How to find and choose instructors?

[yugi]

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@ Wetstuff -- Yes!  I've also spent soooo much time unlearning/relearning stuff in other sports, or life for that matter, that it's nice to have a chance to start fresh and learn it mostly right from the water up. 

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^^ that's the key point Re SUP lessons. Soooo much easier for us adults to not learn bad habits than to unwind them. 90+% of adults have a very hard time unwinding a movement habit, let alone putting their egos aside for a few minutes to first comprehend they may not be doing what they think they are doing.

Like swimming, SUP is in reality very technical. Yet it is so easy one can just jump on a board and go. So most people will do just that and not take a lesson.

I was lucky enough to first get on a SUP at a shop demo day with some instruction. Which was cool. A couple of weeks later I bought a board form the shop and was stupid enough, when told that Dave Kalama would be there the following weekend giving free instruction to first say "Dave who?" and then "are you crazy? It's going to dump this week (technical term for snowing). I'm riding powder next weekend." I could have saved myself at least 3 years learning curve. The only saving grace for my stupidity is that Dave Kalama, being a skier, would fully understand me. It can get pretty bad when you have a powder problem like us skiers get.

[PonoBill]

The self taught aspect is unfortunate for anyone who later becomes serious about doing it well. Our OC6 club in Hood river is adopting a new stroke. It has me so screwed up I miss the changes half the time--too busy concentrating on all the moving parts. With My ADD it's particularly difficult.

All the things people do automatically with a paddle are wrong. Not just a little bit--they are totally wrong. The only thing that happens correctly is that people put the blade end in the water and stand on the side of the board opposite the fin. they don't even get the blade facing the right way without instruction. Probably the only sport where intuitive approaches are more wrong is windsurfing, but at least with windsurfing you can't go so very far down the wrong alley. I see people who have paddled for years with a pathetic reach, no core engagement, no shoulder rotation, paddling with their arms and pulling the blade out of the water well behind them with a huge shovelful of water. They literally have to unlearn everything they know, and so they never do.

Take as many lessons as you can, from people who actually know how to paddle.

[covesurfer]

+1 on what Pono and Yugi are saying above.

Because most people can get on the board and manage to make it generally go where they want it to in smooth conditions, many forego any real training. Once you ingrain habits, whether they are good ones or bad ones, it is very challenging to get the brain/muscles to unlearn things.

I took the instructor training workshop a few weeks ago so that I could learn to teach better and help get people going the correct direction from the get-go. Knowing the mechanics and technical basis is super important for any instructor. But, equally important is knowledge of how people learn and methods to get them doing things properly. Just understanding technique and skills does not make someone a good instructor. And, seeing someone learn a skill successfully is what a good instructor gets stoked by.

Good instruction includes teaching a specific set of skills that provide a progression for the paddler to build on.  Board balance, forward stroke, turning strokes and buoy (or pivot) turns are among the fundamentals. What is really cool about those skills is that they are not something that is mostly left behind as a paddler gets better. Instead, they are continually used and refined.

One huge advantage of good instruction over, say, watching videos on the internet (which is also very valuable) is that the instructor can provide analysis, feedback and correction. A good instructor is pretty much priceless, an unskilled instructor can ruin a sport for someone.

[yugi]

^^ Good point [that last one]. It is just astounding the bad advice you hear people give with absolutely straight faces. Be careful who you listen to. There is as much bad advice from kook  “experts” on how [not] to paddle as there are conspiracy theories on the interwebz.

On that topic here is my absolute favorite. From french SUP magazine here is their instructional video on “how to improve your stroke”.

The first part is about planting as far forward as possible. Not too bad per se though the under inflated board and the awkward position may raise some eyebrows.

The 2nd half as of 1:35 is priceless as they introduce the concept to pull as much as possible as your blade hits the water. Bwaaaaahahahahahahaha
   

Attn nOObies: the above video is an example to be filed under “advice to not follow”.

Here is some better advice just to set the record straight:
   

[clay]

In my opinion "proper" SUP technique has yet to stand the test of time.  Maybe the current school of thought is the right way or maybe not.  It seems like what was prescribed several years ago is quite different from today.

I look at running as a scary example of well intentioned and insanely misguided technique becoming gospel.

Also it makes sense to me that the techniques that have been borrowed from ancient Hawaiian/Tahitian/Polynesian paddling were done together within a tribe or village in the spirit of cooperation.   Gear was made together as a group, they paddled together and shared and feasted and celebrated  together daily.  I suspect within this supportive community injuries were much less likely.

I recommend trying various teachers and studying various techniques and listening to your body and your intuition and using the techniques that feel right for you.

[PonoBill]

Yes, but...  There's some pretty consistent technique elements that work well and will probably always be part of a good stroke. I'm working on some tests that might get me crucified, but could yield some useful ideas. But the don't change the basic elements, just a refinement that suits the equipment we use, and some ways to measure the difference in performance.

