Zen Waterman: paddle technique

Showing posts with label paddle technique. Show all posts

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

Friday, March 23, 2012

SUP Paddle Technique Part 5 - Recovery, Paddle Length & Grip

It's been a while since I posted SUP technique post #4 and it's time to wrap up the paddle technique series with a few more posts, so here we go:

SUP Paddle Technique Part #5 - Recovery, paddle length & grip distance

Recovery:
The recovery gives you a chance to relax the muscles for a moment and its important not to underestimate the importance of a quick, efficient and relaxed recovery.

Once again, there are many different ways of recovering the paddle and there is no wrong or right way, so experiment and find out what works best for you, I will try to break it down into easy to understand steps that you can follow and practice.

First off, here is a 10 minute video that goes over the points discussed in this post:

Another look at paddle length
We went over paddle length in technique post #1- Choosing the right paddle and I want to mention it again because it plays a role in recovery. At our shop, we recommend a paddle length where you can just clear the top of the paddle with the palm of your hand. This length seems to work well for touring/ distance/ race paddling regardless of how the blade is shaped.

For surfing, you can shorten the paddle by a few inches. Some like to go a little longer for distance paddling which works to a certain point, depending on the board you are using. A longer paddle allows a longer reach forward and once the blade is fully planted it can be pushed deeper if the top hand feels too high, so a longer paddle has advantages in the reach, catch and power phases. So why not make the paddle even longer? I have tried going longer and found that the biggest disadvantage of a paddle that is too long is that it is difficult to quickly pull it out of the water by your feet for an efficient recovery. The other disadvantage is leverage, your bottom hand is further away from the blade on a longer paddle, we will discuss that later. The thickness of your board, or how high you stand above water level is important as well. The Starboard ACE raceboards, for example, have deep footwells where the paddler stands pretty much at water level, while an some other thick downwind boards, the feet are several inches above water level. Try doing this test with your paddle: If you have a thicker board, stand on a phonebook or something to elevate you to the about the same level you are off the water surface when standing on your board. If you are standing at close to water level on your board, stand barefoot on the ground. With the paddle next to your toes, pull it straight up like you are pulling it out of the water. If you have to stretch uncomfortably to do this your paddle may be too long for an efficient recovery. If your paddle is too long, you have to drop the top hand further down and/or stoke past your feet to get a clean release.

Feathering the blade, recovery path

As shown in the video, the two extremes of pulling out the blade at the end of the stroke are dropping the top hand to the side which lifts the paddle out to the side and automatically feathers the blade. The other extreme is pulling the blade straight up, moving it forward in a straight line and plunging it straight down into the water. To feather the blade when moving it straight forward, the top wrist has to be twisted. The straight line is a shorter path than the big circle when dropping the top hand and making a big circle. Most efficient paddlers use more of the straight forward recovery with just a slight dropping of the top hand, resulting in an oval shaped recovery path.

For an easy to understand and follow description of the recovery motion, check out Dave Kalama's blog, you can read it here: http://www.davidkalama.com/2010/04/paddle-techniques-recover/

Grip height

The position of the lower hand on the paddle is important to performance. When coaching, I often find myself telling people to try to grip the paddle lower for better leverage. The lower hand is the fulcrum point of the paddle and the shorter the distance from the blade to the lower hand is, the easier it is to apply power to the blade (up to a certain degree). Much like a bigger blade can be compared to a higher gear and a smaller blade to a lower gear on a car or bicycle, a longer paddle is a higher gear while a shorter paddle is a lower gear. Gripping the paddle lower with both the top hand and the lower hand results in a lower gear that works well for acceleration or paddling into the wind. Marking the paddle is helpful to monitor your lower hand placement. Make sure the grip height is consistent on both sides as well.

Connor Baxter and Kai Lenny with lowered grip, photo: John Goodman

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

Sunday, February 27, 2011

SUP Paddle Technique Part 4: Reach and Catch by Robert Stehlik

I started the technique series with the power phase as this is where I saw the quickest improvements when coaching. All the phases of the stroke have to work together smoothly for the stroke to be efficient and without good reach and catch, the stroke won't be effective. I already started working on a technique post on breathing but before I get into that I really want to go back to what should have probably been part one of the technique posts: the Reach!

photo: Alex Nix

Work Out vs. Practice
I used to think that SUP racing is mostly a contest of endurance and muscle power. I worked out hard hoping to become more fit than the competition. As I spent more time on the water and paddling with others, I realized that technique and efficiency are often more important and usually play a bigger role than overall fitness in race results. When training the focus should be on practicing good technique and not just "working out". Fitness is important, of course, and comes as a bi product of practice. By practicing good technique when training you will train the right muscles to do the right thing automatically when racing. If your technique is bad, "working out" can actually be counter productive. By working out the wrong muscles, muscle memory can make it harder to change the stroke to make it more efficient later.

Reaching forward as far as possible will make the stroke longer and more efficient. The most effective part of the power phase occurs well in front of the feet. The further forward you can begin the power phase, the better. If your paddle is too short, you will not be able to achieve good reach, so make sure you have a long enough paddle first, see "choosing the right paddle"

Reach:
Pay attention to how far forward you currently reach when stroking and try to go further. There are several ways of extending your reach. First of all, keep a loose grip with the lower hand and open the lower fingers up to allow the paddle to reach a more forward angle. Straighten your bottom arm and stretch it forward by twisting the shoulder and hip forward. Bend the elbow on your top arm to angle the paddle forward more. Practice this and keep trying to reach further and further forward.

Catch:
You can have great reach but if you don't plant the blade in the water effectively and quickly for a good catch, much of the great reach can be wasted. To "catch", the blade can be slid into the water from the side or by projecting it straight down into the water, usually a little of both. Either way, the focus should be on entering the water smoothly and quickly with the paddle edge slicing into the water cleanly, creating minimal turbulence.

Once the blade is fully submerged and "planted" it's time to apply the power. If you start pulling too soon, the blade tends to cavitate (air bubbles form along edges of blade) and will slip through the water instead of holding.

A good way to practice efficient strokes with a clean catch, power phase, and release is what I call "stealth mode". It works best on a calm, quiet day (or night). Go into stealth mode by making as little noise with your paddle as possible. If your paddle splashes on the catch, try to make the entry smoother and don't pull on the paddle before the blade is submerged. If the paddle is gurgling through the power phase, focus on really planting the whole blade in the water before applying the power (think of "surprising" the water). If you are splashing water behind you, try to end the power phase sooner (keep it in front of your feet) and release the paddle smoothly.

A good way to practice your reach is from Danny Ching's technique DVD: Practice just the reach: Put your blade in the water as far forward as possible but don't pull, just take the paddle back out and repeat this a few times to really focus on just the reach and catch.

Here is the video that goes with this post, shot in our shop with a board on top of a cooler. Thanks Evan Leong of StandUpPaddlesurf.net for shooting and posting it.