Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Stand Up Paddle Technique Part 7: Catching Waves

You were probably wondering when I would finally get around to how to catch and surf waves on a SUP.  Ideally, everyone would learn the basics first before even attempting to go into the surf to catch waves.  Unfortunately many head straight into the surf without basic skills and little knowledge of surfing etiquette.  I hope you are not one of them.  Please make sure you have a good grasp of all the basic skills covered in the first 6 technique posts and knowledge of surfing etiquette before even thinking about catching waves, especially if there are others in the waves with you.

For a pretty good summary of SUP etiquette, check out: http://www.supright.com

I worked with a class from Hawaii Pacific College that made these videos as part of their business school projects.

This first one is about how to catch a wave and how you want to approach the wave differently when you are Stand Up Paddling than when you are surfing without a paddle, this is a playlist, so keep watching for more videos!




Thanks for watching.  Again, please remember to make sure you first master the basic concepts of SUP before attempting to go into the surf zone:


Links to the paddle technique series posts:
Paddle Technique Part 0: Introduction to SUP
Paddle Technique Part 1: Choosing the Right Paddle
Paddle Technique Part 2: The Three Ingredients of a Powerful Stroke
Paddle Technique Part 3: Stacking the Shoulders
Paddle Technique Part 4: Reach and Catch
Paddle Technique Part 5: Recovery, Paddle Length and Grip
Paddle Technique Part 6: Turning the Board
Paddle Technique Part 7: Catching Waves

Aloha, 
Robert Stehlik 
www.blueplanetsurf.com

2 comments:

  1. Nice and very helpful post. Specially videos are very good. Thanks for sharing. I appriciate your experience...Lifeguard Uniform

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  2. Just now switching from Colorado rivers to San Diego surf. Whole nother animal.
    I'm riding a Waterman C4. Never tried a hard board, but after struggling with the basics for the second day, I can't wait to try your technique for "catching" the waves.
    Also, thank you for noting the importance of etiquette. Your link was very helpful.
    Great video's, MUCH appreciated.

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