I am back in business. My neck/shoulder thing has chilled out, and I’m back in the water. Life is good again. But when I was laid up the last few weeks, I spent a ton of time thinking about correct paddling technique, because I’m pretty sure my paddle posture has been the main reason my shoulders are f–ked up. It’s funny, if you’ve been doing something for a long time, you assume that you’re doing it right. Until my shoulders started acting up, I never thought one lick about paddling, I was just on autopilot figuring it was all the same.

Well, it’s not.

When it comes to learning about paddling technique though, there’s virtually no solid information readily available (although we do have an Ask The Expert with paddle legend Jamie Mitchell coming out in the next issue with some very juicy tidbits). That lack of info is pretty amazing, because it’s what we spend the majority of our time doing when we’re out there–and by a longshot. Correct paddling technique is like a secret martial art, one that’s only taught via smoke signals and oral history. As well, I’d wager it’s the most common overuse injury surfers get. I’ve heard all sorts of paddling advice over the years, and I’m starting to learn that most of it was wrong. I’d love to pass on a few tips to everyone here, but the thing I’m learning most about paddling is that after 24 years of doing it, I don’t know shit.

However, after talking to a few well-respected surfers and some very unofficial internet research, I’ve discovered a few things about what I was doing that were wrong. I’m one of those guys that paddled kinda hunched forward, with my shoulders down, close to the board. Because of that, I’d have to crane my neck up at even more of an angle to look up, which is the first problem. You’re supposed to arch your chest up, which also gives your arms more leverage. The other problem with my stroke is that it transferred much of the work to my shoulder muscles, which is terrible. Ideally, you should be using the bigger muscles in your back, like your lats, etc. Doing this requires a bunch of subtle things, but the main one is keeping your elbows up.

The best info I’ve found so far about this is in regard to swimming, of which there’s plenty of really good technical advice out there. The problem is, while there’s a lot of common parts of a good swim stroke and a good surf paddling stroke, there are some important characteristics that don’t overlap too. At any rate, I put a few videos below that have some interesting technique advice that can be related to padding.

Anyways, I’m going to be seeking out more info on the hidden secrets of paddling technique, and if anyone out there is interested I’ll keep passing along any good info I find out. And if you’ve got some, hit me up.