Catching waves and bumps in First Gear: Quick Acceleration strokes

When I first started Stand Up Paddling, I was struggling to catch waves.  I was pulling on the paddle as hard as I could and figured the harder I pulled on the paddle and the more the shaft was bending, the more power I was applying and the faster the board would go.  Despite pulling as hard as I could I was missing a lot of waves, I also kept breaking paddles.  It seemed to make sense that the harder I pulled and the more the paddle shaft was bending, the faster I would go.

A big breakthrough for me came when Brian Keaulana gave me this tip after watching me try to catch a wave:  "You are starting in third gear!" 

He explained that first gear is short, quick strokes, way up in front, just tapping the water, not long, hard pulls.  That was a turning point for me, I learned how to use these quick accelerating strokes and it worked like a charm.  Not only was I no longer breaking paddles but my board would accelerate with just a few quick strokes and I started catching more waves.  This technique also works well in downwinders, whenever you need to accelerate to catch a bump.  Even in flatwater races you can use them at the start, after turns, or to catch up to a draft.  So I encourage you to watch the video, try this first gear acceleration stroke, and you will be a more well rounded paddler.  Not all strokes are the same, learn to use different gears when paddling and switch them up as needed.  

The gear analogy works: everyone knows that if you start in third gear, you will wear out your transmission and clutch and no matter ho hard you gas the engine, you will not accelerate quickly.  So take it easy on your body and gear and accelerate more quickly and easily by starting in first gear!

This video demonstrates how to accelerate quickly on a Stand Up Paddleboard by "starting in first gear". Quick, short, strokes create lift and smooth acceleration that will help you get the board on a plane to surf a wave or catch a bump in downwinders. 

We hope you enjoy our videos, please give us a thumbs up, check out the other SUP tip videos on our channel and subscribe for our latest videos posted weekly. For more information on our weekly training group mentioned in the video, please click on this link: http://zenwaterman.blogspot.com/…/weekly-time-trials-in-haw…

Also check out our private coaching offerings here: http://blueplanetsurf.com/pages/lessons

Thank you for watching,

Aloha, Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Quick, short bursts of power will help you get up to speed to catch a wave or bump

On downwinders the goal is to get the board to plane over the surface of the water and surf the open ocean wind swells.  

Gear used in this video: Kai Zen paddle with 88 blade, the blue board is the 2016 12'6 x 28 Blue Planet Bump Surfer, the rasta board is the 14' x 28" Bump Rider.  Drone video shot with the Hexo+ drone, land video by Evan Leong of standuppaddlesurf.net

Aloha,
Robert Stehlik
www.blueplanetsurf.com

Stand Up Paddle Technique Part 8: Buoy Turn, Pivot turn, Crossbow turn

Buoy turns

In SUP races with many turns you will find that most changes in positioning often happen in the turns, not in the straightaways, where it can take a huge amount of physical effort to pass another competitor.  Fast turns require mostly good technique, balance and skill and less physical conditioning, so practice is important.

In Hawaii, most races are straight downwind with few turns involved.  When I went to my first Battle of the Paddle, I realized how important the turns and transitions were in these races and how my skills were lacking in that department.  I started to really focus on practicing faster turns.

Fast turns require skill, strategy, the right equipment, and luck. 

Pivot Turn

Turning fast is an important skill to practice.  Training for speed in the straightaways is not enough to do well in many races, you need to practice the turns and transitions as well.  Good turning skills will also help in the surf.  Generally speaking, the more you can move your weight back on the board, the easier it will be to turn it.  The goal is to move your weight to the back of the board, with the back foot close to the fin and lifting the front of the board out or the water.  This will allow you to swing the board around quickly.  The pivot turn takes good balance and lots of practice. The goal is to smoothly walk or jump your feet back without rocking the board side to side while keeping your weight over the centerline of the board to keep it level in the water.  You use your paddle to make a sweeping steering stroke to swivel the board around the fin and then quickly move your weight back forward to your trim position to accelerate out of the turn.  Brace with your paddle and bend your knees to stay low for balance.   The pivot turn takes a lot of practice to master so if you are not comfortable with it yet, use the crossbow turn until you are.

