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EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Dave Chun (Kialoa Paddles) Part 3 of 4 |
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By: Stand Up Paddle Surfing Magazine
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Wednesday, 12 December 2007 |
- Correct Paddling Technique - Power Stroke - Rail Dings - Flat Water Stoke - Boat Wake -
SUPSURFMAG: Dave, you have an extensive background with paddling and paddle-making. What directions can you give to someone who knows nothing about correct paddling form including where the power comes from and maybe a little bit about the stroke?
DAVE: The first thing you should know about canoe paddling is the paddle does not create the propulsion. It’s not like a pair of swim fins. Basically, think of a paddle as an anchor point in the water.
If you can visualize a paddle like it’s a pole stuck in the sand, anchored in there or cemented, not moving, you grab onto it and pull yourself past it. That’s what’s happening when you paddle. One of the first rules is, when you stick the paddle in the water, you want to get a good purchase, or we call it the catch, you don’t want to be wiggling that thing around once the paddle’s been submerged in the water. Also the paddle works best if the whole blade goes into the water and then you’re kind of pulling.
The other thing is, about the stance, you want to have a stance where you can use your big muscle groups. In a canoe we use our legs as much as possible; we are starting the stroke and initiating it by driving off of our heels. On a surfboard, you really can’t do that because you are standing up. But you really want to try and get some of your leg into it and basically that’ll be by getting some flex in your knees, staying loose in the knees. You want to try and use your bigger muscle groups. You want to use your lats.
The last thing you want to be using is your arms. They will be coming into play but you want to have the major propulsion with your core, with your torso.
The other thing about paddling is, you have to spend some time in flat water working on your technique. One of the reasons why some of the surfers are just wailing their boards with their paddles, is their hand placement. Also, the number of repetitions they probably make to get some muscle memory on placing it along side of the board without whacking the board isn’t high enough. I would say spend some time working your technique in flat water if you want to be a proficient paddler.
Gerry Lopez, he’s a good friend of mine but I kind of crack up, you know I tease him, “you’re not a paddler, you’re a surfer.” Lopez tries to get me to paddle with both feet parallel, kind of like both feet the same across the width of the board. I tell him I can’t get any horsepower that way. So, what I do is I prefer sliding my feet back if I’m paddling flat water so one foot is behind the other. If I’m paddling on the right hand side of the board, my left foot is forward. If I paddle on the other side of the board, I’ll switch my feet after a couple of strokes and I can just paddle more powerfully that way. I don’t know if that’s the right thing but it seems like I can get my legs and my torso into it more. I don’t know if it works for surfing though. I don’t think that’s the way to go about it because things happen to fast.
SUPSURFMAG: Is flat water paddle growing over where you’re at [in Bend Oregon]?
DAVE: Yeah. It is. Mainly the guys are surfers who are landlocked, you know from the ocean, so we’re paddling on a river. They’re mainly training and just going out and being able to relate to the ocean. But I do see people who are buying boards now who I don’t think they have any intention of surfing at all. They just like the motion. I always tell people stand up paddling is kind of like riding a Harley Davidson. If you have to ask, you don’t understand, because obviously it’s slower than a canoe.
SUPSURFMAG: We’ve seen some photos of Gerry Lopez paddle surfing behind a boat wake. Have you ever gone out and experienced that?
DAVE: Yeah. In fact on Dennis Oliphant’s boat. It’s really easy on a stand up board because a stand up board is super stable. The hardest part is finding the sweet spot on the wake where the board will stay on it without you hanging on to the rope. You can’t compare yourself to Lopez because he’s kind of good at what he does.
END PART 3 OF 4
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