Learn How to Paddle on a Surfboard
A Beginner’s Guide
Surfing starts with mastering the fundamentals, and paddling is at the core of it all. Proper paddling technique is essential for improving your surfing game because it directly impacts your speed, efficiency, and the number of waves you can catch. A strong, efficient paddle means more waves and faster progression in the water. To achieve this, you need to focus on two key aspects: reducing drag and increasing propulsion.
What is “Drag”?
Drag is the resistance caused by water, slowing your forward motion. The goal is to reduce drag by maintaining a smooth and streamlined movement through the water. By minimizing resistance, you’ll move more efficiently with fewer obstacles slowing you down. Even if you’ve never surfed, you’ve experienced this resistance while swimming.
For example, as you stroke forward, momentum builds, but your body creates resistance against the water, causing you to lose speed unless you keep paddling. The key drag type for surfers is form drag, which is caused by the shape and positioning of your body as you move through the water.
What is “Propulsion”?
Propulsion is about maximizing how much water you push backward to generate forward momentum. The key is to increase your surface area that interacts with the water. Small technical adjustments can greatly enhance your ability to push water backward, improving your paddle speed.
Reduce Resistance (or Drag)
Reducing resistance means minimizing drag by finding your ideal “sweet spot” on the surfboard—positioning yourself perfectly in both vertical and horizontal alignment. Staying balanced and centered helps reduce drag and ensures smooth, efficient paddling.
Vertical Body Position
The “Sweet Spot” involves:
- A proper vertical body position
- The surfboard lying flat in the water
- An arched back
- The surfboard’s nose slightly out of the water
- Head up, looking forward
- Legs kept together for balance and control.
Common Mistake 1
- Positioning too far back on the surfboard
- The nose rises more than a foot out of the water.
Common Mistake 2
- Positioning too far forward on the surfboard
- The nose of the surfboard sinks underwater.
Vertical Body Position
A horizontal body position ensures you’re centered and balanced on your board. Keep your head up to maintain balance and visibility. To test your positioning, lift your hands out of the water—if either side sinks, you’re not centered. Keeping your head elevated reduces drag and brings the nose out of the water, placing you in the sweet spot.
Correct Body Positioning
To maintain a horizontal body position, keep your feet together for smooth, full-range paddle strokes. A common beginner mistake is using their legs to stabilize an uncentered board, leading to reduced paddle speed and increased drag.
Paddle Technique Drag
Proper paddle technique goes beyond positioning on the surfboard. Ensure your fingertips enter the water first, followed by your wrist and elbow, to avoid creating splashes and unnecessary drag. Smooth, quiet strokes are more efficient and help maintain speed. Keeping your head up and reducing side-to-side rocking keeps you stable, centered, and minimizes drag.
Increase Propulsion
Increasing propulsion is all about generating the most water flow backward and gaining forward momentum. For surfers, this is achieved by mastering the right paddling technique. A great way to break it down and simplify is to separate the paddling motion into 4 key phases:
1. The Catch
2. The Pull
3. The Recovery
The recovery phase is the smooth exit phase, where your arm moves out of the water effortlessly. During the first half of the recovery, your elbow should lead the movement. After completing the pull, bring your hand out of the water, keeping the elbow high and leading. Imagine a string pulling your elbow forward as you lift it.
Once your hand reaches shoulder height, you can begin leading with your hand as you prepare to re-enter the water.
Note: Avoid fully extending your arm during the underwater pull, as this can disrupt the natural recovery process. Keeping your elbow bent ensures a more efficient and smooth stroke.
4. The Hand Entry
Hand Entry = Last Phase
Your hand should enter the water well in front of your head and shoulder, depending on the size of your surfboard. On wider boards, aim to have your hand enter near the rail to maximize efficiency.
Ensure your fingertips enter the water first to reduce drag. Keep your wrist higher than your fingertips, and your elbow should remain higher than your wrist for proper alignment.
Paddle close to your surfboard’s rails. Paddling too wide reduces efficiency and overuses shoulder muscles, increasing the risk of injury. Your forearm should remain deep underwater for optimal propulsion.
Three practice tips to help you increase your propulsion:
1. High Elbow
Focus on keeping your elbow high at two key points:
- During hand entry – Ensure your fingertips enter the water with your elbow elevated.
- During the pull phase – Your elbow should stay high as you engage your forearm and pull water backward.
Keeping your elbow high helps maintain efficient propulsion and reduces drag.
2. The Fist Drill
This drill involves paddling with your hands clenched into fists, forcing you to engage your forearm more effectively. It reduces the surface area of your hands, emphasizing the use of the early vertical forearm (EVF) technique, a key element of efficient paddling. This drill is commonly used by swim coaches to improve technique and reduce drag.
3. Feel the Resistance
If you’re doing the technique correctly, you should feel resistance underwater on your hand and forearm as you pull. To know if you’re executing it properly, imagine you’re propelling yourself forward by pushing water backward. A clear sign you’re doing it wrong is if your arms are moving backward through the water much faster than your board is moving forward. This indicates excessive slippage and inefficient technique. You need to adjust your form to ensure your hand and forearm maintain a stronger grip on the water.
