SUP foot position for all conditions - Modified Surf Stance

[@jimmyfun22]

Always learn from watching your videos! Can't wait to try this out next session here in FL. Thanks as always, Rick!

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Jimmy, I am glad you liked it!

[@odff602]

When I grow up, I want to be Rick.

[@rickweeks]

Hopefully, that's many years down the road!! Enjoy the journey!!

[@andrealcroyle]

me too

[@rickweeks]

@@andrealcroyle Thanks for the feedback Andre, glad it works for you as well!

[@Utcas]

Hello, thank you for your educational videos. I wanted to buy the Sunova Ghost board that you highly recommended. Unfortunately, the Spanish dealers can’t provide any delivery time or price information, and since I am 193 cm tall and weigh 93 kg, I bought the Starboard Wege 9.2. Today, I tried it for the second time in waves up to 1 meter high in the Mediterranean and found with your Modified staggered surf stance much better. Thank you, keep up the good work with your videos.

[@rickweeks]

Thank you Utcas, Glad you found it helpful! Hopefully the Ghost will make it to your area in the future. Enjoy the Wedge and good waves!

[@oldskull70]

Thanks again my friend ! It is always a pleasure to watch your videos !

[@rickweeks]

Thanks OS... I appreciate your continued support!

[@DaveViveralli-e8p]

Thanks for the video! You had shared this advice with me a while back for my Speeed and it made a world of difference. It works really well with the Sunova dome deck.

[@rickweeks]

Hi Dave, glad that it helped you on the Speeed! Thanks for the shout out!

[@FernandoGarcia-sy1si]

Gracias por el vídeo Rick, es interesante. Hace tiempo que me fijo en la postura que llevas, encuentro que es relajada para la espalda, buena para pasar más tiempo en el agua sin forzar musculatura de piernas y lumbares de espalda. Además es muy elegante, hace tiempo que intento imitar tus movimientos. Buen vídeo ❤

[@rickweeks]

Gracias Fernando, me alegra que mis videos te resulten útiles. Me alegra mucho saber que te ayudan en tu vida como surfista.

[@SUPaddict]

I completely agree - I don’t have the best balance and this stance is comfortable and stable. A parallel stance is too tippy front/back plus side to side because the rocking is magnified. I’ve tried even narrower but it’s too much work…

[@rickweeks]

Thanks for the feedback SUP addict!

[@strawdog397]

Always appreciate Rick ditching the textbook, conventional wisdom and giving an alternate take. 👍🙏

[@rickweeks]

Thanks strawdog, I appreciate your support! I hope it is useful for you!

[@strawdog397]

@@rickweeks This technique works very well with my Sunova Revolution 10' x 28" with its domed deck. I tried to think of another textbook or group think approach you might entertain giving another view on if you agreed with me (if you haven't already). I go out for long sessions when I can and try to save my energy for the real fun, so as the conditions permit I often knee paddle a lot more than shall I say younger people. I prefer to walk the board out and then knee paddle when conditions are light, take my time.

[@rickweeks]

​@@strawdog397 Agreed... I have been paddling upstream of that conversation my entire SUP life. All the Younger "purist" say "it's called Standup for a reason... you should never knee paddle for any reason" ha ha... their arrogance will catch up with them when the get old 😊 I do a LOT of knee paddling to conserve my strength. I also paddle out on my knees because I can canoe paddle very quickly and no time lost getting up when knocked over. Trying to stand through bigger whitewater is dangerous for me particularly because it stresses my hamstrings to the point where I have torn them in the past. I can make a video on this for sure.... thanks for the suggestion my friend!

[@strawdog397]

@@rickweeks I hope you will do a video on this as my sense is most of us that enjoy this glorious engagement with the movement of water aren't bulletproof or brimming with energy. I also enjoy pausing when walking the board out and knee paddling to take in the environment, when the conditions permit. To appreciate... 😊 The bottomline for me which seems absurdly obvious is that the joy of SUP surfing is on that wave, not paddling out or standing up for the sake of standing up. 🙏

[@heenalu03]

Yup, that the same stance I've used, and it really gives me that ability to be stable on bumpy bdays

[@rickweeks]

Hi Nalu, thanks for watching, I appreciate that!

