Beginner surfers find paddling difficult because it takes a lot of strength and there is a timing to paddling. Most beginners think surfing is harder than they expected and more tiring. The tiring part is the paddling.
The beginner surfer in Oceanside starts in waist deep water. He prepares by holding the board up facing his chest and rolls over on it when the wave is 20′ away. He paddles easy a few times and then looks to the side to see the wave and then paddles hard three times as the wave hits the board. At the very beginning, I push the students into the waves several times.
Awareness is Difficult for the Beginner Surfer
The difficulty beginners have with paddling is they are not aware of what is happening when the wave hits the board. They need to paddle hard until the board takes off in front of the foam. This requires some strength and after a while some stamina. Beginners have difficult focusing because they are anxious. They at first can’t feel the board.
Once the board is in front of the foam wave, the surfer puts his hands next to his rib cage and executes the pop up. This process is the same for foam and real waves. The surfer has to feel what the board is doing and know that he caught the wave. This requires some patience. He must catch the wave before he does anything else.
The anxious mind thinks that everything has to occur in two seconds. It doesn’t. There is a smooth process with one step after another. I give new students a count to say out loud hopefully instead of thinking. The count is paddle, stop and glide, push, backfoot, stand up, front foot. This should take three to five seconds.
Slowing Down the Process Leads to Better Timing
When beginners go too fast, I have them paddle and then stop and glide with their hands sitting next to their rib cage and glide to the beach. This demonstrates to them how much time they have. They don’t have to stand up as soon as I push them into the wave. Beginners say it got easier when they slowed down.
The technique of paddling is a half swim stroke driving the hand into the water up to the elbow and pulling with the forearm. This delivers the most power. Beginners often want to take a long swim stroke which turns the board sideways and it flips. Beginners often want to just hand paddle which doesn’t deliver enough power.
The next thing is the speed of paddling. When the surfer first rolls over as the wave approaches, he paddles easy three times to get moving. When the wave is going to hit the board, he paddles fast with power to get in front of the wave. Once the surfer has this timing, catching the wave is easy and consistent.
Learn More:
How Surfboards Are Constructed
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Beginner Surfers Learn on Soft Tops
5 Steps to Improve Surfing Performance
3 Ways to Catch Real Surfing Waves
Training to Ride the Surfing Short Board
Short Board Surfing Techniques
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