How to Stand Up Paddle Surf

The Best of the Best How-to-SUP Stuff from Around the Globe — Just Add Water & Go!

Fancy Footwork on a SUP!

Check out this video from Bryon via the Zone.  If you’re into cross-stepping, well, brother, this guy can cross-step.  Look & learn! 

SUP Man Down!

Not much new in how-to land, so I thought I’d share this pic posted by Bryon on the Zone.  We’ve all been in this position, haven’t we?  Now take a deep breath and …

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Walking the board, drop knee turns …

and more.  A nice little instructional write up!

Walking The Board
Always cross-step instead of shuffling
Take small steps- big steps can make you unsteady
Keep your shoulders steady and level - if your shoulders move up and down then so will your board
If your steps are too high or large, try dragging the top of your feet/toes as you walk- this will help steady your walking and ultimately the plane of the board
Watch the wave ahead and not your feet
Noseriding
Trim or load the inside rail of the board (into the wave face) for lift. 50/50 rails are ideal
Trim high in the steep part of the waveTyler's Top Surfing Tips
Keep most or all of your weight on the back foot when at the nose
Stay in the steep part of the wave- walk back and stall or cutback if necessary to adjust position
Focus Whilst Surfing
Always look down the line - not at your feet
Mentally plan two manoeuvres ahead - always know your next moves
Anticipate the movement of the wave face and how that will affect you and your board- for example, if a really hollow/fast section is coming up, plan to aim your board more toward the beach to not get sucked too high up the face. If the wave is slowing down or flattening, plan to walk back towards the tail and perhaps for a cutback
Drop Knee Turns
Watch masters like Phil Edwards in Surfing Hollow Days
Keep both feet on the turn side of the stringer to help release the rail from the face of the waveTyler's Top Surfing Tips
Facing forwards, open your shoulders and arms, rotate and look towards you desired destination direction
If possible, dragging your inside hand will help open your body and guide your turn
Keep the weight on the front foot keeping the board in trim - the back foot just to be used to help steer the board round once the rail is released from the face

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How to Paddle C4 Style

DW at NC Paddle Surfer recently got a paddling lesson from C4’s Todd Bradley and it’s completely changed his stroke.  Read on for details.  And then go to DE’s site to see a blow-up of the schematic below and a demonstration video.  Great stuff!

Thanks to Todd Bradley, and the SUPAH Clinic I attended in Oahu last week, I know how to paddle properly and efficiently.
If you think any of this is wrong, just try it before you reject it. Or better yet, just try to match Todd Bradley on a down wind run. Even Dave Parameter admitted he can’t keep up with Todd. His technique is so refined and efficient, he smokes people. captured_Image.png
To further improve on the technique shown here, make sure you twist the paddle blade as it exits the water at the end of the stroke. This will actually make your paddle JUMP out of the water, increasing your efficiency even further.
I was waiting for C4 to publish the video they shot of the clinic, but today I learned from Tommy Stokes that it will be awhile longer before this happens. I hated to hear that, so I’m posting the lessons learned now for all to absorb.
Now go paddle faster than ever before, with less strain and effort. You won’t need to keep downsizing your paddle blades.
Oh, and stop bending at the waist. Bend at the knees and throw jabs like Muhammad Ali. That’s what the top hand paddle stroke should be like.

NC Paddle Surfer

Tom’s SUP Wave-Catching Technique!!!!

A really great guy named Tom emailed me this instructional article about how to paddle so that when a wave arrives you’re lined up properly for the take off.  Simply put, it’s terrific.  If you’re a beginner and you take Tom’s advice, you will up your wave count by a lot.  A LOT!  This is a classic post.  I love it.  Thanks, Tom!

Tom’s wave catching technique.

This is how I do it, it’s not the only way, but it works for me. This technique is designed to get you in the right position to catch your wave while paddling hard and fast down the wave face.p6250079

Most SUP’ers have a preferred side to paddle on and it doesn’t always correlate to whether they are a regular or goofie foot surfer. My preferred paddle side is my left side and I am a regular foot surfer. In other words, when I take off on a wave, whether I plan to go right or left on the wave, I want to continuously be paddling on my left side. This is an important point, if you need to switch paddle sides while catching a wave; you lose a stroke, and may miss the wave.

To help explain my technique, I will use points on a clock, with 12:00 pointing out to the horizon where the waves come from, and 6:00 pointing to the beach and down the face of the wave. Since I want to take the wave while paddling on my left, and because paddling on my left will cause me to turn right, I will set up with my board pointing at 12:00 and looking for the waves that will be peaking on my right and in front of me. If they peak on my left, I let them go because I’m in the wrong position.

As a set approaches, I determine which wave I want and estimate where it will peak. I will then paddle towards that spot so that I will be in front of that spot before it breaks and heading between 2:00 to 4:00. As the wave peaks, I can decide to not take the wave, switch paddle sides and paddling hard on my right, go over the back of the wave. If I plan on taking the wave, I will keep paddling on my left and turn my board towards the direction I want to take the wave with either sweeping paddles to turn the board more or straight paddles to turn the board less. The paddling stroke and speed is determined by how the wave develops and whether I want to drop in on the wave heading either at 5, 6 or 7 o’clock.

Every wave breaks differently and hopefully this will set you up to be able to adapt to the differences. This is where wave judgment and paddle skills come into play. If the wave jumps up quick, I make a tight quick turn. If the wave is slow and the wave will break farther inside, I paddle heading at 4 or 5 o’clock to get to where it will break, and then take the wave at 6 o’clock. Also, how fast the wave breaks will determine my stance as I take off on the wave. With a slow wave, I stay in a parallel stance while catching the wave; with a steep wave, I go into an early surf stance while it’s jumping up. If I’m late on a slow wave, I may run to the nose while paddling frantically. With practice and paying attention to where and how the waves break, you should be able to catch all the waves you want. Just be courteous and give more than you take.

Note. This description is for those who would prefer to take a wave while paddling on their left. If you would prefer to paddle on your right, reverse left with right and 3:00 with 9:00.  

Tom on Tom: I live in San Diego, have spent a lot of year windsurfing Baja and surfing in my home town, Ocean Beach. I’ve been SUPing for a bit over a year and current ride a 10′ C4 in the surf and race and tour on a 12′ Stamps custom.