Sunday, May 15, 2011

SUP Downwind Clinic video- with Nicole Madosik, Jared Vargas, Morgan Hoeserey, Kainoa Beaupre

One of our customers asked me if I could join him on a downwind paddle and give him some tips.  I invited some other customers and got help from some of my friends who also happen to be some of the fastest paddlers on Oahu to put together the first Blue Planet Downwind Paddle Clinic the week before the BOP Hawaii.  We filmed the tips we gave on the beach before getting on the water and I put them together in a series of downwind paddling clinic videos that are 4-8 minutes each.  If you have not seen the previous post, please also watch the video with Hawaii Kai run downwind racing tips.  The last video (Part 6) has some gopro video from the water where you can see some of the participants putting what they learned into action.



Blue Planet Downwind Clinic part 1 with tips from Nicole Madosik and Jared Vargas


Blue Planet Downwind Clinic - Part 2 with tips from Jared Vargas and Morgan Hoesterey



Blue Planet Downwind Clinic- Part 3 with tips from Robert Stehlik and Kainoa Beaupre



Downwind Clinic- Part 4-Kainoa Beaupre with more downwind tips and line to Kaimana



Downwind Clinic- Part 5, Kainoa Beaupre talks about the inside line from Kaimana to Fort De Russy



Downwind Clinic - Part 6: End of the beach clinic and into the water







Timing and Efficiency
There is a good game on OCpaddler.com called 40 strokes, where the goal is to go as far as possible with 40 strokes using the waves.  It teaches you timing and to use your strokes as efficiently as possible (although it is limited to two dimensions, in real life, going left and right can make a big difference).  I have been able to get a score of just over 1900 but have not been able to get over 2000 as some others have.  For tips, read some of the comments posted.

Aloha,
Robert Stehlik

6 comments:

  1. Great job, Robert! Thanks for all your hard work! Really great to see this all again and I have been able to try some of the things I learned from this clinic. Many thanks to all the coaches for their help and encouragement!!! Aloha, Audrey

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  2. Thank you, Audrey. You have made a lot of progress and I admire your determination. Just keep paddling and you will be an expert soon.
    One of my favorite quotes:
    Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do- Confucius

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  3. Great videos, Thanks. The most frequent DW question I ask and hear, is how to link the bumps. What to look for once you are on the runner. Ever thought of shooting some video and then going back with a voiceover. That way we could learn what guys are thinking and looking at as they put together runs. (without any wind noise). Thanks Again

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  4. You are right, linking the bumps is an art form and takes lots of experience. The key to doing well in downwind races is not just to catch lots of bumps but connecting the bumps and maintaining a high average speed. I guess a good way to learn from an expert is to go on a two man outrigger with them and pay attention to what they do. Often it's not about going straight into the steepest part of the bump but rather more like angling down the line and almost like kicking out over the shoulder with speed like in surfing, then using the speed to connect onto another smaller bump and then into a bigger, faster one. This way you avoid bogging down on the back side of a big bump and losing most of your speed. I don't think the small nuances and crosschop used to connect the bigger bumps will show well on a go pro camera. I'll try to get some footage though and do a voiceover as I'm finally starting to learn how to edit video.

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  5. I will share this blog to my friends. Im sure they will be all interested.

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Thanks for posting a comment on Zen Waterman, your comment will show as soon as we have a chance to screen it for spam. Mahalo, we hope to see you on the water!