Do you widen your stance when it is choppy?

[Zooport]

I was out this afternoon in choppy 1 - 3ft surf and discovered that widening my stance gives me a little more stability when the water is choppy.  I'm sort of teaching myself how to transition from 25 years of prone surfing, to SUP surfing, so I'm discovering new things all of the time.    

Is it common to widen your stance, with your feet almost to the rails, when paddling in choppy waters?  Am I right; does it give you more stability?  Or am I fooling myself?  

[Board Stiff]

I usually paddle in a pretty wide stance, but as for whether it helps in chop, i think it depends in part of the board you're on. On my 11'6 cruiser, getting in a low stance with my feet against the rails feels like it helps me keep the board relatively level by shifting my weight and absorbing the bumps. When I tried the same thing on a 14' Coreban dart, I got tossed a couple of times, and eventually found better balance with a narrower stance, as the centerline stayed more or less level while the sides pivoted around it. I don't know if the difference in this case is due to differences in hull shape, or maybe because I only weigh enough to resist some of the board's motion on a smaller board. I'm interested in hearing from others with more experience too.

[Green Water Sports]

Widening your stance can help a little. But you can go too wide. You need board under your foot to push against so going all they way out to the rails on some boards doesn't work. My 8'5" surf sup seems to prefer a narrower stance than my old 9'8", even in the chop. Rail shape also has an effect on the grip or back pressure of the rail under foot. A rounded rail will have more linear give whereas a square or sharp rail will have a more on off sensation. IMO anyway...  But then waterline comes into play too.

I find spreading my feet fore and aft is a better help and rotating my back foot a little. Toes out to the rail direction. Like a surf stance but only a few inches forward for one foot and a few inches back for the other. That makes the biggest difference for chop, punching out through waves and generally rougher water.

[piece of 8]

   Not fooling yourself . Just like in a natural standing position, a wider stance is more stable and most definitely, on a surf style board. The next step at this point in terms of progression would be to bend the knees a little and keep them fluid. They will act as a  natural shock absorber. You just have to let your legs feel whats going on and react to it. It just takes a little time. After a while you don't even think about it
   Don't forget to keep that paddle in the water as well as it can  aid in balance and stability. Time on the water with choppy, challenging conditions will increase the learning curve. Good luck and have fun with it. You're about to catch more waves than in your entire 25 year prone career. I found the learning curve has been pretty quick in 3 years, simply because of the amount of waves you can catch on a SUP

[pdxmike]

I used to think the wider the better, but someone posted once that it's not that simple, and I believe it.  If you're feet are close to the rails, and you get knocked so your weight shifts towards one foot, that will tip the board much more than if your feet are closer to the middle, where a shift in weight won't tip the board nearly as much.   
I also think a lot of people instinctively try to achieve stability the same way on a board as you do on land--wide stance, grit your teeth and lock your hips.  Not going as wide can remind you to keep your knees, hips and ankles loose.  Keeping your feet towards the center also makes it much easier to move them if you really get knocked.  I'm bad at that and can't move my feet at all if they are close to the rails, because as soon as you take the weight off one, all your weight is transferred to the edge of the board where it makes it tip. 

However, if a board has a deeply recessed deck, that might tip the scales towards a wide stance being better because your feet can brace against the inside of the raised rails. 

So I think wide isn't always better, and it depends on the individual and the board.

[supthecreek]

A wide stance feels the most stable, but can sometimes, lead to a refreshing dip.

A narrower, slightly "surf" stance, can keep the "corrections" from getting away from you..... sometimes standing on the rails.... especially on a higher volume board can lead to "over steering" and lots of extra work..... like driving on ice or snow.... too big a movement can push the car out of control.... most often....smaller, more subtle corrections are the the most effective.

But.....I still fall all the time when it gets choppy... so maybe you shouldn't listen to me

[PonoBill]

I've switched to a narrower stance, but I tend to put a lot of weight on my right leg because of a marginal left knee. Still, I find I can recover better with a narrow stance, and I'm not banging the board around at much--letting ti flow over stuff. And you can move your feet around easer because shifting weight doesn't tip the board as much. When you see guys like Dave Kalama or Jeremy Riggs on a board their feet are close together and they can move into a cross step or a shuffle instantly, without upsetting the board. For me that's translated into all conditions. It's taken some time to adapt, but I don't think I fall as often. Of course that might not be true since my memory has about the same lifespan as a mayfly.

[SUPcheat]

I am beginning to believe as stated it may be a "time on the water" issue mostly. Eventually, it appears that balance with different kinds stances comes with the territory. I guess you would call it "variable stance" that is step or three above "basic stance" for balancing. That's one of the reasons I have been just logging as much time as possible in varying and increasingly challenging conditions.

