Turn with the paddle

There are several existing techniques that will depend on your control and the urgency of the situation. Note that all these techniques are the basics of power carving in surfing. Charging Rollers, sick Cut Backs depend on your mastery of these basic moves. It is therefore crucial to take the time to train and master them in all types of conditions through freestyle sessions. To turn with the Paddle, you must form an X with the shaft and body when you row and row the opposite side to where you want to go. In addition, the more you want to turn fast, the more you have to pitch the board. To pitch it up, you have to get towards the back. Our advice : Only move your back foot (right for a regular, left for a goofy). One solid move, back it up and dose your weight with the distribution of the weight between your front/back feet. Back this foot up whether you want to go to the left or right, we do not reverse the feet. Especially, back this foot up while keeping the foot forward pointed forward and keeping the side gap that you had while paddling! The worst mistake is to move the back foot on the center line of the board. You must absolutely manage the left / right balance of the board, so keep one foot on each side of the central axis of the board, so one foot near each rail and point the front  foot towards the nose. As soon as you get out of this rule, you will have less control over your torso, less rotational power, and at least 70% more falls and no assurance at the peak. Indeed, the board is very stable from front to back, it is with the side movements that capsizes it easily and this is what you must master and make priority. So we back it up but we stay 100% facing the nose. We are in surfing position only when we are in the take off surf, never while rowing. Of course, a star can do otherwise, but it’s less safe even when you’re at a very high skill level. Finally, pay attention to the propeller effect. Indeed, as soon as you put the angle on the board, when turning, it will act as a propeller or a corkscrew. It will sink into the water and pitch up more and more or remain on the surface. It is necessary to press on the foot towards where you’re turning to plunge it in the water and on the other foot to get it out of the water. It should also be noted that pushing on the side of the rotation leads to the lockages of the rail on the water surface. The rail that is oriented towards dive will want to naturally come out violently and push the board in the opposite direction. So, we recommend that you always press slightly more on your foot outside of the turn. To learn to master these techniques there is a very simple exercise that you should try and repeat. The Snake : On still water, stand in paddling position, feet apart and at the width of your hips and face to the nose in the middle of the board. We remind you that the sweet spot on the board is that when you are on the tail the board should be in or on the water, never in the air. Apply the previous rules 1/2/3/4. Back up the back foot towards the tail (right for a regular, left for a goofy), toes forward, heels backwards, knees a little bent. Allow the board to pitch up slowly by gradually shifting your weight backwards. As in all phases when stopped in SUP your paddle should be slightly submerged, flat just below the surface, the arm closest to the blade stretched and lightly resting on it and the other holding the handle. Raise your paddle and row three shots right: the board turns. Change the paddle of hands and give three strokes to the left: the board returns to its original direction. Keep going until you have enough. Vary the pitching, the force of oar, the X with your body, the board will naturally undergo the propeller effect. Push this exercise to the extreme when you get it right. You will quickly be winding like a serpent for dozens of meters. These meters are precious because they give you the basics for agility on the peak and the technique for Rollers and Cut Backs and other things. Beginner Technique : You paddle on one side only, the one opposite to where you want to go, and the board will turn turn with a wide radius. The more you make an X between the paddle and your body, the shorter it gets. But it is a totally unsuitable technique for charging waves due to the immense radius of the curve. You will never be able to get to the peak as well, except by chance. Reverse Technique : It’s the one we’re thinking of right now: playing with the paddle to turn. Everything is possible but there are more effective techniques than others. The most common is to row backwards of the turn you want to make. It is really not very classy and moreover it is super unstable. Remember that the board hates going backwards and that the edge catches when you’re in reverse. The best way to fall. Braking Technique : It is a question of braking inside the turn that one wishes to make. It is a technique that requires a little speed to do. We use it when we arrive in front of the wave by passing the bar and we want to get out immediately. It is also used when there is a strong wind on your back. This avoids getting pushed out of where where you want to be. To brake, simply put the blade on the water flat, press it to push it