SUP riding technique: Basics and turns - how to paddle properly!

Tricktionary

· 22.05.2023

The arm should remain stretched during the pulling phase.

During turns, the leg on the paddle side is used more.

Now it's time to get round: Finally, we show you how the crossbow turn works.

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We show the right paddling technique for beginners and the most important turns. Keep it simple at first, but don't get into bad habits. It's better to paddle slowly and powerfully than the other way round. It's about getting into the habit of a correct propulsion technique that doesn't tire quickly and doesn't cause back pain or other problems.

In this article:

Paddling correctly: the basics
Paddling basics: the recovery phase
Paddling your first turns
Efficient turn: the crossbow turn
C-stroke: fast turning without much movement

Paddling correctly - the basics

Firstly, make sure your feet are centred on the board, on both sides of the handle. Your feet should be parallel or very slightly offset so that you can use your hips optimally

The upper hand does not extend beyond the forehead so that the shoulder remains at the correct angle and is not overstrained. Try not to pull the paddle blade towards you immediately, but immerse it fully in the water first in order to generate propulsion as efficiently as possible

During the pulling phase, make sure that your forearm remains stretched and that you pull yourself towards the paddle blade with a coordinated movement of your hips, shoulders, thighs and abdominal muscles.

Concentrate on holding it vertically and its blade at a right angle to the edge of the board

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Move the paddle far enough forwards without overdoing it by stretching your forearm and loosening the wrist of your lower hand. If you open the fingers of your lower hand, you can move the paddle blade a little further forwards without becoming too unbalanced. Make sure that the elbow of the upper arm remains slightly bent and is not held too far upwards.

In this phase, bend your knees slightly to improve your balance and power transfer. During the pulling phase, make sure that your forearm remains extended and that you pull yourself towards the paddle blade with a coordinated movement of your hips, shoulders, thighs and abdominal muscles. Imagine that the board is moving forwards towards the paddle instead of the paddle moving towards you. Now comes part 2 - the recovery phase.

Paddling basics: the recovery phase

You pull the paddle out at the level of your feet or slightly in front of them, but not behind them, otherwise you switch to so-called negative paddling, which slows you down, destabilises you and can damage your back in the long run

Ideally, the paddle should be pulled out of the water with a slight twisting movement in the lower wrist, so that it can be pulled out as "cleanly" as possible.

It is important to keep the blade close to the surface of the water and avoid large movements. Keeping the blade close to the water helps to maintain balance and to be able to quickly place it in the water for balance if necessary. Concentrate on keeping your board stable throughout the recovery phase...

...and move the blade forwards again until you repeat the whole sequence. Look forwards while you realign the paddle blade because, as is so often the case, your head controls the actions of the rest of your body.

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The role of the arms compared to the rest of the body is not too great. The wrong reflex is to bend the forearm in order to pull the paddle towards you with the strength of the biceps. Compared to the other muscle groups involved in paddling, this is a rather weak muscle. The shoulders, abdomen and thighs are the real motors.

Photo: TricktionaryThe arm should remain stretched during the pulling phase.

Paddling your first turns on the SUP

Before you make full 180-degree turns, it is advisable to start with small changes of direction. You can do this with the bow stroke.

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The lower hand is moved closer to the upper hand, allowing you to reach far forwards and to the side with your paddle without having to bend down.

Also angle the paddle slightly, turning the hollow side outwards and the curved side towards the front of the board.

The legs are half bent and the abdominal muscles are tensed in preparation for the twist.

The aim is to dip the paddle blade into the water, which provides additional stability, and then ...

...to move in a circle from the front of the board to the back and thus...

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In contrast to normal paddling, where you guide the blade along the edge of the board to go as straight as possible, here you push the blade away from the edge of the board to create a turn.

The further you reach out with the paddle in this movement, the more radical the turn will be. For a rotation of 180 degrees or more, repeat this movement several times until you have turned in the desired direction.

The mind thinks - and steers

The head is generally the most important directional element in most board sports: you turn wherever you look. In this sequence, you can see how the paddle blade is pointing outwards and your gaze and shoulders are already orientated in the direction you want to turn (image 1).

gaze and shoulders are aligned in the direction in which you want to turn (in this case to the left of the viewer)

You can also clearly see how the blade is pushed outwards and at the same time the board is turned over the legs with the abdominal muscles.

In particular, the leg on the side of the paddle is heavily used

At the end of the movement, push the paddle towards the stern...

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Good to know

For the first few turns, it is advisable to use a board that is big enough to be stable, but not too long so as not to make steering unnecessarily difficult.

Now it's time to go round: the crossbow turn on the SUP

The crossbow turn allows you to turn very efficiently without having to move your feet.
having to move your feet. At the same time, the risk of falling is quite low here.

For example, if you are paddling on the right-hand side, you bring the paddle down while maintaining the same hand position...

across the front onto the left-hand side of the board.

Use the rotation of your shoulders and keep your centre of gravity low (knees half-bent) to guide the paddle and keep your balance

With a slight twist of the wrist, point the hollow side of the blade towards you (the curved side outwards) and dip the blade into the water at the front side of the board as cleanly as possible, i.e. without splashing

With this support on the water, which slows the board down slightly, you tighten your abdominal muscles, strain your inner leg and...

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The crossbow turnis particularly effective for large boards and is therefore also used in SUP races with boards of 12'6'' and longer.

Perform the movement in slow motion at first and then do it more quickly once you have internalised the sequence. The most complicated part is understanding how to move the paddle to the other side without changing your hand position: For example, if you are paddling on the right side, you bring the paddle over the front to the left side of the board while maintaining the same hand position.

C-stroke: fast turning without much movement

The C-turn or C-stroke (below) allows you to turn quickly without moving your feet or paddle to the side. It is also particularly useful if you want to reposition yourself sideways (to approach a jetty, get closer to another board or control your starting position in a race).

The first measure is to move the paddle blade away from the edge of the board to reach as far to the side as possible

This gives the blade an angle that stabilises you. The hollow side is facing you, the curved side of the blade is facing outwards

The blade must be well immersed in the water for maximum efficiency.

Now use your hips, abdominal muscles, shoulders and arms to guide the paddle to the front of the board and turn it. The aim is to push water under the board with the paddle

To continue the turn, move the paddle over to the other side...

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You can find more articles about SUP riding techniques here->

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