Why am I paddling like a psycho windmill?

Do you remember your first surf lesson? Ok, maybe your second lesson—the one where the instructor didn’t push you into the waves and scream, “Stand up, stand up!”

You know that lesson, where you were lying on your board, waves approaching behind you, and the coach shouts: “Paddle, paddle!” I bet you didn’t think you’d be doing this for the rest of your life like it depended on it.

???? The endless paddle

It’s true that in surfing, we paddle A LOT. You gotta paddle to the lineup, gotta paddle into position, gotta paddle for the wave—and sometimes you gotta experience the paddle of shame, all the way to the beach when you don’t catch anything.

But doesn’t it make your blood curl when you see some surfers barely landing a couple of strokes and usurping the wave, while you keep missing, resembling a windmill high on cocaine?
What is their secret? You gotta be a fast paddler, right? No, that’s not it. It’s all about the least amount of paddles to efficiently catch the wave.

???? Position is everything

I caught an unbroken wave a couple of times without paddling. I was so shocked I forgot to pop up. This just shows that as long as you are in the best possible position for catching the wave, you can apply very minimal, well thought-through paddling.

But, hey, me being in that spot was pure luck. You really need to be able to read where the wave is going to break, where that lovely cuppy bit of the wave is, and then adjust your paddle so you’re in the right spot with the right momentum.

That said, getting into the best possible position for the least amount of paddling needed isn’t guaranteed. Like ever. So hear me out on the other two secrets.

???? Different wave, different paddle

There’s a reason why we use tow-in surfing in big-wave surfing. Some waves are just too big, too fast, and too powerful for surfers to catch using traditional paddling. Welcome to the speed mismatch!

If Pe’ahi is moving at 30+ miles per hour and you max out at 5 mph, there’s no way you’ll ever match the wave’s speed to catch it. Then there’s the steep drop, so you need to get in early enough—and of course, a ton of water—so you need more momentum just to be positioned in the right part of the wave. Paddling just doesn’t give you enough push.

For the very same reason, you shouldn’t assume that the same style of paddling you use is going to work for every type of wave.

Let’s take small, slow-rolling waves. You’ll want to paddle early, because these waves don’t really do much work for you. You’ll also want to use longer, deeper strokes—i.e., holding water. More about this in a minute.

How about fast or pitching waves? Here, you don’t want to paddle too early, because this will make you miss the best, steep part. But you’ll also want to get past your leisurely paddle and use shorter, sprint-like strokes. You need propulsion! That’s why some surfers kick hard with their feet too.

And if, like myself, you like to catch the reformers, you should know that sometimes less paddling is more. It’s so much easier to let the wave reform under you and then do a bit of sprinting.

✋ Feeling the water

“Feeling the water” is something I learned about when I was learning to swim, but since then, I only occasionally see it mentioned when it comes to paddling in surfing. It goes something like this:
For the best paddle technique in any conditions, your hand should enter and exit the water in the very same place. If it doesn’t, it’s called “slipping”—meaning you’ve lost connection with the water, you didn’t hold it, and that reduces the power of your stroke. Not to mention, you burn a lot of energy for diminished return.

But but but Zuz, you said “different paddling for different waves.” Yes, I did. Listen, the four phases of the stroke stay the same. You know about the four phases, right? Catch, downsweep, pull, and exit. It’s the intensity and rhythm that change—or more like, the time you spend in each stroke phase that changes, according to the conditions.

So, hold onto that water, my dudes!

Author: The Wipeout Weekly team