into the water to create resistance and turn the handle by raising the thumb to get the greatest resistance that you manage to see until the blade is on the 90 ° edge of the surface. Note that if you directly plant the blade too vertically, you may not be able to handle the loss of balance generated by the violent braking. Either you will fall, or you will be out of balance to catch the incoming wave. The easiest way is to lay the blade relatively flat and press on it gradually. SUP paddles for experienced riders have an angle between the blade and the shaft that will naturally accentuate this braking when you dip the extrado of the blade. As soon as you have entered the turn (90 °), all you have to do is change hands and row the outside of the bend to finish it by making a beautiful X with your body. Note that you can also put the shaft on your hip on the side or you plunge the blade instead of forcing with your hand on the pale side to press in the water. You will get a very strong pivot point that will allow you to force it with the other hand. Main Technique : This is to sink the back of the board to turn on the spot. For that you always have to row from the opposite side to where you want to go, but by the quickest paddle swipes possible (this gives you balance). Then we back up the foot (right for a regular, left for a goofy). Attention, do not move the front foot. It must remain strictly in the same place as when you paddle. If you move everything, you lose all your bearings. The back foot must not go to the center of the board. You must always stay on both sides of the median axis to control the list (see beginning of this How To). The more you want to go short, the more you have to step back. This way you can turn on the spot by flowing the back of the board. Once the turn is well underway, you must put the foot back to the level of the front foot just before the board has finished the turn you wanted to do. So you will gain stability. What is important is to sink violently the back of the board rowing hard and fast on the outside of the turn, nose to heels. Once the pulse is given, it is not necessary to stay towards the back. Repeat the paddling exercises of the Snake. It will give you all the basics of this technique, especially if you master it in choppy. Reverse Paddle Technique : You must plunge the blades Intrado forward on the side where you hold the handle. For example, you’re rowing towards the left, you have the blade on the left hand side. To turn right, you will lift the paddle from the water, twist your body, pass the blade over the board and come dive on the right side of the board. There is no change of hand or wrist rotation. The blade must have its inside (the one that was backwards when you rowed left) forward with more or less angle in the manner of a rudder or as if you wanted to rowing back right side without change the feet and just twisting the upper body. Then you manage the orientation of the blade with the handle to force more or less on the resistance on the right. Once the turn is well underway, lift the paddle and return to the original position on the left to finish the turn in a rowing stroke. Be careful, this move is very unstable at first. By cons, it allows to turn short without changing the paddle hand. It is very effective but quite traumatic for the spine. Well executed, it is a very elegant maneuver. Note that doing it gently on each side of the board by changing hands is an excellent warm up and stretching of the back. This technique is also used for Cut Backs and Back Side Rollers. 180 ° Swivel Technique : It is possible to make a pivot (a 180 ° turning of the body) on the board early enough before the arrival of the wave to face the tail. Do not change the paddle of hand. Row on the side where the blade is now to make a turn backwards to the board. All you have to do is redo a pivot and row, the board is in the trajectory of the take off. Note that this figure is of little interest when you’re stopped. It becomes impressive when the rider arrives with speed up against the wave, when you start the pivot by advancing on the board to sink the nose and disengage the fins so that the boards 180 ° is done at the speed of lightning. Fin First 180 ° Pivoting Technique : Pros only! When the board is facing the horizon, you pivot to face the tail. You do not change the paddle of hand and row facing the tail. From there you can, with Fins first, perform a board 180 ° on the wave. It’s a very technical move. Turning the board to take off to make it the 180 ° that will put it back in the right direction is quite simple: just plunge the Fins into the water as soon as you have a little speed. What is more complicated is to row backwards and catch the wave. For that it is necessary that the foot side pale is on the rail and the other on the central axis of the board (it is what allows rowing straight in reverse) and that the tail is just above the water. This is a very impressive move that is often made when you pass the bar and we see a wave a little late and we do not want to miss it by doing a classic half lap that is longer. The other techniques : There are dozens but the easiest way is to copy kayakers and other paddle pros then work on it when freestyling 😉