Kazuma surfboards Hawaii
I use prone downwind paddling to train for winter surf and this is the only exercise that I have found to directly improve my surfing skills. Surfing Sprecks, Pier 1, Waimea, or Jaws takes a special set of skills that can't be learned any other way than either riding big waves and/or training with prone downwind paddling. Spots like Jaws have wave speeds that far exceed any surfboard made and are uncatchable unless you know how to build momentum by using small chops to build speed. Jaws has this beautiful side chop that is like getting a turbo boost and if you know how to use it, you can catch waves that are normally not possible to catch. Prone paddleboarding is all about linking these small chops together and boosting your speed to get into the rolling swells, 100 yard rides are possible in the open ocean. For me, prone downwind paddleboarding trains my muscles to have much more powerful "bursts" of energy needed to get into huge waves. Prone paddleboarding also builds my endurance and trains my muscles to work at max output for hours at a time but the most important benefit is that it gives me training on a huge board that is equally as difficult to balance on as my big wave guns. Balance, timing and control is essential to be a big wave surfer.
O-man, hey, I don't understand the downwind prone paddling training as you explained it. Prone is lying on the front, right? But paddleboarding is done standing up, isn't it? Am I getting the terms confused? I'm trying to figure out the training you're talking about.
Thanks for making this a worthy thread.
O-man, hey, I don't understand the downwind prone paddling training as you explained it.
sempervirens,downwind prone paddling training is not to be confused with SUP and is a discipline used by traditional big wave lay down paddle in surfers to build the strength and glide techniques necessary to catch big fast moving waves by using bumps and steep open ocean wind swells.
It is also a sport unique to it's self and has boards designed to be extremely fast and have super gliding abilities.
Kai Lenny at the Kuau launch site with his prone down wind paddle board
Photo: Olaf Mitchell
6' shark buzzed some surfers two days ago across the street. Still going to go for a paddle (prone).
Wish it was all "downwind", O-man. Have to paddle upwind to get to the downwind part, unless you get shuttled.
Earn your turns.
Let us know!