. The nose should come towards the blade. Learn to do this draw. Then, just as the blade is about to make contact with the board, turn it so it becomes a normal paddle stroke. So basically the blade is doing an inverted L . Once you have got the hang of this and can keep paddling on one side all the time without the board turning, then you can start working on smoothing out the path of the blade, so it is less of a right angles corner on your stroke line. It becomes a 'reverse J' stroke. Learning this will take time and practice. But for SUP surfing it's a really game-changing skill to have. If you have to change sides when you are paddling for a wave - you will not catch the wave.
Ultimately, this type of paddling is much less efficient than normal paddling, and you would never really use this technique in a race, for example. But on a short board it allows you to paddle straight which is a major winner.
There is a whole lot more to say on this, so maybe we'll do a video on it soon. But hopefully this is of some help.
Middle school teacher here. Just want to say that was the best instructional info I’ve seen on paddling technique in the last 2 years, bravo! Thank you for sharing your insight!
Currently paddling 20 miles a week on my local canal and this is the best piece of advice I've had. My 5 mile sets have improved in every way.
Great work, and glad this advice helped!
How has this video only got 1k likes? An amazing video filled with first class info from start to finish.
Many thanks Mark! Please share the vid with your paddling friends, it'd be great to get it out there to more people.
One of the best instructional video I have seen, regardless of the subject or activity. Right ON POINT.
I have been paddling for 10 years, for 6 multiple times a week for hour and I still watched your video 😊
Nice one, hopefully you found a few things of use in it? It's one of the great things about the SUP stroke, there's always more to learn, more to understand. Bill has been paddling even longer than your impressive stats, yet he's the first to admit that he's still learning all the time and he certainly doesn't have all the answers yet.
It is so refreshing to find somebody who is thoughtful observant and knows what hi /she is talking about in any activity today.
Thank you for insightful analysis and stimulating advice.
I am teaching people about various movement for more than 40 years be it Alpine skiing, Aikido, or giving medical advice
and I really enjoy your clear simple and functionally sound instructions.
Respect from a self thought Sup-boarder of 6 years experience
Well, you did it again Bill! I watched the video and thought hmm, interesting. I hopped on my board the next day and gave it a try.
Whoa! It’s freeing. When I hit it just right, there’s no resistance. This will take time to drill in for sure.
Side note- I was running with this video in mind, applied the same concept to my feet and ta da. Much nicer plant and felt really nice and light.
Thank you!
instruction starts at 6:11. Great info and starting today. Thank you
Let us know how you improve!
Oh I gave up at 6:00.
I will go back and finish because apparently the instruction is quite good.
This is an excellent video. I like his approach, I am a fairly recent SUP owner and am 61 years old, I love his comments about the ideal stroke, I'm not a 20 something highly tuned athlete
Bill/and team,
Active SUP boarder
middle/intermediate
QuickBlade adjustable carbon paddle
NRS Escape 11.6 SUP board.
Thank you so much for these invaluable tips. It all makes perfect "pounce" sense. The tip about when the stroke actually starts - at the back of your body, coming forward, and then finishing at the back, and then starting the next stroke all over again - is brilliant. Plus, the great analogies about a boxing punch or a tennis/golf hit - hitting the 'sweet' spot - give the viewer/supboarder a new perspective on how to visualize >>>>AND
This is the BEST instructional video I have seen!!! Very Very thanks!!!
Thanks Sergio, really appreciate your feedback and stoked that you found the video of use.
I have only been on a SUP twice and am so happy to have found this video. It is extremely helpful, so well explained and useful for absolute beginners. You must be an extraordinary coach. Thank you for this video!
I am completely guilty of everything you described at the beginning, but after watching this video I totally agree with the logic behind your method. I am going to start putting it into practice and will definitely come back and edit this post with an update on my progress!
Amazing tutorial
Much appreciated! We'll have more educational ones coming soon so please subscribe if you haven't yet!
Fantastic! More of these instructional videos for technique would be welcomed. Just purchased a second board, so it would keep viewers coming to the site (as less interested in reviews at the moment).
That was very helpful, never understood why it was called 'the catch' until this explanation! Thanks Bill Dawes
Really really helpful. Still a beginner but didn't realise the catch has such an impact. Followed your exercise from this video and made such a difference to the speed I travelled. Keep the videos coming .Huge help for a beginner such as myself or someone more advanced I'm sure
Great to hear, so glad you found it helpful!
Hi I paddle at the sea and watching your video Ive realised that i look at it as if you would be about to spear a big fish on the side forward of your board , its like you have to be accurate with that hit !! Very nice video. 👍
This coach is as impeccably articulate as he is adept at communicating essential information by illustration. As new to SUP, I'm grateful to him and hopeful to find someone like him on youtube for wind surfing, kiteboarding and other water sports that my wife and I intend to pursue now that we live on the coast.
