How to Paddle like Kelly Slater

Want to increase your paddle power? Turns out Kelly has the secret.
Head:

Keep your head stationary when paddling. This reduces the drag caused by the rocking of your board left to right, meaning no lose of momentum.

Elbows:

Keep your Elbows high! By keeping your elbows high, your arms are entering the water earlier and taking full advantage of the ‘catch’ space in the water, you’ll propel more with each stroke.

Roll:

You want to slightly roll your board, as you would your body in swimming. Ok so this seems to contradict the first point, however the idea is that you roll from rail to rail ever so slightly. This increases your reach, so that your arm (with the elbow high) enters the water as far forward possible.

That’s great but I’m not a pro surfer. I’m still on a foamy, why did I read this?

Well, it’s all about quality of the paddle. Being a more efficient paddler equals less energy wasted. Paddling strong equals more waves, meaning you’ll be off that foamie in no time!

All of this will make sense after you watch the detailed break down in this video, featuring very technical illustrations.

Get out of the white water and catch more unbroken waves!

If you are ready to take your paddling to the next level and want 2015 to be your best surf year yet, join us for our Green Wave Riders Week. A intermediate surf course with tailored tuition for guaranteed progression, get in training with us this Spring!