It never ceases to amaze me that proners actually have a learning curve with SUP (I have never been a proner), I would have thought that they would be accelerated learners or would get it right away.

I have only been on the ocean since May, and have a long way to go, but my body now balances in ways subconsciously all by itself I could not have imagined or believed a few months ago. I can pretty easily negotiate moderate chop now, and it used to scare the crap out of me.

 I am beginning to have faith that the subtleties of balance can be an acquired skill gained through patience and practice, as opposed to requiring large amounts of native talent or just raw, supple youth. In my case, it has taken a long time and been a slow road, but it is happening. I  started SUP as an old gomer with no prior boat or surf experience.

[Zooport]

It never ceases to amaze me that proners actually have a learning curve with SUP (I have never been a proner), I would have thought that they would be accelerated learners or would get it right away.

For me, once I've caught the wave, there is no learning curve at all.  As soon as I'm going on the wave, I'm fine.  The hard part for us proner defectors is standing on a board that is not planing.  We never have to do that.  Coming from a proner background may actually be a detriment in this one area.  There are likely some things to unlearn about how the board will balance before you can master it.  Also, I have noticed that the balance and technique changes rapidly as you transition from sup-planing paddling into a plane down the face of the wave.  One type of balance for catching the wave, another type of balance for riding the wave.

 

[Blue crab]

I bought a tippy but fun Naish Javelin a few months ago and I have crap balance, so I have spent a decent amount of time trying to dial in balance issues by moving all over the board & riding it in all sorts of conditions (upwind, downwind, side currents & today… tide rips / whirlpools in deception pass).  I have noticed only subtle differences according to width of stance.  However, positioning along the length of the board seems to have a really important effect on balance. The board is considerably more stable but also slower, when I stand near its widest portion near the handle: this is the best place to be in gnarly chop for sure.  If I move 6-12 inches forward to the board's optimally trimmed and fastest position, then the board is highly susceptible to side chop, unless I am gunning it, at which point it is actually sort of stable.  So from my limited perspective, during the heat of the moment there are several variables including board speed and forward positioning which outweigh width of stance in terms of maintaining balance.

SUPcheat, totally agree that time on the water is ultimately what matters most.  Once key balance maneuvers like paddle bracing and quietly compensating with the the other foot become circuited muscle memory rather than conscious decisions, things start to get better. Just like any other sport really.  

[SUPflorida]

Try standing on a Bosue ball with platform up...your feet narrow and wide..try to move your feet around from each position.... Try and dismount from both possitions....think you will find the narrower stance more stable. The Bosue Ball takes a lot of the variables out of the mxi so you can decern what is really going on easier. It probably has to do with size of the board too...on a small surf shape your movement is going to have more effect on the board...on a larger board your going to have to adapt more to what the board is doing.

[stoneaxe]

I think a wider stance is how most of us deal with chop initially. I know I did, it works but comes at a cost. Ease of movement goes out the window. You need to learn to let the board ride over the chop with hip, knee and ankle flex while using your paddle to keep the upper body stable.
Nobody has worked harder at balance on a SUP than I have. And heavy chop was my balance therapy. I use a similar stance regardless of conditions these days. A semi surf stance with my feet maybe a foot or so apart. I find the most important thing when dealing with chop is reading the water and using your paddle. I always try to time my strokes to the chop, that and bracing is what keeps me dry.
Embrace the chop...nothing prepares you better.

[SlatchJim]

Once you get this fat ol man moving one way, it usually ends in a dip.  I don't change my stance much from calm to chop.  It's  normally just a half foot into a surf stance from parallel.  There is a healthy additional conscious additional knee bend and a conversation in my head that goes like, "Bend, flex, and flow or over you will go." 

[Zooport]

So it sounds like the answer is:  There is no answer, it's whatever works for you, your board and the conditions. 

[daswusup]

Keep the paddle in the water always. Its your third leg. Work on tipping one way and catching yourself with a strong brace. I spent slot of years kayaking hard, turbulent water and learned to use the brace effectively. Beginner kayakers and suppers alike willoften just stop paddling and remove the blade from the water when things get tippy. Experts will always have a blade in water and usually be moving forward in choppy conditions. If that doesnt work, sit down. I butt paddle my 8'10" hokua frequently if i cant stay vertical. Just stand and take a couple of strokes into the wave. I wont frustrate myself trying to stay vertical while waiting for waves if its too hard and i really want to surf my potatoe chip board.

Paddling in rivers both flat and whitewater will greatly enhance your balance and brace reaction. Also just screwing around in flatwater walking all over the board sinking nose and tail, hold a wheelie and spin around.

Hope some of this helps.