Paddle Technique: It's Not About The Hinge, It's All Torque!

A common method to coach SUP technique is to hinge at the hips, drive power into the water and to stack the shoulders – this is an outdated method but produces some lovely Facebook profile pictures!

- Glenn Eldridge

These are my thoughts on how to move technique forward in SUP. These are based upon my experience when I first started paddling SUP, casual conversations with some of the World’s best, Casper Steinfath, Jim Terrell and more recently Daniel Hasulyo and Sonni Honnscheid along with exercise professionals such as Physiotherapists, Sports Scientists, and Biomechanists. Plus, reading around the area and watching plenty of footage of paddlers and other athletes from different sports.

Before you ask; what qualifies me to pass comment?

I paddle things! I have been fortunate enough to race internationally since 1994 for Great Britain in Surf Ironman and Ocean Ski and was part of the British Olympic Sprint Kayak squad, more recently I have competed at two World and European championships in SUP (distance and technical events). I hold a Masters Degree in Sports Science, written an undergraduate degree in Sports Science and Coaching, and have coached from grassroots through to elite international levels with athletes across all four paddle sports who have medalled at European and World levels.

General Principles

Where possible I try to simplify complex phenomena into simplified aspects – there are three key elements here:

1. What the craft does on/in the water

2. Production of the greatest force efficiently

3. Reduce the potential for injury.