I like very much your speech. Right to the point. The introduction to the exercices was really needed. Great job, thank you very much.
So deep. Really, really useful.
Hey this is a worthwhile watch. Find myself thinking..catch, catch, catch, right through the race, untill we're slogging it out at the end and all my technique goes out the door😉. But honestly, it's made me faster, and it's a great pre race warm up.🤙🏻
Thank you so much, I'm gonna try it tomorrow! Hello from southern Brazil!
I don't think I've seen any videos where they speak of listening. I often hear a splash and it drives me crazy. Because in my mind I know I probably didn't get it right. And sadly I find myself hearing that every third or fourth stroke. So it was nice to hear someone speak of it in those terms. And after watching this I now realize it's something I really really need to work on.
Absolutely! But don't worry you are most certainly not alone. Anyone who reckons they are getting every stroke perfect is either a) an incredible pro who practices this all the time, or b) dreaming. It's actually incredibly hard - but your practice really well pay off. The more you work on it, the better you'll get. (Which isn't exactly ground-breaking news, is it! But it still comes as a surprise to so many people). Go for it, you're clearly already conscious of what's going on if you're listening to your stroke. I hope the vid helped, and do check out the others in our series.
Merci beaucoup ! A brilliant teaching I would practice as soon as possible ! Especially the slow strokes at the beginning and ending of the session. 👍🙏🤙
J.C. from France
I’ve had my first lesson this week and I’ve been told the paddle needs to exit the water in line with my feet, and I shouldn’t reach too far forward. In my mind this is producing smaller ineffective stokes. I’m confused as I’m told I’m wasting power if the paddle goes behind my feet. I’m watching your stroke carefully and you are definitely going behind your feet which makes more sense to me
This is one of the many myths about the paddleboard stroke, repeated by all too many paddleboard instructors because it is what they've been told. However, there is plenty of power to be had from that rear section of the stroke. What you absolutely do NOT want to do is pull the paddle through that last part in a lifting motion, so that you're lifting water up. That is a common mistake, because it does feel like you're generating power, but you're not - the blade is at a heavily negative angle and actually all you're doing is pulling your weight back onto your heels and the tail of the board down. At your early stage of progress, my advice would be to not worry about the paddle coming past your feet, let the stroke finish where it feels comfortable, but just be careful not to PULL once it's past your feet. Your instructor is also badly wrong if they are telling you not to reach too far forward. You should definitely aim to start the stroke as far forward as is a comfortable reach. I hope this helps?
I think they say to to beginners to prevent them from making a very bad mistake of trying to paddle through and lifting up which would pull you down into the water and waste a lot of energy. But if you can keep a proper angle with the paddle and move it in the right direction through the stroke you're good. Just don't paddle through and lift up water with the paddle. The paddle should only be pushing water backwards.
Thank you! Finally found what I was searching for.
Glad we were able to help! If you don't mind us asking, was it the whole video in general, or some particular aspect of the discussion that you were looking for? It's always good to know what people find useful, as we are happy to do more deep dives into those particular areas of technique if the interest is there.
Fantastic video, thank you. I've been guilty of watching dozens of 5-7 minute videos because I think it's the quickest way to get up the learning curve but ended up just confusing myself. So glad I took a pause and watched this instead. Really thorough explanation and a great exercise. Tried it today and it makes such a difference. Also a very relaxing way to work on your stroke :-) I found the idea of pouncing onto the catch and also thinking about the paddle gripping the water really useful. Do you have more videos in the pipeline? I'm particularly interested in guidance on how to apply power to the stroke.
So glad you found it helpful! We're hoping to get more instructional videos out soon :)
Amazing! So much great info packed into this video.
I am a newbie and have found this video a really massive help. And shall use this for instruction.
Fantastic video, keep it simple, understand the principles and enjoy the beauty of paddling in your own unique style
Thank you for an informative, helpful video. Absolutely agree with your assessment that one style of stroke cannot possibly fit all. I will certainly be concentrating more on the catch and carrying out this drill. Nice work, look forward to further videos and tips.
Am waiting my sub Board to arrive next week, and this is the best tutorial so far I get my first impression. Thank you!!!
@Khaled_bass We really hope you enjoy your new board!
Great video, and you explained the process in a way I can understand. Looking forward to trying out your advice!
Found footage useful and relevant. Thinking about my stroke more now, using the info presented. A good watch
Gracias por la explicación, y lo más importante para aquellos de habla hispana, la excelente traducción al español, gran mención, destacar la importancia de intentar "percibir" la entrada del remo al agua como parte de la técnica. Gracias Ariel de Argentina
Really enjoyed your video. I subscribed.
Fantastic how you show it….
