Paddling Question

if the nose of your board is up & pushing water, you are either A) too far back on the board & need to move up to increase the board's planing effciency or B) riding a board w/ too much nose rocker for your ability. go get a flatter board.

as i've said, i picked up this horrid habit somewhere along the way. i wish i hadn't. i thin kthat all these discussions about kicking creating tail lift to get into the wave is a bunch of bs we've concocted to make ourselves feel better about this dirty habit of ours.

 

There is no doubt it is ugly but also no doubt that it works. I will keep doing it in a pinch and hope knowone sees me .

 

Hey, the bottom line is - do what ya gotta do to catch more waves.

 

small boards

kicking is natural for swimmers; thus, the lower in volume your board is the more you will have to kick. I am watching a surf video right now and slates, mick, joel, and ceej are ALL kicking hard on MOST of the waves. if the board is submerged even a little, kicking WILL help get some lift. like swimming, bringing your feet up to the surface helps tremendously with speed. plus kicking helps clinch the obliques, but only with rhythmic kicking/pulling. thats why long-loggers kick. but kicking on a short board should be small little kicks that give lift; not thrashing and splashing. some waves you won't have to kick. but the crap surf on the east coast gives a low volume short board (to weight ratio) surfer the demands to kick. if you don't like it, don't look. i think most surfers just have the habit. if it feels natural, who cares. my ten cents...