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.

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• Share everything , Play fair
• Put things back where you found them, Clean up your own mess.
• Don’t take things that aren’t yours.
• Don’t hit people, and Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.
• Live a balanced life – learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.
• Be aware of wonder.

Fulghum makes the statement that if any one of us takes these concepts and extrapolate it into “sophisticated” adult terms … and apply it to family, life, work, or the world … that it will always hold true and clear and firm as a solid base for good moral living. I believe him, and it’s quite possible that this author and Unitarian clergyman has single-handedly provided surfers all over the world the true key to zen-like surfing! If you take the ideas he has written about, and apply it to the manner by which you surf, and the attitudes that we carry as we surf … well, wisdom also lies in the surf amidst the flowing waves of the ocean.

Share everything: We all know the image of the lone surfer ripping down Banzai Pipeline by him or herself. The isolated surfer carving long sweeping turns at a point break at sunset is also a common dream for the log riders. However, if you talk to almost every surfer, their most treasured surf sessions are peppered with a common element – good surf AND good friends. Surfing as a rule is all about sharing the good times with other people. Hooting and hollering, cheering each other on when waves are good and wipe outs are gnarly. Irrespective, it’s all about sharing the good times … you get some good waves, and you revel in the experience. And sometimes, even if you had it all the way, you let your friend HAVE the wave. It’s part of having fun … sharing, that is, and it’s only fair! Oh, just so we are all clear about this … ‘dropping in’ on another surfer falls under the “Don’t take things that aren’t yours” category!

Clean up your own mess: This particular gem would solve almost all of our environmental and ecological issues as a planet! Put things back where you found them AND clean up your own mess. A simple solution would be the 20 foot rule. Simply ensure that you take care of the area around you within 20 feet! You don’t have to go out of your way to clean up after everyone and everything … but as you walk around, to and from surfing, make sure you pick up the trash and garbage you see along the way! Take care of you, the environment, and the planet around you 20 feet at a time!

Don’t hit people: When you have a six foot spear being propelled by tons of water, hurtling down a spray of ocean water … it sometimes is an unfortunate reality that we surfers may occasionally collide with other ocean dwellers. It’s inevitable, it’s painful and it is something that we all have been a part of (as hurtler or hurtlee, either way, it hurts!) in the water. However, by not observing proper ocean rules and good etiquette, we could endanger other people and creatures in the water more than we need to! An inattentive surfer and a careless surfer can be equally dangerous out in the water, so don’t hit people inadvertently by not being aware of the rules and proper water manners! AND WHEN YOU DO get to the point where you hit someone or ALMOST hit someone, do the right thing and ensure that you say “sorry” no matter who was at fault. At the end, we all have to learn to take care of each other out there!

Live a balanced life: As participants on a lovely dance between board and water, balance is always weighted heavily in our minds. Balance. But there’s more to it, since surfing alone cannot fulfill us. We need play, work, love, life, and learning to round us off … always. Even when the waves are good, we need to know the balance as to when good is something we need or something we are blessed with. I know surfers in the Great Lakes area who WAIT months and months at a time for ONE wave to come, and they revel in it with such joy and pleasure when it comes. I also know of surfers who curse surf sessions in Hawaii when they do not catch all the waves they can at a surf break or if they don’t get perfect chest to head high waves all the time. Balance. (It also needs to be placed with ‘perspective’ eh?)

Be aware of wonder: Touch the water … feel the ocean. Be amazed at the beauty around you! After one particularly uneventful surf session, where I caught half a wave that debatably actually caught me, I was murmuring to myself how the session had been barely worth my time. At that point, a giant green turtle popped it’s head out of the water – as if on cue – and made me laugh in a startled surprise. He was reminding me to never take myself too seriously, and that beauty, especially in the ocean was not just in the waves. Sometimes, we all need a reminder … So Fulghum the wise clergy was right all along.

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You have to practice this one until it’s just right. It is the next hardest thing to learn right after the proper paddle technique. One of the hardest things to UNLEARN in surfing is an improperly learned pop-up! You have seen it many times at your usual surf breaks, surfers who constantly go to the knee first and then stand up from there. In theory, this is actually two pop-ups. Once to the knees, and then the body has to brace again for another pop-up onto a standing position. This is a major cause of most beginners’ inability to catch the wave before it breaks … the two step pop-up.

