I received this question on Seabreeze about Stand Up Paddles and shoulder issues: Hi Bill, I’ve been reading with interest info on your site and was wondering if you may be able to give me some further advice. I have been having some shoulder problems which I am working through with a physio friend who Continue Reading
If you’ve been paddling a while you’ve undoubtedly heard that you shouldn’t paddle past your feet. Both the Hawaiian and Tahitian stroke build on that reality. But why is it so? Well now that we’ve got the basics of how a paddle works down we can explain it. Wait… …you didn’t read that? Get outta Continue Reading
How much is too much wind? How about when you’re using your paddle as a brake? When you’re standing on the rudder post–and it’s not back enough. When your board goes straight because it’s weather vaning. When the wind gets under the rail and rips the board out from under you. When your paddle blows Continue Reading
So you did better than you expected, had a beer, loaded the boards and headed home. Now what? Well if you’re like most people, you now have the bug. Racing SUP boards is pretty addictive. You can tell you have it if you’re thinking about what board you need to get and whether or not Continue Reading
So, here we are on Race Day. Exciting stuff. You’ll want to get to the event venue early to take care of any registration issues, get your gear down to the start line, go through all your stuff, and make sure you understand how the start works. Small events you only need to get there Continue Reading
Your Gear Once you’ve decided what class you’d like to race in, it’s time to get your board and paddle, or to prep the one you have. If you’re buying a new board don’t base your purchase on the board you are most comfortable on. You want the fastest thing you can manage to stand Continue Reading
This article on preparing for SUP races will consist of four parts: Preliminaries–Choosing your race, your board, your gear. Starting to train. Prep–things to do to your board, your gear, yourself. What to bring, what to expect. Race Day–Checking in, checking out the competition, nutrition and hydration. Getting a good start, setting a pace, finishing Continue Reading
My bullet is awesome when the swells are big. But when the water goes flat it just pushes water. The reason is simple, it has a planing bow, aimed at stability and speed once the board slots into a swell. But here I am in the Columbia River, paddling in a mixed bag. I want Continue Reading
Whether you’re racing, surfing, cruising, or touring reading the water is a critical aspect of stand up paddling. The elite racers seem to have a deep relationship with the swell and water surface. They know where to be and what to do to get the best out of the wind, swell, current and surface configuration. Continue Reading
I’m a geek, a nerdy geek, there’s just no getting around it. While most of you were playing sports and having a life as a preteen and teen, I was in my laboratory. I didn’t put quotes around laboratory because it wasn’t imaginary or lightweight, I had some pretty sophisticated equipment. My science fair projects Continue Reading
SUP began as a surfsport, but a growing majority of SUP paddlers will either never or rarely surf. They’re racing or cruising in flatwater and doing downwinders. A growing number are doing whitewater SUP or fishing. The range of these craft is simply tremendous, and it all starts with a paddle. Improving your paddling is Continue Reading
Jim Terrell at Quickblade is certainly at the forefront of analyzing how paddling works with an aim to improve both technique and equipment. He has produced a number of videos recently that illustrate this technical bent. This most recent video shows off an new analysis technique that captures the paddle shaft in each frame and Continue Reading
Photo Darrell Wong So you’ve read all the technique articles, watched all the videos on you tube, maybe even attended a clinic from one of the pros. You’ve spent countless hours processing all the information and tried to integrate it into your stroke. Maybe you’ve even gone as far as having some one video tape you so Continue Reading
Boy, do I love this sport. We had two great days this last week where all the elements came together, the tide was right, the sun was out, swell direction perfect, no wind, and a great group of friends to share it with. Jr., Slater, Conner, Chris, Loch, Robby, Kai, Victor, Buzzy, Jamie and even Continue Reading
For better or worse, we humans adapt to the equipment we use. In Stand Up Paddle Surfing and Racing, our stroke adapts to the paddle we have. If your paddle shaft is too short your blade will be hitting the board when you pull on it during the catch (the first part of the stroke, Continue Reading
The little swells you’ve been catching effortlessly in the strong wind have now grown to good size as the run progressed and the fetch increased. Now the fun begins. You feel the tail of your board rise and you stroke hard for the catch, the swell passes under you and you stall on the back Continue Reading
Dave Kalama is taking his Kalama Kamp watersports teaching and training concept to Florida for a special 4-day, 3-night waterman immersion experience. I hope he does one on Maui soon. I’ve talked with him about doing one here, but I can see it’s tough for him to organize something like this with his wave-driven life. Continue Reading
In the last installment of Doing Downwinders on a Stand Up Paddle Board we covered selecting a place, some of the safety aspects and what to look for in swells and wind. In this installment we’ll cover catching and riding swells. Many downwinders start with small swells, then progress to larger ones that are easy Continue Reading
It’s always the blind leading the blind here at Ke Nalu. I continue my long practice at teaching anything–struggle to be one step ahead of the students and grab expertise anywhere I can get it. I’ve been doing downwind runs about two years, on an accelerated program fed by my insatiable, over the top addiction Continue Reading
Written by Tom English www.AlohaWealth.com When people ask me why I surf with a paddle, my response is usually, “because it’s fun”. But when I think about it, it is really about the speed and power that a high performance board and paddle make possible. The paddle allows you to lean into turns harder and Continue Reading
