The Journey Towards Having More FUN Surfing

I hate to say this, but unless you experience the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch yourself, it’s hard to imagine the spectrum of emotions, thoughts and feelings that drive you to share your experience with everyone you meet. I’ve coached there five times now, and have had the opportunity to surf it twice, and can attest that there is something special about the experience.

The night before you get to surf the wave for the first time, your heart pounds faster than a drum roll. You then attempt to calm it through a variety of breathing and meditation techniques. The effect is negligible before you begin again to imagine yourself blowing the wave, or not making the barrel, or not being able to catch it, and your heart rate goes up again. And this is all the night before you arrive.

Upon arrival, with little to no deep sleep, the roller coaster begins again with your heart rate as you try your hardest to understand where you’re supposed to sit in the basin, how to decipher this sticker they put ...

An interesting question was asked recently.  How do I judge skill level for surfers.  It was mostly interesting because I don’t think I’m qualified to judge anyone’s surfing ability.  And the more I thought about it, I judge my own surfing a little differently than one might think.  Check out this video on how I judge my own surfing skill level, and also to learn a sneaky side-effect of looking at your skill level from this perspective (you actually progress your surfing faster this way). 

 For information on the Level 1 and Level 2 paddling courses, to help you gain confidence in the above video's philosophy, feel free to contact me to have a chat about how to get started.  

The other day I was asked by a client about something he had heard from another surfer.  He said the surfer told him to enter wide and then pull into the centerline of the body, then push back, kind of like a "Y" motion.  He wanted to know what I thought.  

In this surfing paddling mythbusting, we investigate whether or not entering the hands wide is a good thing; or whether it's a myth.  

Hope you enjoy.  Please feel free to reach out with questions.  I'm only an email or phone call away.  

Take a Level 1 or Level 2 Paddling Technique Course in person, one-on-one.  

OR

Check out the Level 1 Online Course or Virtual Coaching

OR

Come have some fun riding for minutes at a time on your board with our Boat Surfing program - The Keys Surf Club.  

Adding more power to your paddling doesn’t involve pushing harder most of the time.  It’s simply using the tools at your disposal. 

In this quick video, we investigate one of the often overlooked tools you have ready and able to use in order to gain more power in your paddling.  

If you've ever felt like you should move faster when you paddle, or felt like waves pass you right by, then this video is a must watch.  

Let me know if you have any questions!  I'm here to help and am stoked to have a chat.  

If you haven't taken the Level 1 Paddling Technique Course, I highly recommend it.  Learn more here (online and in-person training).  

Cheers!

Rob

Paddling shoulder injuries can be caused from several poor techniques.  But one of the first causes takes place in one of the most unsuspecting places during the stroke.  

Have a watch and find out where, make sure you aren't doing this, and how to fix it if you are...

Paddling out to the surf can be challenging sometimes.  It's part paddling technique, and part strategy.  In this video, I provide one of my secrets to getting out that I cover in the Level 2 paddling course.  

It's all about studying the shoreline.  

Have a watch and let me know if it helps! 

Private 1-on-1 Level 2 courses on Positioning, Timing, Sprint, Pop Up and Getting Out are available right now.  But be sure to complete the Level 1 course beforehand.

Please reach out with questions, comments, frustrations, success.  I'd love to hear from you.  

Do you ever feel like when you paddle hard, you don’t really go as far as you thought you would, or anywhere at all? 

A lot of surfers who take my paddling technique course say that they were taught by their good surfing buddy to paddle hard.  So let’s investigate this.  Does paddling harder lead to moving faster? 

In this video we investigate whether this myth is true, how to avoid wasted energy use, how to apply more force, and what it is we actually feel in the water when we take a stroke.  

Hope you enjoy!

 If you have any questions, I'm just an email away.  

Interested in the Level 1 or Level 2 Paddling Technique Courses?  Learn more here.

In the meantime, I'll see you in the water!

I have heard it before.  In order to catch the wave, you have to paddle as fast (or faster) than the wave is moving.  But is this true?  Or another paddling myth?  

Find out how fast waves are moving, how fast surfers paddle, and whether or not you have to paddle as fast as the wave is moving in order to catch it.  

 Watch here:

Just wanted to say, I really enjoy hearing from you.  If you ever feel the motivation to drop me a line, please do so.  That can be if you have any questions about the paddling technique programs, or the surfing fitness programs, or even the surf technique programs.  Or even just to talk surfing.  

When I first started the Surfing Paddling Academy, I remember having a particular phone call with a surfer who had emailed me a question.  The answer to the question had a little more than an email could contain.  So I told him to call me.  I said it would only take fifteen minutes to go through it. 

Two hours later, my wife was calling up to me in the of...

Paddling Mythbusting – Reach as Far as you can or Not? 

Another paddling mythbuster is a common mistake I see in surfers of all levels. 

Should a surfer reach as far forward as possible in each stroke, then enter and pull through?  Or should they enter their hand and arm somewhere else?

The short answer is that reaching the hand and arm as far forward as possible is not helpful.  Over-reaching causes several problems including hurting the shoulder, making it harder to catch the wave, and adding significant drag in both shortboard paddling and longboard paddling. 

Watch the video to learn more:

 As always, if you have any questions, feel free to contact me.  I'm only an email or phone call away.  

For interest in the Level 1 Paddling Technique Course, go to the Surfing Paddling Technique services homepage here to learn more.  

I am asked quite frequently whether the hand should move shallow, underneath the board, or deep, well below the board when paddling.  Which one is more efficient?  Which one provides more power?  Which is more effective?  

In this video, we investigate whether the myth of paddling with the hand close the board and shallow is more effective than going deep.  Hope you enjoy it!

Feel free to contact me with question - I'm only an email or phone call away. 

Cheers!