Hi there. I am 5'2" and have been paddling for about 3 years. However, although I understand the perfect catch, I find if my paddle goes right in at the nose I am leaning right over to the point where I am off balance as I am so short, also sometimes I don't have the strength to follow the pull through from the nose in the ocean bays where I paddleboard.. hope this makes sense!
@kaymanuel7266 Hi, yes for sure, I totally understand what you're saying. Don't worry about trying to get the paddle in up at the nose. What matters is simply getting the paddle in nice and far forward. But no further forward than is comfortable for your own personal biomechanics. As long as the paddle blade is entering the water with a positive catch angle, you are doing it right. Hope this helps!?
@@billdawes123 Thanks for the help! I understand what you're saying ... Will practice that
Thank you!
I’d like tips for the non dominant side. Does it make sense to shorten my stroke length slightly? At least until I even it out?
Catching beautifully on my dominant side.
That Nixy carbon paddle has been in my mind to buy it. Has anyone had any experience with it?
I've heard that you should commit your weight to the resistance of the catch, to the degree that you can lift the far foot from the board. Is this a useful idea?
@marionsutcliffe1119 I freely admit that I have not heard this one before. It's a really interesting suggestion and I will explore it next time I'm on the water. My initial thoughts, from trying this in the studio, is that yes, for sure, the far heel ought to be able to lift up, as your weight drives forward onto your toes. However, lifting the entire foot off the board sounds as though it could be very destabilising. Unless you're on a very round hulled board (uncommon these days) the general aim is to keep the board running flat and smooth. So lifting the foot off might not be wise. However, I'm saying all this without having actually tried it yet. So, watch this space!
@marionsutcliffe1119 Ok, I have spent some time exploring this, and I couldn't find any merit in it at all, it was in fact deeply destabilising. Allowing your heel to come up, yes. But there's simply no way that your foot can come off completely, the balance is all wrong. I suspect that this simply might be a 'lost in translation' thing, and whoever you heard this from was referring to letting the heel come up, rather than actually lifting the foot come off completely.
Have you given it a try yourself?
@@supboardguide Thanks for checking it out! This was about lifting the foot entirely - I found another video that showed this as a balance drill, not just for the catch - multiple strokes on one leg. I did try but it was a complete non-starter. I'm working on getting confidence shuffling my feet around a bit, as well as brief heel-toe lifting to unblock my feet.
@@marionsutcliffe1119 Ah, ok! So yes, that is a thing. But you need to put your other foot right on the center line when you do it, in order to balance the board. And it's really not anything to do with good or proper paddling. What you're doing is great though; getting used to moving about on the board really helps you become lighter on your feet and also significantly reduces the tension in your legs and stops the build up of lactic acid in the feet. Happy paddling!
Its like you have to prepare the stoke from the back, and you have already seen the spot
@user-om3qq1pq6f that's exactly right!! Well done, you got it. Hopefully you'll find that really helps.
Thank you ;)
Great instructions.
But it seems to me that your paddle goes too low/deep in the water? That is, you bend too much downwards with every stroke?
As you said, the paddle blade should be all submerged. But it doesn't need to be 2 feet down?
@jsjs6751 The reality is that it's almost impossible to put that paddle in too deeply. Pushing it down is a guaranteed way to generate power. I could show you a stack of pix of top paddlers bent so far over that their back is horizontal. It will never hurt the stroke. For sure, it will influence how the stroke develops and what happens next in the power phase, and for some types of paddlers there may be faster stroke styles, but ultimately, a deep stroke will always be a good effective stroke.
It's complicated because there are a variety of different ways of getting power out of your stroke, which I didn't get into in the vid because it adds a whole lot of extra complexity to the picture. The points I discuss in the vid are valid for all strokes, but the actual power mechanism can be from compression, twist or thrust, and as said, that's a whole different vid in itself. My preferred method is compression, whereby I am using my upper body weight and muscles to power the paddle downwards, which generates a whole lot of power.
The way I coach the stroke generally is to start by getting my client comfortable with a compression stroke (ie primarily downwards), because that sorts out so many of the fundamental issues that most people have with their set up and catch. Once that's all good, and a really strong early catch has been achieved, we can then look at fine tuning how the power phase develops. Which may well mean for some people a little bit less bend, and a slightly shallower paddle.
Sorry, this probably doesn't help at all. The stroke is such a complex beast, it's impossible to do it justice in a few paragraphs!
@billdawes123 Thanks for your write-up.
Thank you. Very weird explained and demonstrated
Why are you looking down at the board at every stroke
Heh, well spotted. It's a consequence of concentrating on getting a good catch for the camera. You're absolutely right, there's no need to look down on every stroke normally.
Some very good guidance and points made. However, it’s easy to lose attention. This 20 minute video could have been half that length. Repetitive instructions are ok, but this is over repetition.