One of the most flawless pop-ups I have seen in consistently done by a girl at my local break. Pay attention to this one because we all could learn something. She paddles into the wave (make sure you have learned THAT before you concentrate on learning this stage), places both hands on top of her surfboard – slightly below where her armpits are – and executes a half push up. At this point, she looks left and right (looking is always important) … and like a pendulum swings her entire lower body under her arms (just like a pendulum). With a slight twist to the left (she’s goofy footed so she faces left) she lands both feet and executes one of the swiftest and sweetest pop-ups known to surf-kind.

The swing through is the most important part – although all of it is critical – for it determines how much time it takes her to go from full horizontal body contact with the surfboard, to only pivotal contact with just her hands, to a standing pedal contact with the board, and then into maneuverability. The shorter time spent in that transitional stage, the better. The less intermediate contact from prone (lying down) to standing, the more control you will have.

Think of it as those twist monkey toys you had as a child, the kind with the two sticks that you squeezed together and made the marionette-like animal on the string spin around. The movement is the same. You will be using your arms like a support system to ‘pendulum’ swing your way to a standing position. Knees need not be involved as an intermediary.

BUT this takes practice and patience. And a good portion of both at that! Don’t take the shortcuts, they could develop into some really bad and counter productive habits later on. A slower pop-up prevents many from getting into bigger waves and different breaks … out of sheer fear or panic alone. The more confident you are that you can quickly get to your feet, the better.

Good. So what about some tips?

• The surfing popup is essentially an explosive pushup …
• Practice several popups on dry land every day, as this repetitive motion establish arm strength and muscle memory
• Grabbing the rails instead of laying your hands flat on top of the surfboard makes it easier to slip off and give yourself a fat lip or botch a takeoff
• ARCH YOUR BACK instead of lying flat on your surfboard. An elevated chest gives you paddling speed, more muscle control, and a quicker pop-up
• Place your hands flat on the board anywhere from your armpits to the bottom of your ribcage, whatever is comfortable
• It’s easier to do a popup while you’re paddling into a wave before it has broken … the action of the popup pushes the wave down the face and gives you speed
• Try not to end up on your knees. This is a tough habit to break for most people!

Oh, before you go and practice, remember that each and every surfer’s popup is slightly different and a bit customized for the individual, but for all intents and purposes the technique is the same at its core. Now go surf!

Most beginning surfers and new surfers may overlook the importance of the simple act of paddling, dismissing it as a means to an end. And while that may be true to some degree – since all we really want to do is ‘surf’ – paddling is a vital part of being a stronger surfer in longer sessions. Paddling is what gets you to the line up, and it is what gets you into a wave. And although paddling looks easy enough when you watch experienced surfers, it has some distinct nuances that can make or break you as a surfer.

• The first point to realize about paddling is that it can be surfboard specific. You need to be able to find the specific “sweet spot” of your own board. Think of this spot as the paddling equivalent of a cross-hair on the surface of your surfboard. While in the water (sorry folks, land practice doesn’t work here!) and lying on top of your surfboard, your center of balance should be evenly distributed down the middle – usually along the stringer. If you don’t have a stringer or it has been designed over, your sweet spot can be easily found – you will know you are too far forward if the nose of the board is underwater, or too far back if the nose is more than an inch or two out of the water. Left and right balance will work itself out as you find your paddle improving!
• Now that you have found your sweet spot, you need to concentrate on how to better propel your surfboard forward. Although finding your sweet spot will involve paddling and propelling forward as well, the specific act of propelling yourself forward has some physical nuances. The biggest challenge for beginners in propelling forward – so you can out paddle other surfers in the line up! – is building the back and shoulder muscles to a point where you can easily arch your back continuously for extended periods of time. You will need to arch your back and use your arms to properly achieve planing and gain speed, as arching your back helps maintain your weight over the center of the board.