You should understand though that modern paddling is fairly new. Ancient hawaiian and tahitian paddling was very different from modern. Paddles didn't have a crossbar handle until about 1920.

[covesurfer]

In my opinion "proper" SUP technique has yet to stand the test of time.  Maybe the current school of thought is the right way or maybe not.  It seems like what was prescribed several years ago is quite different from today.

I recommend trying various teachers and studying various techniques and listening to your body and your intuition and using the techniques that feel right for you.

I'm not sure what you're referring to here but I hope it isn't basics and fundamentals. DK throwing his hip into the stroke or Conner's latest method for hauling ass are at the other end of the spectrum from basics. Debating whether a Tahitian vs a Hawaiian paddle stroke works better doesn't have a single answer and doesn't have a right answer. You have to learn as much as you can and pull what works out of your bag of tricks as situations arise. The more techniques you learn, the more versatile your set of skills will be and the more conditions you'll be successful in.

Using a stroke that consists of rowing with a bent lower arm is a good example of poor technique that will result in injury if it is carried on. People 'rowing' with their paddles will also run out of energy faster.  Paddling past your feet is a waste of energy, slows you down and pulls you off-balance. But if you give a newbie a board and a paddle, not too many will intuitively discover how to paddle efficiently. I watch people rowing around on their rental boards all the time, about 70 percent of them with their blades facing the wrong way. Winter before last, Pono Bill and I escorted a group of newbies in on a DOH day at S Turns. They were on their knees, bobbing around beyond where most of the waves were breaking, clueless that the next large set would be right on top of them. One of them went for a ride on the reef, tumbled along and got some nice reef rash to take back to the mainland before we paddled over and got the rest of them in between sets. Basic ocean knowledge, not dispensed with the rental boards they were on.

Turning people loose on the water with no instruction happens all the time, especially here in Hawaii where it's easy to rent a board and a paddle and jump in the 80 degree water. Rescues happen all the time too. Learning fundamentals is not about intuition, it's about learning a correct foundation so that a new paddler can build on it. Once you're past the basics, and you get into the more nuanced techniques, then by all means, decide what feels right and what works best for you. 

[headmount]

Was in the back seat with Covesurfer yesterday in an OC-2.  That was very instructional for me.  I could see from watching him that my stroke was total crap.  Great learning tool having someone right in front of you doing it right.  Thanks Cove.

Funny thing happened aside from a fish landing in my lap.  I got washed heavy on a big drop where we lost rudder control and the boat went sideways.  I was laying straight back, off but behind the seat, squeezing both sides of the boat with my legs to stay on.  I yell at Cove and reach my paddle forward to him.  Pull me up! So he did.  We were hauling ass and didn't want to chance an unbalanced  sit up off the seat.  Pretty hilarious but I do need to do some ab work.

[clay]

Hey Covesurfer I'm hearing some defensiveness, maybe a button got pushed?  Sounds like we are saying the same thing - find an instructor(s) and learn some basics and fundamentals.

Maybe I'm being defensive here, and at the same time I feel the need to say more.  My intent is not to argue or disagree, I want clarity and understanding, and to offer what is true for me in the hopes that it will help others and save them the pain I suffered.

For me this brings up a question of how does a beginner know which instructor is teaching "good" technique and who is teaching "bad" technique?  For me the answer is intuition.

Who determined the basics or fundamentals, and how did they come by this information?  The answer for me is gut instinct, hunches, or intuition combined with trial and "error".

I had shoulder pain about 12 years ago that reduced my surfing to almost zero for several years. I had expert orthopedic surgeons, PTs, and elite athlete body mechanics tell me to get a shot, take some pills, do these exercises, you're screwed, and you're gonna need surgery in 2-3 years.  None of that worked and I am glad I listened to my intuition and ignored their advice and found a cure that worked for me, in my opinion I am the best expert on me and my body.

20 years ago I was trying to lift some very heavy furniture and heard and felt a pop in my spine, for the next 2 years I was in constant daily pain.  My dad had recently undergone back and neck surgery, so I was scared I would also need surgery, I talked to his surgeon who said I was to young and better to wait and see what happens.  Looking back I noticed that the pain went away and I felt healed at about the same time I finally dealt with the financial stress that I was going through.  My shoulder pain happened on the week of Valentine's day (clue #2), both of these incidents taught me that there is more to pain and "injury" than structural issues or body mechanics, that psychosomatic is more than likely the cause.  I rarely hear any instructors, trainers, or sports medicine folks talking about body/mind/heart/spirit and how they are all connected.

My experience growing up is that our society trained me to ignore my intuition and the signals or signs of danger, we expect a giant sign on the beach that says "warning experts only, deadly surf".  I've since found a couple teachers that have shown me how to listen to, trust, and follow my intuition, and it's been the best training I have ever had.  I now believe that their training is correct and we all have the answers inside us.