Minimize Equipment Drag
It’s no surprise that the surfboard you ride can have a significant impact on the amount of drag you create while paddling. Even with perfect paddling technique, if you’re not gaining speed in the water, it could be linked to the surfboard you’re using.
Volume
- Volume refers to the overall size and the amount of space (measured in liters) within a surfboard, determined by its length, width, and thickness.
- More volume in a surfboard = increased flotation.
- Increased flotation = reduced drag, allowing for faster paddling.
Rocker
- The surfboard’s rocker refers to the curve or “banana shape” from the nose to the tail.
- More rocker increases maneuverability, making the board easier to turn.
- However, the trade-off is increased drag, slowing you down during paddling.
Bottom Contour
- The bottom contour refers to the design of the surfboard’s base, which affects how water flows beneath it.
Fins & Leash
Fins and leashes contribute to drag while paddling. Although the drag created by these components is minimal, they can still affect your speed. Surfers riding smaller boards in small-to-medium waves can reduce drag by opting for shorter, thinner leashes.
Sprinting & Kicking Techniques
Sprinting and kicking are techniques used by experienced surfers to generate a final burst of speed when catching a wave. However, they’re not always necessary — this typically occurs during the final moments when extra speed is needed. It happens when:
- The surfer’s stroke rate increases.
- They begin kicking their feet for added propulsion.
Sprinting
Sprinting focuses on generating more acceleration through stronger, faster paddle strokes. To build momentum and catch the wave, you need to maximize the amount of water pulled backward. However, your technique should remain consistent—only the frequency of your paddle strokes increases as you get closer to the wave.
Kicking
Kicking helps generate additional propulsion and reduces drag by lifting your body higher in the water. However, kicking isn’t always essential — sometimes, it’s only needed in critical situations where extra speed is required to catch a wave.
“Do I need to kick with my feet or not?”
The answer to this question depends on a few factors. Kicking becomes effective only if you’re riding a small enough surfboard, as your feet need to extend behind the tail. Kicking requires significant energy for limited forward propulsion and is typically only necessary in critical situations, such as when trying to catch a difficult wave or avoiding being pushed back by the current.
The main reason kicking isn’t commonly used is due to energy conservation. The ratio of energy exerted to forward momentum gained often makes kicking a less efficient option compared to continuous paddling. It’s best used as a last resort when extra speed is urgently needed. However, it’s important to note that kicking should be used in conjunction with paddling to maximize propulsion while minimizing drag.
Three Key Elements for efficient kicking technique
Quick & Controlled Kicks
Focus on short, rapid kicks rather than long, sweeping motions to minimize drag and maintain balance.Initiate Movement from the Hips
The power should come from your hips, not just bending the knees, ensuring efficient propulsion.Toes Pointed Backwards
Keep your toes pointed backward to maximize surface area and reduce drag while kicking.
Quick Tips
Perfect Board Position: Keep your surfboard’s nose just 2–5 cm (1–2 inches) above the water while arching your back. Adjust your position on the board if the nose dips too low or rises too high.
Keep Your Head Up: Imagine a soccer ball between your chin and the surfboard. This helps you keep your head up and your back arched, allowing you to see waves more clearly.
Stay Centered: Imagine a straight line running down the middle of your surfboard. Align your body along this line to avoid leaning too far to one side, which can cause drag.
Feet Together: Keep your feet close together when paddling to reduce unnecessary drag in the water.
Test Your Balance: Before paddling, lift both hands out of the water to check your balance. Adjust your position if you feel uneven.
Enter the Water Smoothly: Let your fingertips enter the water first, followed by your wrist and elbow. This minimizes splashing and drag.
High Elbows Matter: Keep your elbow high when your hand enters the water. Aim for a vertical forearm underwater for stronger propulsion.
Use the EVF Technique: Imagine wrapping your arm around an invisible log as you paddle. This helps you maintain an “Early Vertical Forearm” (EVF) position, maximizing the amount of water you push backward.
Focus on the Pull: Keep your hand and forearm aligned and perpendicular to the bottom as you pull water backward. Maintain a high elbow throughout this motion for maximum power.
Common Paddling Mistakes
Quiet Water Entry: Let your fingertips enter the water first with a smooth, quiet motion. Avoid splashing as it wastes energy.
Relaxed Hands: Keep your hands straight and relaxed, not cupped. A relaxed hand increases the surface area pushing water and maximizes propulsion.
Alternate Arm Strokes: Paddle one arm at a time for better rhythm and energy efficiency. Avoid using both arms together.
Stay Close to the Board: Bend your arms and keep your paddle strokes close to the surfboard’s rails. Avoid wide strokes, which reduce power and efficiency.
Keep Your Head Up: Pretend there’s a ball under your chin to avoid resting your head on the surfboard. This improves balance, stability, and visibility.
Avoid Shoulder Rolling: Minimize excessive shoulder movement to keep the surfboard steady and reduce drag.
Lead with a High Elbow: Don’t let your elbow drop or lead backward when paddling. Keep it high to pull more water and increase your speed.
