A technical eplanation of paddling ...

[TiltPilot]

wow this changed the way the day went today...

http://ncpaddlesurfer.blogspot.com/2009/02/corrected-paddle-technique.html

It's DW's post on his blog.  I'm a mechanically minded person and putting it in these terms made paddling so clear (and on the water I could feel the difference immediately!).  It's probably old news to lots out there but worth posting if it can help even one person the way it helped me.

Thanks DW.

[Shnoover]

There is another thread where someone named Candace (I think - maybe) talks about driving your top hand forward through the water - seems to be the same idea.  I was playing around with this today - no wind whatsoever - and countering with other advice I've heard to pull yourself past the paddle.  It seems kind of counter to eachother, but I tried to balance between the two.  Pushing on top hand feels better for sure, but I'm also sure I'm missing something(s)...  In another piece of a Todd B video, he talks about not bouncing the board up and down - one more thing to think of and also (for me) lends better to the push up top path.  I appreciate any tips in this area...

[stoneaxe]

I played around a bit with this as well in the past few weeks since DW 1st posted about attending the SUPAH clinic. I knew I had seen Todd demonstrate the technique a little in a video previously but hadn't noticed how different it was until DW was so enthusiastic. He does a little of it in this Vortice vid.



I've ended up with a bit of a compromise for myself. I've found the punching stroke to be a bit tiring actually especially on my left side (blown disk so i'm weaker over there) so i've been mixing this technique in with my normal stroke. I think it may be beneficial to do this for a couple of reasons. By having a few different ways of paddling you can avoid fatigue easier. You can also help to prevent repetitive strain injuries.

[Paddle-Plappe]

As i was watching this movie on tv

I saw this guaranis indian paddle technique. I haven't got the words to describe their technique. THey stand up paddle from generation to generation, they stand up paddle their whole life. We can see how they use every muscle to paddle. 
So I took the familial cam and shot the tv. You can see that for 30 seconds on this video (called "sup mission"):

Watch also the kind of paddle they use, it's interesting.

[Eric]

wow, I'm not an expert, but imho, this Indian has a pretty good technique !!

[Admin]

I love this shot.  No racing going on, but it shows how far these guys are stretching that top hand out and over the far rail to keep their paddles vertical.  Something to aspire to. 

[Shawn Michael]

Malika looks great but I wish todd would have just got on the board and shown good technique, kind of a lost teaching oppurtunity.  The stroke I try to model is Jim Terrel...you know those olympians like to get it perfect

The thing that confused me about Todds lesson was about the top arm, if you punch through with the top arm faster than the bottom arm moves you mess up the blade angle.  Rather than being like / or vertical you push the top arm forward and you get this \ and now you have ruined your stroke...Watch Jims stroke, perfect every time

http://quickbladepaddles.com/catalog/videopopup.html

[Dwight (DW)]

[Paddle-Plappe]

imho, "paddling right size then left size" is a rookie technique.
We all are rookies.

[PonoBill]

the technique of pushing down with the upper hand vs. pulling with the lower is powerful, but the physics of the example in DW's post is a little off. It would be nice to think of paddling as a simple lever issue, but there's a lot more going on than that. I think it's more a matter of what muscles get applied than it is just mechanical advantage.

But even if mechanical advantage of the paddle were important, a lever never multiplies the amount of energy (work), it just exchanges one aspect for another. And a lever pivoted at the top and pulled in the middle applies the same amount of work as one pivoted at the lower hand. It's just a lower amount of force applied over a longer distance. With a center pivot (lower arm fixed) a paddle is a class one lever with the fulcrum between the load and the force. If you hold the paddle in the middle the force at the paddle blade equals the input force at the handle and the distance the paddle strokes is the same as the distance the upper end of the lever is pushed.

With the lower hand pulling and the upper arm fixed, the paddle is a class three lever, where the energy applied to the lever is between the fulcrum and the load. The blade travels further with less force, which means the amount of work is exactly the same. Work is what determines speed. force determines the current amount of acceleration, but the amount of time the acceleration is applied determines speed. In other words you can get a little burst of acceleration from using a class one lever (pushing with upper hand) but he class two lever will deliver the same ultimate speed since it applies the accelerating force for a longer time.

In other words, from a simple machine standpoint it just wouldn't matter where you held the paddle and how you pushed or pulled on it, for the same amount of energy input you would gain the same amount of speed. Alas (or maybe fortunately), we are not dealing with a simple machine.

The problem with pulling with the lower hand is that it's hard to engage anything more than just arm muscles, which are pretty wimpy compared to shoulders and legs. Twisting your body when punching down with the upper hand engages shoulders and core. Punching out can engage some shoulder muscles, but probably is most effective in lengthening the stroke in front of your feet by letting you get the paddle into the water further forward, The far forward reach lightens the nose of the board in the early stroke, which seems to help many boards accelerate. It also lets you extend the stroke, engaging different muscles as he stroke progresses, thus applying more WORK, which means higher speed.

Now I'm going to put my inner dweeb back to sleep and go play.

[Shawn Michael]

There are a lot of good OC vids that talk about the top hand and how punching forward takes away reach etc.  I will put some up when I get home from work and hopefully see what yall think. 

[Shawn Michael]

I posted this in the downwind forum but I thought it might be interesting food for thought, let me know what you think in relation to SUP:

And if you have any good clips and suggestions I am always all ears.  I think different styles of paddling are suited for different bodytypes.  I think the ideal paddler is going to be a really really lean guy with thin legs, long arms and a great upperbody strength to bodyweight (like a guy who can do 15 pullups with weights around his waist) who has the cardio to maintain a high stroke rate.  Being a heavier person a shorter faster stroke rate is too tiring for me so I try to maximize my strength by using a really big blade that does not slip in the water and twist and reach as much as I can....it is like the longer slower Hawaiian vs high cadence Tahitian strokes in outrigger.  You have to be in amazing shape to keep up that high stroke rate some cool instructive videos from Danny Ching...I think there is some good food for thought here:



and this one reguarding why punching the top hand through might not be the best idea



Thanks to Mindy @ outriggercanoe.blogspot for the videos!

[Tom]

I've tried the 'push with top hand with bottom hand as a fulcrum' technique (pwthwbhaaf) and have mixed  feelings. I don't think it would be a good stroke for a long time, but it seems to work well for a burst of speed. When I take off on a wave, it seems to give me that extra burst to hep catch a wave.

[TP]

I agree with Tom, after reading about this technique on DW's site, and then attempting to apply it, I was initially very impressed... however, after playing with the stroke more and more, for me personally I've found that I use it to accelerate quickly on to a wave, or to just get up onto plane.  I've also started to use it to switch up my stroke, and use different muscles, it keeps me more rested, for a longer period of time.  I can't use this stroke exclusively, I'd be exhausted very quickly.

One negative that I've noticed is that I tend to have to switch sides quicker, after 5-6 strokes, instead of 8-10, which in my mind would lose some of it's advantage over a long paddle.

I will add the caveat, that I have very little time on downwind runs, but the time that I have had makes me think that this stroke really shines with a little wind on your back.  Which if I recall is really what the stroke was for.  Not necessarily for all-round paddling.

[Dwight (DW)]

http://www.standuppaddlesurf.net/

Head over to Evans' web site. He's a done a much better job of capturing Todd Bradley's paddle technique than I did.