The aches and pain that you will experience after the first several sessions will be challenging, but you will build up enough muscle and get to a point where your back and ribs will not hurt as quickly into a session!

• Propelling yourself forward will require using the water as resistance for your hands, so make sure that you are taking long, deep strokes into the water. Try to keep your paddle as close to the sides of the surfboard as much as possible to reduce drag, and make sure your fingers are not spread apart. The best method is to keep your fingers together, and your hands slightly cupped.
• Although strictly a personal choice, paddling slightly under your board – rather than out and away from the board – in a sweeping motion will proper you more effectively and smoothly through the water as it reduced the overall surface area you are affecting on the water. However,  depending on the width of your board and length of your arms, doing this may be difficult.

The overall goal of training yourself for paddling is to give you better control of your surfboard as you paddle out into the lineup and into a wave. The more you practice, the better you get! On days when it’s too small to surf, practice paddling to build up your muscles and stamina, and you will be on your way to arching that back to more, and better waves.

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The crowded line-up has become more than just dangerous for surfers of all levels, it has become a powder keg for potential disaster when it comes to the sheer number of people taking up the latest and greatest in the watersports milieu. And if you are one of the many who have decided to join the surfing community, you will eventually fall into one of two distinct categories of ‘new‘ surfers - short term or long term.

Right from the beginning, it is crucial to determine which of the two separate categories of “newbies” you will fall into, as they will determine HOW you should pursue professional guidance. Yes, lessons are necessary for any beginning surfer … but which avenue of higher learning you pursue will cement whether or not surfers at a local break will chase you off, or reluctantly welcome you into the fray.

Short term surfers are often daring vacationers or reluctant volunteers, recruited into surfing by friends or slick promotional materials from TV or films. It is common in surfing communities to see tourists, and locals alike, paddling out into the great blue yonder to experience – if not just for a short time – what surfing “is all about”. Places like Hawaii’s Waikiki and Sydney’s Bondi Beach are prime locations to find short term surfers, renting foam top surfboards or the likes, or being recruited into lessons by slick surf shop “instructors”. These places are quite convenient and well suited for short term surfers, often offering one or two hour lessons to the newly initiated “surfer”, often times guaranteeing that the student will stand up and catch a wave during their first session. And honestly, what excited short term surfer could refuse such a deal?

These surf shop instructors often specialize in the quick surf lesson. Geared for beginners who more than likely will only surf at that particular break a handful of times, the lessons are pointedly aimed at standing up on the board, and staying upright during a quick ride. All too often ignored, however, are the unnecessary rules of the line up, and the ever important surfer’s etiquette outline. Understandably, there is little need for short term surfers to indulge in figuring out who has the ‘rights’ to a wave in a crowded line-up, or the required etiquette to follow when taking off on a wave. Short term surfers need to know how to stand up, stay upright, and paddle back out to the instructor standing in waist-high waves for more of the same. These surf breaks are often part of the unspoken surf factories, attracting hundreds upon hundreds of beginner surfers on a regular basis … producing short term surfers who will move on or move away, or the next category of beginner surfer, the long term beginner surfer.

This post is the first in a 2 part article about newbie / beginner surfers, surf school instructors, and the art of surfing. Part 2 is located here.

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Arching your back will make sure that your weight is properly distributed on your board, which translates into a variety of related improvements in  your surf sessions. The back arch allows most surfers to paddle faster, dig harder, maneuver better, and distribute their weight more evenly. If you watch videos, or look at photos, of surfers paddling into waves what you will see is that a great majority of them paddle into a wave with their backs slightly arched, or they paddle flat and then arch their back as they approach the wave.

The simple arching of the back – an often times exhausting task for the beginning surfer – allows surfers to use their body posture to make minor adjustments to their fore-and-aft weight distribution at those critical moments right before dropping into a wave. Additionally, once a surfer has managed to paddle successfully into the wave, they may also have to arch their back as a maneuver to avoid digging the nose of the board into the bottom of the breaking wave.

Arching your back also improves your overall maneuverability on a surfboard. By reducing your overall flat contact with the board and moving your weight forward, you shift your weight relative to the center of mass of the board, thus allowing you to tip your board nose down, nose up, right side down or or left side down.

