Paddling Question

In my opinion, the foot kicking thing is just a reaction. Like swinging your arms when you walk. I don't see any benefit to it for paddling/catching waves. I concentrate all on my upper body for paddling. I guess occasionally I'll kick for an extra boost, but I don't know how much it does.

 

kicking your feet is totally pointless... i guess stoneybaloney's right about the arm swinging while walking.. for me kicking makes me feel like im paddling faster into a wave, but once i tried to paddle with my feet only on my board, and i barely went anywhere, but i cant stop kicking, its like, natural for me i guess

 

If you want to see what kicking your feet does for you try it in flat water without any paddling. You can see for yourself what it can or cannot do for you.

 

I ride with a buddy who kicks viciously sometimes (I mean I do to, but I'm a bodyboarder) and i tell him, dude I don't think it helps any. I'd say try to focus your strength to your upper body for deeper strokes so you can pick up the wave quicker. The opposite goes for bodyboarding. I don't paddle with both hands and kick at the same time. I use one hand for that last stroke and then set my hips and grip, and settle into the line. Just an observation.

 

this.
for shortboarders, kicking does jack.
it looks hideous (yes, i'm aware surfing isn't a fashion show...still, aesthetics are important to me. tom curren=good surfer. spazmo your local kook=not a good surfer. BIG difference in style).
if you kick too much, it can actually have a detrimental effect on your wave catching ability.
i have unfortunately picked this habit it somwhere along the way. i hate it, but haven't been able to stop.

that said, i do believe that kicking your legs when paddling a longboard can have a beneficial effect. i did some experiments when i was doing a lot of prone paddleboarding & found that i could get more glide out of my strokes if i kicked my legs while i pulled. the key was to keep things alternating (ie: left hand/right leg).

& obviously, if you're bodyboarding or kneeboarding, you need to kick your ass off to get into the wave. hence the flippers.

 

I have been taught since i was 12 years old to not kick, the older locals prohibited me for doing so, in lack of style and stability. If your to think of it this way, if you on your board paddling for a wave and you kick, then your putting pressure on the back of your board causing you to actually to slow down, like a stall. They always stressed on me that all paddling is, is core strength. Now depending on type of wave, for instance i never kick in the summer for the simple fact that there is no reason to, but the only time i ever do kick is when im hung up at the lip and its my final desperation. It always looks a lot cooler if you don't kick, and if you haven't noticed; all the kooks on the 6'7s kick like there on fire....and you never see them get into any waves.

 

a lot of pro surfers kick so i dunno what that one guy was talkin about.....

 

i second this, i've see Jamie O'Brien kick like his life depends on catching a wave

However i doubt kicking helps... i used to do it sometimes, but have since stopped

 

You cant argue that kicking is bologna by doing it in flat water and seeing if you go anywhere (which you won't), because when paddling for a wave, especially of the hollow type, the wave face is building up so your legs end up more submerged in the water, at least for those crucial moments just before the board begins to plane down the wave face. I don't think kicking really helps because it doesn't displaced enough water. And when your body is in a prone position, it's more easy to get deep strokes when your legs aren't spazzing out behind you. Plus, it's been said that you actually paddle faster when you're taking relaxed strokes, and not kicking keeps the body way more relaxed. That's why pro surfers make catching hollow waves look so easy, they know they need to stay relaxed to keep efficient strokes. I could almost go as far as saying that you might paddle faster in you "just paddling," than your "oh crap, I better get over that bomb set" mode.

 

I think kicking helps if you dont over do it cause it disrupts your foward motion i think. I sometime see guy who longboard frog kick as they call it when it small out and the waves lack any power to gain the little extra bump . I think it looks kinda corney but if it helps it helps I guess

 

I was told by a very legit surfer about 4 years ago, that guys who do a leg kick when they paddle are goons. Not really sure why. He said it was just ridiculous to flap around like that as you are paddling it. Its really unnecessary. I guess it doesn't matter one way or the other, but since he told me that, I always made a point of bending my knees up in the air, crossing my feet and keeping them completely still as I paddle. Again, I dont think it matters, but this guys said, A) take your leash off the second you are out of the water. Dont be the guy walking down the beach with his leash still on. and B) He said don't kick your feet when you paddle, because that will just get you labeled as a clown... not sure why...

 

Yeah, thats basically what they guy was telling me. Its just corny.

 

I also see pro's kicking to, but not like we do, theyre good at it... if that makes sense?? But who knows if maybe kicking does do something when your going in a semi-downward direction on the face, like it does get you somewhere when your going down the top of the face, rather than the flat line-up...

 

well! if the pros do it, it must be the proper way to do something!!

 

I kick..... sometimes. I'm a pretty strong paddler, I can arm only paddle into waves, I can no paddle squirt launch into waves by sinking my tail. There are times when you misjudge the wave, are out too far, a set comes in, your in the perfect position for a perfect wave, you start to paddle, feel the wave pick you up but just not enough to start sliding. Who isn't at least tempted, to kick a few times to get into the wave? I know it works but like Mexsurfer said only when you are on the precipice. Anything you can do to displace water and get the tail up and planning helps, it's not that you are being propelled, it's the lifting of the tail that helps .

 

Jamie O is a bodyboarder as well, so that probably plays into it.

 

Yeah seriously! Pros doing it does not mean its productive. Its probably their natural reaction like many other people. Like someone else said, try kicking on your board without paddling and see how far you get.

 

There was a hhuge and really interesting thread a swaylocks a few months ago on the physics of paddling. fascinating reading. Consensus was that the reason kicking helps you get into the waves easier is because it lifts the tail of your board and getting the tail up helps level the board and slide down the wave face. Many people paddle in such a way that the nose is up and the board pushes water instead of planing

 

One thing I've never seen are pros or ams kicking their feet while paddling out or paddling for position. It might happen, but I've never seen it.