[@tazjamez]

Awesome video Rick. I'll be trying it out when it warms up down under. Keep up these instructional videos with your no-bullsh*t approach.

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Taz... I hope you have a nice warm summer of good waves!

[@PaddlePassion]

Nice video. I'll try the foot positioning on my Sunova Search 14' next time.

[@rickweeks]

A not on the 14' Search, which is interesting because I filmed a clip on foot position on the 12' Pointbreak yesterday and mentioned that on my longer boards like the Search and Pointbreak, I use the same stance.... but I have both feet behind the handle to keep the nose up just a little. I feel it greatly smooths out paddling in the surf zone and settles the board down in the water.

[@Nando01-68]

Totally agree. Best stance for me, too, especially with small boards! Great video as usual!!!

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Nando, I appreciate you adding your experience to the conversation!

Thank you so much for the teaching and demonstration Rick. Your stability on the picks is amazing ! I'll try it as soon as possible 🤙

[@rickweeks]

Thanks for the feedback JiCe, I am happy to know it helps!!

Tried it yesterday and today... Definitively adopted !! I got comfortable with it after two sessions. I feel much more stable and much more 'adaptable' when facing the waves at the peak. Thanks for the teaching, you are my guru😉

[@rickweeks]

Awesome, thanks for the update and great feedback!

[@johnboone6417]

Great Video, I need to remember to use this stance!

[@rickweeks]

Hi Johnny! Stoked to repeat the Cowpatties outing this Fall!!!

[@thomasfolan2716]

Thanks Rick. A premature Happy Birthday!

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Thomas... and yeah, I made this video back in March before I turned 76 in April. I wanted to hold off until I was ready to start posting "How to" videos to my channel.

[@robc7311]

Good stuff! Thank you! Will try it the next time I’m out. 🤙🏄‍♂️😃

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Rob... I hope you find it works for you!

[@leonardoayala6744]

Grande Rick! Capo!! Voy a seguir tu consejo…..seguí haciendo tus fantásticos videos que tanto nos alientan a los veteranos!!!!

[@rickweeks]

¡Gracias Leonardo! ¡Aprecio mucho tu apoyo! ¡Pronto habrá más videos!

[@rayo1371]

I'll try this next time out, thanks for posting. I surf prone am enjoying Sup surfing allot here in South and Central Fla .. so have to deal with that occasional chop. Keep these "how to" vids coming.

[@rickweeks]

Great Ray, I will start to post a steady stream of "How to" vids. I am in the Melbourne area all winter, so maybe we will meet out in the water!

[@rayo1371]

@rickweeks nice ... look forward to it .. have a place near Indialantic but like I said .. starting out kinda like that guy on your vid but loving it ..take care

[@torabalea]

another good lesson by the teacher!

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Tora, much appreciated!!

[@spirit4earth]

That 14’ board is the one I really liked.

[@rickweeks]

Hi Spirit, how have you been? Long time since we last talked, I hope life is being good to you!

[@jdmotes69]

Happy Birthday, Legend! Another great video… 😎🤙

[@rickweeks]

Thanks JD! I made this video last March but delayed posting because of alterations I wanted to get in place on my Channel. I discovered it in a folder on my computer and finally got it posted. 🤣

[@jdmotes69]

@@rickweeksI did wonder about it being your birthday, as I didn’t think yours was close to mine (Oct) - but then I thought, what the hell, can’t have too many birthday wishes… 😘🤙

[@richardhuegi6723]

Awesome vid

[@rickweeks]

Hi Rick, Thanks my friend!

[@windansea6702]

Excellent instruction you are sharing here, thank you.

[@rickweeks]

I appreciate your comment W&S, thanks!

[@logankidwell2011]

As always, such great insight and wisdom! Much appreciated!

[@rickweeks]

I appreciate that Logan!

[@DS-wi3bk]

thanks rick, good lesson 💯

[@rickweeks]

Much appreciated DS!

[@renauddaniere893]

Thank Rick ! I’ll try this ✌️

[@rickweeks]

I hope it works for you Renaud!

[@stevecrowder7573]

Another great video!

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Steve!

[@GunterSwoboda]

He rocks!

[@rickweeks]

thanks Gunter!

