Positioning

To minimize resistance, or drag with the water, you basically need to have the right position on the surfboard. It’s about finding the “sweet spot” on your surfboard: being at the right place on the surfboard, both vertically and horizontally. The spot where your chest lays down on the surfboard, and how your body weight is distributed on the board will make the difference between creating tons of drag, or “gliding” on the water efficiently.

This surfer keeps his back arched & his surfboards nose slightly out of the water. You should pretend there’s a soccer ball under your chin. This will make sure your head stays up and still, and keeps the arch in your back.

The surfer above is positioned too far back on his surfboard. His nose is more than a foot out of the water. In this position, Surfer B is probably swimming at less than half of his potential. His surfboard creates a lot of resistance with water underneath him.

Here, the surfer is too far up on his surfboard. Consequently, his nose dives in the water, either creating more resistance, or eventually making him fall off his surfboard.

This surfer has her body at the center of the board horizontally and is perfectly balanced. The stringer (wood strip that commonly runs down the middle of your board) should be running perfectly straight along the center of your body.

The surfer above does not have her body straight along the center of the board. The board will sink on the side where there is most weight. The sinking part of the surfboard then creates resistance with water while moving forward.

Here, the surfer compensates her uncentered position using her legs to help stabilize the board. This is a common mistake for 2 reasons. First, the legs might sink in the water and create drag. Second, this might lift the tail and cause the nose to dive in the water.

Bend your arms when paddling

Surfer 1 bends his arms when reaching forward for the next paddle. He also keeps a rhythm, paddling one arm at a time.

Surfer 2 keeps his arms stiff when paddling. This is commonly called the “windmill” paddling. Keeping your arms stiff will make your shoulders tired quickly, as they will have to support your arms weight with each paddle stroke. This will also make your surfboard rock from side to side, creating drag and slowing you down.

Common Mistakes

• Don’t splash water when penetrating, do a smooth quiet entry. Fingertips are what enters the water first.
• Do not put your hands in a “cupped” position. This reduces the surface area your hands push under water, limiting your propulsion. Do not put excessive tension in your hands, this is a waste of energy. Keep your hands straight and relaxed under water.
• Don’t paddle two arms at the same time. The best way to keep your energy and to surf for  many hours is to paddle one arm at a time, keeping a good rhythm.
• Don’t paddle wide. You should bend your arms when paddling. Your arms should be close to the surfboard’s rails, not going wide on each side.
• Don’t rest your head on the surfboard. Always pretend there’s a soccer ball under your chin. Keeping your head up gives you more stability, more mobility and more visibility of the waves in front of you.
• Don’t roll your shoulders too much on each side when paddling. You don’t want to throw weight on each side of the surfboard, rocking from side to side and creating drag.
• Don’t spread your legs on each side to try balance yourself. Always keep your feet close together. If you feel you are unbalanced and falling on one side, reposition your body to the centre of the surfboard.