So you are ready to buy a high-zoot carbon fiber paddle and tweak it to make it all yours. Please don’t tell me you already bought one and it’s precut. If you did, skip way down to the taping section. This part will just make you uneasy. If you’re considering a wood paddle you’ll have Continue Reading
Sam Pa’e is a SUP surfer, board builder, all-around waterman and extremely creative guy who lives on Oahu. I’ve yet to have the pleasure of meeting him, but he’s a frequent poster on the Standup Zone. Some time ago he started a thread on the Zone about placing a handle on the tail of a Continue Reading
This ebook is being written in four parallel paths: Basics; Surfing; Theory, and Conditioning. It will also eventually have a lot of pictures and video added. I have an outline, a shot list, and plans for the videos, but they have to wait until I can get to them. Chapter 4 of the Basic track Continue Reading
This ebook is being written in four parallel paths: Basics; Surfing; Theory, and Conditioning. It will also eventually have a lot of pictures and video added. I have an outline, a shot list, and plans for the videos, but they have to wait until I can get to them. Chapter 3 of the Basic track Continue Reading
No, you didn’t miss anything, This ebook is being written in four parallel paths: Basics; Surfing; Theory, and Conditioning. It will also eventually have a lot of pictures and video added. I have an outline, a shot list, and plans for the videos, but they have to wait until I can get to them. I’ll Continue Reading
No, you didn’t miss anything, we’ll go back and cover the rest of the fundamentals later. I just know how irritating it can be to trudge through basics you already know, waiting for the stuff that might help you now. So I’m going to do this ebook in four parallel paths: Basics; Surfing; Theory, and Continue Reading
Reading Rips and Channels If you are surfing shorebreak or some reef breaks you’ll want to know where the currents and channels are, because that’s the easiest way out. Later we’ll tell you how to punch through whitewater on your SUP board. The kind of whitewater that would send a shortboarder duck-diving or a longboarder Continue Reading
This post is the first in a very long series (I hope) on surfing your SUP. A lot of people are buying SUP boards just for flatwater paddling. More power to them, but there may come a day when you decide you’d like to try a bit of surfing. The good news is that all Continue Reading
Few things in SUP cause more controversy than paddle prep. Some folks like their shaft bare, some like padded shafts, some like wax, some like mastic tape. I’ve played with about every combination and I’ve hit on the perfect preparation for me. I suspect you’ll like it too, even if you’re a bare shaft fan. Continue Reading
Watching this paddling video immediately improved my performance. It’s well worth a few minutes whether you’re a beginner or advanced. Beginners can start off doing it right and advanced paddlers can add a few little tricks to their bag. Who better than Jim Terrell to teach us to paddle–Olympic paddler, winner of many. many SUP Continue Reading
It’s inevitable, some day you’ll paddle into a wave and not make it, and as you start your turn to paddle back out you suddenly realize you can’t see the horizon. Or you’re waiting for a wave and suddenly realize the head-high wave you thought was close is actually far away, and it’s not head Continue Reading
Time to fire up the How-To section again. SUP Surfing How To Articles: Over the next couple of weeks I plan a number of surfing how-to articles. I’m lining up interviews with some very experienced SUP surfers, aimed primarily at creating articles that help the intermediate SUP surfer take the next step. But first I’m Continue Reading
Before you start paddle surfing you need to assess your swimming skills and your ability to handle yourself and your board in surf. Any watersport is dangerous, and good swimming skills are a necessity, even if you only do standup on flat water and lakes. Leash: Wear one. Even on a lake. When you fall Continue Reading
Kind of an old video, but a lot of people have been talking about paddling techniques lately.
A lot of Paddlesurfers are returning to the sport of surfing after perhaps a long hiatus, or perhaps never surfed at all. Many of you will eventually get into bigger waves and experience the joy of bouncing around in whitewater or retreating from a crashing lip by hugging the bottom. One critical skill you must Continue Reading
I’m writing this article in large part because I’m trying to get better at this myself. I’ve run people over trying to get out of their wave, and been clobbered by closeouts more times than I care to admit. This are big boards we’re playing with, you can’t just dive off them into the face Continue Reading
Tired of doing that awkward little crab scuffle as you inch around on your board? The cross step is a classic longboard move every Paddlesurfer should master. If nothing else it looks totally soulful. But really the reason for the cross step is not so you can win tango contests, it’s to keep the board Continue Reading
Even the idea of being held on the bottom or stuffed under a ledge of reef can start your heart pounding–and that’s exactly what you don’t want to do. If you’re relaxed and calm you can easily hold your breath for 30 seconds, with practice 60 seconds is easy. If you’re panicked and thrashing around Continue Reading
Teaching a teenager to SUP surf takes a few tricks. For one thing, it’s a good idea to get them out of the surf and take them on a long paddle outside the break so they can get used to standing on the board. There’s no critter more impatient than a teenage boy, and they’ll Continue Reading
If you’re beginning stand up surfing then I suspect you’ll find this very helpful. This is a collaborative document that will reflect the knowledge of anyone that has something to contribute. I’d like to include your perspectives. They don’t have to carefully written, just informative. I’ll edit and polish to make the document readable. Introduction–cautions Continue Reading