Crossbow Turn

While the pivot turn is the fastest, it is also risky ask it puts you in a tippy positions where you can lose your balance or get knocked off.  Whatever you do, you want to avoid falling in, so depending on your equipment, conditions and skill level, it may be safer to keep your weight forward in a parallel or slightly staggered stance and complete the turn using your paddle.  The goal is to avoid paddling backwards at all costs as this will really slow down your forward momentum.  The crossbow or cross-over turn works well to initiate the turn.  The paddle is reached past the nose to the other side of the board without changing the grip position.  The blade is pulled towards the nose of the board then lifted over the nose and followed by a sweeping steering stroke.  The angle of the blade to the water is very important when turning and you want the steering action to be as close to the front of the board as possible to make it most effective.

Strategy and luck come into play when many competitors try to make a turn at the same time.  Generally speaking the inside line closest to the buoy is preferable and you should plan ahead and set up your approach to the buoy in a good position relative to your competitors if possible.  Approaching the turn is no time to be feeble, you want to assert your position and not let yourself get pushed aside.  That said, being close to the buoy also puts you at risk of getting rammed, boxed in or stuck behind another board or paddler in the water.  When a turn gets very crowded, a wider turn that avoids others can be the fastest route.  At BOP style races, waves are another factor that need to be considered.   It’s always a good idea to paddle the course as a warm up and make yourself familiar with the turns.  Make sure the rope holding the buoy can’t snag the fin, I have seen that happen a few times.

Equipment is important too, wider boards with wider tails make pivot turn easier while narrow boards with streamlined pintails may be faster in the straightaways, they make it much more difficult to balance on the tail in a pivot turn.  Likewise, big fins with wide bases and lots of rake may make the board track better in a straight line but also make the board harder to turn.  These are some compromises to consider and in a race with lots of turns you may want to sacrifice some straightaway speed and choose a more stable board with a wider tail and a smaller, easier to turn fin.

Races can have many different kinds of turns: left and right hand turns and variables such as wind, current, waves and the angle of the turn, some are 90, others 180 degrees.  It helps to be prepared and practice many variations of turns to make sure you are comfortable turning the board you will race on.  Practice makes perfect.

Here is a video from one of our weekly coaching/ time trials where we practiced buoy turns with narrated coaching tips.  This is not a demonstration of perfect buoy turns but rather a demonstration of common mistakes.

This is a good video of Straboard team rider Beau O'Brian demonstrating the kick turn:




Links to the paddle technique series posts on Zen Waterman:

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

SUP Stroke technique video analysis from Stand Up Paddle racing workshop

This is a 18 minute video from our North Shore SUP racing workshop held this morning, Aug. 21st.
We had 8 participants and two coaches:  Dennis Pang and myself.
If a picture says a thousand words, video says even more and seeing yourself paddle is very helpful, so I focused on getting everyone's stroke on video both from land and from a wide angle camera mounted on the front of the board.  The video is intended mostly for the 8 participants to understand their stroke better and find small things they can work on.  I think anyone trying to make their stroke more efficient, fast, and powerful can benefit from watching this.
Refining your stroke is not something that happens overnight, you need to put in the time and practice and the more you do it, the more efficient your stroke will become.
There is no right or wrong way to paddle but one thing that all good paddlers seem to have in common is good reach and catch.
Thanks to all the participants, I hope you had a good time and enjoy the video, please leave a comment!



Video stroke analysis at the Blue Planet SUP race workshop on Aug. 21st, 2011.

If you are confused by the terms used in the voiceover, please read the technique posts here- parts 2,3,4.
In retrospect, I should have added some video of a pro paddler with good technique.

In the photo below, Danny Ching shows excellent form during the power phase:  shoulders stacked, paddle vertical, arms straight, transferring the power from the core and back directly to the paddle.

photo: Chris Silvester

Blue Planet and Wet Feet now offer weekly race/ technique coaching followed by a time trial, every wednesday at 5 pm in Hawaii Kai.  Click here for more information on the weekly coaching/ time trial.

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

Aloha, Robert Stehlik

www.blueplanetsurf.com