Arching your back also greatly improves your visibility while you are surfing. By placing your head up and allowing your body to naturally shift weight as you turn your head left and right, you can continue to paddle while easily scoping your immediate surrounding area. This simple arch allows you to look around and paddle into a wave without affecting your speed, momentum, or balance. By keeping your head up in the back arched position, you will be able to quickly see potential waves easily. A true sign of an experienced paddler is that the constant head up and back arched posture while paddling.

For beginners looking to improve their back strength and back-arch in and out of the water, there are a variety of “assist-aids” and strengthening regimens available. One of the most recent and innovative surfboard products that assist the beginning surfer with learning the back arch while strengthening the core back muscles is the in-water product called DPop by Denno Pop. For surfers looking to gain more muscle strength outside of the water, yoga poses such as cobra pose mimics the surfer’s pop-up position perfectly.

Whatever path you choose, the goal of arching your back while surfing is within reach … … just remember that arching your back while you paddle is simply smarter!

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See the DPop reviews posted recently here and here.

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Enter the Give Away by sending your completed information via the iJS secure form below, just be sure to type “DPop Give Away” in the subject box!

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After a certain amount of time, you’re going to find yourself comfortably being able to stand up on your board with a measurable amount of consistency. You can successfully paddle in to the wave, you recognize the feeling of your board moving on its own, and you can pop up to your feet. For a lot of beginners, your time standing on the board will have been limited to “surfing” a slough of whitewater as you careen straight towards shore as your big, beefy board wobbles through the soupy mess. You may be completely satisfied with this experience. But, you’re really missing out on the good stuff. You possibly left a nice clean wave face behind you that you could’ve been surfing on had you not gone straight.

Here’s the deal. You don’t want to ride whitewater. It sucks. It’s messy, bumpy, slow, disorganized, etc. Whitewater usually is indicative of the end of your ride; not the beginning. This is why you see surfers riding their boards along the nice open face of the wave – the “shoulder”. They are riding away from the whitewater. And any wave good enough to surf will require you to pretty much ride somewhat parallel to the beach to stay out of the whitewater rather than straight towards the beach.

So how do you get your board to go parallel to the beach? I mean, you’re basically pointing towards the beach when you’re paddling for the wave, right? Ah…maybe you should rethink that. Why? Your board will basically go where you point it if you don’t adjust its position by applying pressure to the board to make a turn towards another angle on our surfing compass. As a beginner, thinking about trying to turn your board towards the open face the second you stand up may be too much to concentrate on in the heat of the moment.

After all, surfing can be a complicated combination of physical movements. So why don’t you cut yourself a break and give your board a head start towards that open shoulder while you’re paddling. When the wave approaches you, look which way it is breaking (left or right). If the whitewater or peak is coming from your left shoulder (with your back to the wave), the wave is breaking to the right and vice-versa.

Now, point your board 35-45 degrees away from that peak and start paddling. You’re basically aiming to split the 90 degree angle between “straight ahead” and that open face you see before you. It’s very important to look where you want to go and not what your board is doing. As stated before, your board goes where you point it. Where you are looking is a big factor on where that board will point. As you stand up, keep EYEBALLING where you want that board to continue going. You’re already ahead of the game by having your board going halfway parallel to the beach on takeoff. Now just keep looking down that nice open face as you drop in and you will be surprised at how your body automatically starts doing its thing to get that board going towards the direction you are looking.

What will also surprise you is how your board will probably pearl less often if you quit pointing your board straight to the beach on takeoff. When you angle your drop, your board gets to utilize more rail surface. This rail surface kind of gouges itself into the face of the wave and helps to keep it steady and locked in for you. Eventually, when you get better at turning your board, you can augment that angled drop by immediately hard-turning your board even further parallel to shore as you’re dropping down the face. It’ll really sink that inside rail into the face and you can handle steeper waves like that.

So, to reiterate…

• Point your board towards the open face of the wave.
• Look where you want to go along that open face.
• Avoid going straight until the end of your ride.

Cheers!

[post by whiffleboy via confessions of a novice surfer]