[Important] Which position is the correct takeoff position?

Please see the 6 images below.
Do you know where the correct takeoff position is?

This is the correct answer.

Waves have two powers.
・The force to lift you up.
・The force to move you forward.

The correct takeoff position is where the waves are vertical just before the break.
If you are not on this position, takeoff will be difficult.

When you are on the correct takeoff position,
there are two things you need to do.
・ Receive the power of waves with a surfboard.
・Do the fastest paddling.

If you do these, the takeoff will be successful.

How you receive the power of the waves?

Please see the 3 images below.
Do you know the correct surfboard angle to efficiently receive the power of the waves?

This is the correct answer.

The waves push up the tail of your surfboard. You push the tail against the power of the waves.
Then keep the nose horizontal. The surfboard starts running after receiving the force of the waves.
Wait for the surfboard to start running before you stand up.

Josh Kerr Take off

If the nose is pointing up, your surfboard will stall and you will not be able to take off.
If the nose is pointing downwards, your surfboard may not be able to receive the force
of the waves and the surfboard may not start running.

You need to push the tail to keep the nose horizontal.
Because the power of the waves will lift the tail of your surfboard.
There are 3 ways to push the tail.

1.Body position
2.Put both knees in close contact
3.Bend your back.

1.Body position

You need to know the correct body position on the surfboard. Please lie down on the surfboard.
Then move back and forth by just a few inches. (a few centimeters)
In the correct position, the surfboard will be horizontal.
It is a position where you can press the surfboard firmly with your thighs and knees.

Please check the three illustrations carefully.
Can you see that the knee positions are slightly different?

If you are in front, the nose will sink. If you are behind, the tail will sink.
Both are in the wrong position.
For a successful takeoff, it is important to put your body in the correct position.

The difference between the correct position and the wrong position is very small.　
You can always recreate the correct position by remembering where you put your
knees on the tail patch.

2.Put both knees in close contact

If you spread your legs , you can’t push the tail with your knees.
This is because the pushing force is dispersed. Also, if the surfboard tail area is small,
you will not be able to put your knees on the tail.

So you should not spread your legs.
It would be nice to look like the illustration in the middle.

But do you know that there is the best way?
It is to contact both knees together.
This way you will be able to push the tail with great force.
Please try it once.

3.Bend your back

Bending your back will help push the tail.

If you can bend your back a lot, it will be a force to push the tail strongly.

If your body is not flexible, you may not be able to push the tail enough.
In that case, move your body position slightly to the tail side.

Therefore, a flexible body is advantageous for takeoff.　
Because even if the tail is lifted by a powerful wave, you can push it in.
If you can do this, you may want to position your body slightly to the nose side.

Why your paddling slow?

1.Are you holding down the surfboard?

2.Do you know the correct hand stroke method?

3.Do you know how to train a paddle?

1.Are you holding down the surfboard?

Are you just riding on a surfboard? That is a mistake. If you can hold down the surfboard,
the surfboard will be stable when paddling. That way you will be able to paddle faster.

The trick to stabilizing your surfboard is to raise your hips. Please raise your hips a little.
Then you will be able to push the board in with your chest and knees.
You can paddle stably without shaking the surfboard. With stable paddling, you can gain speed.

2.Do you know the correct hand stroke method?

Please see the illustration below.
Which do you think is more powerful, A or B?

The correct answer is 「B」.

(A) If you have good muscles, you will be able to paddle powerfully.
　But otherwise you will soon get tired.

(B) As a structure of the human body, you can strongly paddle
　under your chest and abdomen.
　So when you paddle, you don’t necessarily have to stretch your hands to
　the nose side of the surfboard.

This is a case with a long paddle stroke. The length of A is long.
If you have good muscles,
this may be the way to go. However, it is easy to get tired, so it is not
a good method for many surfers.

This is a case with a normal paddle stroke. The length of A is normal.
It’s a good paddle method for many surfers.

This is the case for short paddle strokes. The length of A is short. Some people think that
this method will slow down the paddle. This is because the paddle stroke is short.
But, in fact, you can paddle the fastest. You will be less tired. You can make a powerful paddle
in the B part, which is easy to put in.

3.Do you know how to train a paddle?

①Pull-ups
Pull-ups are a very effective workout. If you hang up even 10 times a day,
your paddle will be dramatically faster. You can quickly get the back and chest muscles you need
for your paddle.
You can also gain grip strength. The pull-ups hang only with your hands.
With grip strength, you can grab the surfboard firmly during a duck dive.

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