[@1uke4eva]

Thanks Rick for this. Ive only been sup surfing a couple of years now. And i use quite a wide stance. I will certainly try your narrower and slightly staggered stance! My problem is we get very choppy sea here in southern UK. I have to use a big 10ft starboard to manage it. But i will see if i become more stable with this stance and maybe step down a board size. I'm 95kg.

[@rickweeks]

Thanks UK, I think you will find that as soon as you "relax" into this stance, it will smooth out the chop for you. I still fall over plenty, but it makes my time in the water much less tiring.

[@tommyc5606]

Great video, Rick. Another potential problem with a very wide stance is the possibility of the rail tipping up between one’s legs and whacking them in the private parts, shall we say😂

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Tommy.... yeah, there is that too! 😨

[@thomasfolan2716]

Excellent tip Rick ! Which booties are you using btw ?

[@rickweeks]

The only rubber I put on my feet these days are an old pair of NeoSport slip on Reef Shoes. They are awesome for walking on rocks or surfing in cold water/warm air. The slip on aspect is much more secure and comfortable than the standard buckle on reef shoes.

[@jamesevans9264]

Hello to you all. I'm new to SUP. I started last week. I tried this technique today. Great success. Way better ride. Rick, could you please recommend a paddle length for a 5ft 10inch male? I'm using a 9ft3inch starboard spice to surf waves, flat and everything else i can. Genuine thanks for your help. Great channel. Regards, James.

[@rickweeks]

Hi James, welcome to the magical world of SUP surfing, and thanks for the kind words! I am a bit of an outlier on the paddle length thing. Like you, I use the same paddle for surf or flatwater and on all the differet boards I have. My paddle is just about 4" over my head. Many SUPsters like a paddle around mid forehead, so they can throw it around easily. I rely on my paddle to be a stabilizer when standing around, waiting for waves, so I need the longer length to lay the blade in the water a bit to the side of my board. A short paddle has to be more vertical and thus doesn't work well as a "third leg" Watch a few of my videos to find clips of me standing around with my paddle off to the side acting as a stabilizer. You can also see that I have no problems throwing my paddle around, even on late drops. Have a blast on your Starby Spice and learning the SUP life!

[@jamesevans9264]

Genuine thanks for replying my friend. 😀

[@TCSUP]

Thanks again Rick! Is there a point when smaller boards are just to difficult? I’m 72.5kg stepping down to a 93L. At the moment I can only ride on smaller days no wind/current. I see you’re using a board with even less kg:L. Just wondering your opinion. Thanks for helping me conquer LI NY surf! Tom

[@rickweeks]

Absolutely..... everyone has a point where it just becomes too difficult to be fun. Actually, I find I get better performance out of a bigger board sometimes because the added surface area allows me to carry more speed on a weak wave which allows for stronger turns and glide. The 8'7 Placid in the video had me at a G/F of 1.14, which is a low as I have gone and still had fun. To get G/F just divide the volume by your weight in kgs. Board shape and has as much to do with comfort as volume alone.

[@marcelboogaard3809]

So you can teach an old dog new tricks 😂. Like anything in live, if it works for you, stick with it. Nice one Rick.

[@rickweeks]

Merci Marcel!

[@davidrowell4744]

Good onya Ricky.

[@rickweeks]

Thanks Dave!!

[@Utcas]

Translation: What paddle length in relation to your height do you use for waves up to 1.5 meters high, just out of curiosity?

[@rickweeks]

I am a bit of an outlier in paddle length because I need is more as a stability crutch when standing around, so longer gives me more angle on my crutch. About 4" over my head is my happy place.... Many SUPster us mid forehead, but that would be miserable for me I have absolutely no problem throwing my longer paddle around through turns (check any of my recent surf videos to see my longer paddle in action)

[@Utcas]

Thanks for the quick response, interesting. I guess I'm an outlier like you.😊😊😊😊😊😊

[@golankatz]

hello from israel

[@rickweeks]

Right back at you! Hello from the USA!! Thanks for watching.

[@lalomora5746]

Hoy algo flojo el vídeo, pero un crak con 75. Firmo

[@rickweeks]

Pronto habrá más vídeos de surf... pero también haré muchos más vídeos de "Cómo hacerlo" en el futuro.