[covesurfer]

Clay, I don't know that we are disagreeing at all. I agree with your points. I also think it's important to understand how people learn.

The problem for all of us in a new activity is, you can't know what you don't know, this is also called 'unconscious incompetence' where 'incompetence' isn't intended to be disparaging, but instead refers solely to lack of knowledge and experience in a particular area. The next stage is 'conscious incompetence', where a beginner starts to understand their own lack of knowledge, skill, ability, what have you. In other words, it's the stage where you understand something about how to approach a new activity, but you also understand that how much there is yet to learn and you aren't yet proficient at the skills. Next, you get conscious competence, where you understand what you are supposed to be doing and can do it, but you have to think about it pretty much all the time. Eventually, you get to unconscious competence, that's the muscle memory, don't-have-to-think-about-how-to-do-it stage.

To me, that's the reason people seek out and continue with lessons and coaching: To get the basic underpinnings from what others have learned via trial, error, frustration, maybe even injury and eventual success. You're trying to build of the best knowledge and skip what has been discovered not to work so well.

What works for one person may not work for another and some people might not click with a particular coach or instructor, even if that person knows their stuff. Finding someone you can work with well is very individual and personal.

But basics are basics. Fudge on those and you set yourself up for a lot of frustration later on if you continue in an activity and seek to improve your performance. The power of the brain and body to commit something to unconscious competence shouldn't be underestimated. It becomes a problem when the 'competence' is misdirected because of faulty technique. In other words, you commit something to muscle memory that is counterproductive. There is such a thing as bad technique. It's bad because it will get you injured if you keep it up. Or, because it is inefficient and it prevents you from progressing.

[yugi]

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 I've since found a couple teachers that have shown me how to listen to, trust, and follow my intuition, and it's been the best training I have ever had.  I now believe that their training is correct and we all have the answers inside us.

Interesting

[yugi]

^^ Now I really think about it I should have added…

So how do you find one of those instructors!!!??? It’s as valid a question as the OP. There seem to be as many, or more, quacks in that dept than in SUP.

I’m actually really interested in how you “learn” that other than just let go. I find DWing really good practice at letting go.

[clay]

Cove I hear you and mostly I agree with you.   I think it was Eckhart Tolle who said something like it's impossible for someone to have a higher level of awareness than they have in this moment, or for an unconscious person to know they are unconscious.  Similar to you don't know what you don't know.

In a nut shell my sense is that because SUP is so relatively knew that in 5, 10, or 20 years from now it might look radically different, even the basics or fundamentals might change.

[clay]

I've since found a couple teachers that have shown me how to listen to, trust, and follow my intuition, and it's been the best training I have ever had.  I now believe that their training is correct and we all have the answers inside us.

^^ Now I really think about it I should have added…

So how do you find one of those instructors!!!??? It’s as valid a question as the OP. There seem to be as many, or more, quacks in that dept than in SUP.

I’m actually really interested in how you “learn” that other than just let go. I find DWing really good practice at letting go.

Thanks and great question!

The way I understand intuition or hunch or gut feeling is that we are born with it, and over time the adults in our culture talk us out of it.  They tell us don't do that, that's silly, or you can't do that, walk this way, talk this way, act this way, you can't make a living doing that, that's dumb or stupid or crazy...and by the time we are teenagers we believe them instead of our inner guidance and even worse we don't believe we have intuition so we don't even try to listen to it.

The teachers I have are not trying to teach me their system or what works for them, all their teachings are trying to get me to find what works for me or said another way to bring out of me what's already there. It really is the teacher being a safe place and welcoming the all of the student - accepting and appreciating all the quirks, strangeness, weirdness, and whatever else is in us, and that our society tells us we can't be.

So how to find a teacher like this?   

Well I found my first one by reaching out to friends and asking for help, one friend recommended a guy and I went to see him.  He sure looked like a quack and there were times when I wanted to run out of there, and at the same time the things he was saying made perfect sense to me.  I just knew somehow (intuition) that he had a lot of wisdom.  So I kept going every week.

About 4 months after I met my first teacher I was starting to trust my hunches a lot more and following the flow of whatever life put in front of me.  I was looking for a new martial arts teacher, one who taught the spiritual/peaceful side as much as the physical.  I was out with this beer drinking run and chug group and after the run we went to a bar, I paused outside a few minutes to stretch while everyone else went inside.  A few minutes later I went into the bar and the only seat near my group was next to a Russian woman who was with a Colombian man, turns out they just came from their Martial Arts studio a couple blocks away.  I was getting a divorce and he's been divorced a couple times so we have this long intimate talk about divorce and relationships.   So I had a good feeling and joined their studio and unknowingly met my second teacher of intuition.

My martial arts teacher has said to ask questions and you'll know whether the teacher is right for you or not: