Surfing Skills & Techniques - Paddling
Now that you’ve learned how to position your body and Surfing Board on the water, it’s time to learn how to paddle your way to the easy and rideable waves. This is one of the most important techniques every surfer should know.
Make sure to do some stretching and warm-up exercises before paddling, as this is a very tiring job and can lead to strain on your shoulders, arms, neck, and back.
In this section, learn how to paddle correctly and pick up some pointers on how to make paddling efficient:
- Walk out into the water while pushing your board until you reach waist- to chest-deep.
- Lie on the board. By this time, you should know that if you are too far forward, the nose of the board will dive into the water and will make paddling a lot harder than it already is. If you lie too far backward, the nose will go straight up in the air. Adjust your position so that your weight is centered and the nose is just above the water surface.
- With slightly cupped hands, alternately paddle with your arms. In making the stroke, do not move your hand way up from the water. Sweep each arm across the water surface, move it in front of you, and then under the water. Keep your head slightly raised and your face looking forward so you will know where you are going.
It takes a lot of patience and practice to get used to doing the right paddling technique. It is quite easy to do on flat water, but as you start to catch waves, you are going to deal with broken waves and maintain board balance. You will surely be doing a lot of paddling in Surfing so carry out some regular exercises to avoid muscle strain and practice as often as you can.
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These are all the Surfing Lessons covered in this section:
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