How to properly paddle and catch waves?

                                            maintain balance

Surfing is actually a game of balance. People and the board are always in a state of balance and mutual benefit. Just imagine that before you start paddling, your body starts to stagger just by lying on the board. It is naturally impossible to maintain a balanced paddling state. .

Lying on the midline of the board is the most basic way to maintain balance. In addition, it is not advisable to lie on the surfboard forward or backward, with the tip of the board raised about 5 cm (a fist) out of the water. The distance as a reference is the best position for a surfer to lie on the board.

If the body is in front, it is easy to cause the person to lean forward on the center of gravity of the surfboard, and the head of the board is inserted into the water; Therefore, keeping the board flat on the water is the premise to ensure effective strokes.

                                        body position while paddling

Upper body: On the surfboard, keep your head up and your chest up, your eyes are looking straight ahead (or the direction you want to go), the height between the chin and the surfboard is about the distance that can accommodate a football, such a state It allows you to reduce the load on your arms and make it easier to stand up when you catch a wave.

Keep your upper body and head still and not shaking when you are paddling. Moving the upper body and head side to side also makes the board sway side to side, creating more resistance.

Lower limbs: Put your feet together above the tail of the surfboard. You can lift your feet slightly or lift one foot. This personal habit has little effect on the efficiency of the stroke. But some beginners are used to putting their feet outside the board, which is not only very unprofessional, but also creates resistance to paddling.

                                           arm stroke detail

During the stroke, keep the fingers naturally close together, the palm and the forearm are parallel in a straight line, the shoulders drive the control arm, the arms are naturally straight, and the hands alternately row along the edge of the surfboard (two parallel lines of the shoulders). Stretch your arms as far down the water as you can to get more speed.

Finish the single stroke when the arm is behind the hip, lift the arm out of the water, raise it horizontally from the side of the body back to the front, and perform the next stroke.

In fact, the action of the stroke is similar to the freestyle posture, but it should be noted that because the person is on the water, it is not necessary to lift the hands too high, which affects the stroke frequency.

                                             sense of rhythm

Swimming also requires a sense of rhythm. Keeping breathing smoothly and rhythmically is to ensure the oxygen required for the normal functioning of the body's functions, so that there will be no situation where the muscles are weak after two strokes.