I need help with barrel riding techniques for SUP?

[gkona]

here is the whole whole sequence

[gkona]

the rest

[linter]

gkona,  nice tube ride and good form.  Thanks for the tips from someone who is pulling in tho hawaiian tubes of that size.  Looks like solid 4 foot.  I think I would try that size.  Did you make it out of that last section?  Mahalos

man, that Hawaiian scale is something else.  let's see ... if that's a 4' wave, the waves i ride most often probably are, oh, about 1', more like about 8".  sheesh.  hell, by that scale, a 2' wave would probably scare the bejesus out of me.

anyway, what's it like to get snuffed in one of those 4' barrels?  hell, it's only 4'.  how bad could it be?

gulp.

[diesel]

Linter,  Hawaiian scale is different.  2 foot hawaiian is actually pretty fun and shoulder high with 3 foot hawaiian being like head high to a little overhead on the takeoff.  You should be able to get decent barrels at 3 foot hawaiian.  4 foot hawaiian is good size and on the the north shore, a 4 foot hawaiian wave can really give you a good thrashing if you get caught by the power.  The more you go out, the more you get used to the size and it's not so bad.  I still will not go past 8 foot hawaiian.  At 6 to 8 foot hawaiian, I get nervous depending on the break.  North Shore 6 to 8 can really kick ass and you have to be careful.  I give total respect to guys charging that size and bigger.  There are so many guys in Hawaii who rip and charge that size and are just normal dudes who work 9 to 5.  I like 3 to 5 Hawaiian.

[Blane Chambers]

Cool Naish Vid.   Watch Dave Kalamas paddle in the barrel.   Dragging hand is much better.    Like I said, pull into a bunch of barrels and you will see the difference.   
http://oceanpaddler.tv/index.php?option=com_seyret&task=videodirectlink&Itemid=53&id=63

[Chan]

A group of us had the pleasure to watch Dave getting some amazing barrels on a rare-breaking outer reef this winter.  The highlight was watching him "paint the ceiling" with his blade.  He was holding his paddle straight overhead, looking up and watching his "brush's stroke" under the thrown lip.  You could see that the speed and force wanted to tear the paddle out of his hands.  He was just toying with the power of this mean (to the rest of us) dredger.  

Just like Keahi showed in his recent videos with his paddle assisted wave 360's, the best are really exploring combinations that use the paddle to really add something unique into the surf world.  

[hawaiian.style]

from that video, you can really see how easy it is to get your paddle ripped, throwing you off balance... unless you're a beast like Dave Kalama.

[Stewart]

So many different variables come into play when you decide your gonna pull into a barrel.  I think the most important thing about pulling into barrel is you got to have confidence in your equipment, and your skills.  If you pull into a good size barrel (or even a small one), and you don't make it, the consequeces could be serious.  You have a lot of equipment (big equipment) in the strongest portion of the wave.  I've taken some good poundings this winter, and even cracked a rib.  (It was worth it, I'd do it all again the exact same way.)

For me there's basically two ways I pull into a barrel.  The first is set up off of the bottom turn, paddle on the inside.  I usually prolong the bottom turn so that when you come out of the turn you are midface of the wave, and hopefully looking at a lip throwing over you.  It's at this point where I have been using two different options depending on what the wave offers.

Some waves are going to give you a barrel in a small short section and some waves are gonna require you to create some down the line speed while in the barrel.  I have found that when I come off of a bottom turn midface with speed that I will outrun the section.  I have tried using the paddle (dragging it in the face of the wave) to slow down, but have found that it does not slow me down fast enough.  That's where I started to go back to what I knew as a shortboarder (dragging my right hand in the face of the wave).  Dragging your hand allows you to grab the water and apply as much or little pressure to achieve your desired speed.

I also found that by keeping your paddle on the inside it makes it very easy to just release your right hand, and keep your paddle in an optimum position not to be grabbed by the wave.  It seems that when I try to use the paddle so slow me down, the paddle is located farther back of my position and consistently gets caught in the wave face that is moving from beneath you, up over you.  When the paddle gets caught in this portion of the wave your body usually follows.

Just my perspective.

[diesel]

So many different variables come into play when you decide your gonna pull into a barrel.  I think the most important thing about pulling into barrel is you got to have confidence in your equipment, and your skills.  If you pull into a good size barrel (or even a small one), and you don't make it, the consequeces could be serious.  You have a lot of equipment (big equipment) in the strongest portion of the wave.  I've taken some good poundings this winter, and even cracked a rib.  (It was worth it, I'd do it all again the exact same way.)

For me there's basically two ways I pull into a barrel.  The first is set up off of the bottom turn, paddle on the inside.  I usually prolong the bottom turn so that when you come out of the turn you are midface of the wave, and hopefully looking at a lip throwing over you.  It's at this point where I have been using two different options depending on what the wave offers.

Some waves are going to give you a barrel in a small short section and some waves are gonna require you to create some down the line speed while in the barrel.  I have found that when I come off of a bottom turn midface with speed that I will outrun the section.  I have tried using the paddle (dragging it in the face of the wave) to slow down, but have found that it does not slow me down fast enough.  That's where I started to go back to what I knew as a shortboarder (dragging my right hand in the face of the wave).  Dragging your hand allows you to grab the water and apply as much or little pressure to achieve your desired speed.

I also found that by keeping your paddle on the inside it makes it very easy to just release your right hand, and keep your paddle in an optimum position not to be grabbed by the wave.  It seems that when I try to use the paddle so slow me down, the paddle is located farther back of my position and consistently gets caught in the wave face that is moving from beneath you, up over you.  When the paddle gets caught in this portion of the wave your body usually follows.

Just my perspective.

This is good stuff stewart.  It allows me to visualize it so I can go ahead and execute what I see in my mind.  Very detailed, thanks for taking the time.

[Blane Chambers]

Big gaping pits are easy to use the paddle.   Its easy to use the paddle if the wave is big and round.    This photo is more like what you're asking about.    Tighter barrels.



This is a cool looking picture and I remember that wave well.   The paddle pushed me off balance so I had to become more upright and couldn't pull tighter to the face which forced me to change my line from a sure, beautiful shack to a so so cover up.          I wish I knew about hand dragging back then!

[diesel]

Yeah Blane, it looks like the paddle is too deep into the wave.  The whole blade is in the lip from what it looks like in the pic.

[Byronmaui]

Visual........