SUP Perspective: Memorial Day

Posted on May 27, 2013 by Water Words

Today you might hear the occasional “Happy Memorial Day” but this is a solemn day. Today we remember the service, sacrifice, and commitment of those who were willing to give the last full measure of devotion in order for us to enjoy the blessings of liberty, freedom, and democracy. Before you head to the water, or fire up the grill, take your children and grandchildren to a national cemetery. Let them know there were men and women who made it possible for them to have their summer fun. Capture the moment in reflection or a photo. Our future generation’s freedom has inspired every sacrifice recognized today.

Today as I read through the posts from SUP paddlers across the nation, read the posts about events scheduled for today there is a consistent thread of recognition that today’s perspective includes remembering, being with friends and family and an attitude of gratitude. Simply Google “memorial day SUP event” and you’ll see what I mean. Wherever you live you can get out on the water and celebrate our freedom to enjoy this day. So many of the events include opportunities for families to get on the water together.

Robby Naish sharing the stroke with his daughter – family fun is a solid part of SUP Perspective (photo by Riley Cooney)

Not so long ago I came across a two-year old photo taken by Riley Cooney (used here with his permission). Not so far from the USS Missouri Memorial and the many glassy breaks of Hawaii millions celebrate the ocean life from the SUP perspective. This photo of Robby Naish and his daughter captures the essence of sharing what we love with our family on the water. As spring turns to summer and we head for every sort of water fun there will be millions of these “family moments” captured in pictures, video and cherished memories. A treasure for sure.

Karen Wrenn (@supkaren) and her enthusiastic sidekick are ready to seize the day via a down-wind run

Lakes, bays, rivers, oceans – wherever your water is grab a kid, a dad, an auntie or a cousin. Flatwater, buoy racing, surfing double overheads or shorebreak mush – grab your paddle and go!

We are so fortunate in the SUP community to have “first generation” leaders in the re-invented modern version of SUP who inspire us by their purpose, dedication to sharing expertise across generations and consistent training.

Today I woke up to gray skies, wind and colder than comfortable temperatures. Bummer, paddling today? Not sure.

Then I grabbed some coffee and took a look at Facebook, and found plenty to stop and reflect on. Posts honoring what Memorial Day is all about delivered a spirit of gratitude and reflection. Our collective perspective is a powerful inspiration.

On the SUP side of motivation, posts by Suzie Cooney provided a great training video for “get going and get training” spark. Posts by Karen Wrenn inspired a commitment to healthy eating, training and prep for the upcoming summer fun. Coincidentally, these leaders are part of Naish SUP (Naish International, Naish Surfing) and are part of the collective culture of the Naish family. As Robby Naish recently shared, “Naish works hard to be more than a brand. Naish has a passion they try to instill into their products and the lifestyle they represent.” Attitude, it’s not easy to measure but it’s awesome to experience.

Social media and an easy vehicle to “talk story” can create a wide sense of community – across the globe. What’s your story today? We look forward to hearing from you via e-mail, or Facebook, or by a link on your YouTube channel.

Thanks for reflecting with me today.

SUP Training: Observations

Posted on April 27, 2013 by Water Words

Waking up to a big dawn, orange full moon in my face and a sudden “ouch” at the first moves of the day. Upper back, ribs, and upper abs screamed resistance at my walk to the kitchen for morning coffee. And guess what – I am one HAPPY person.

After getting more knee and low back fatigue during longer and stronger paddles over the years I reached out for some advice on technique. Fortunately, Karen Wrenn (super inspiring) shared some insights (you can follow her on Twitter) and with some practice I am creating a more effective technique. I found this artistically beautiful video on the HangerFox Youtube channel that allows us to observe the technique that creates that highly effective paddle stroke that serves Karen so well.

With Vimeo, YouTube, blogs by pros and all sorts of social media links, we can “meet up” with SUP professionals we admire. SKYPE is another way we can get great training tips from our favorite pros. Suzie Cooney, CPT of SuzieTrainsMaui encourages SKYPE training and has had great success with that medium.

Robby Naish (happy birthday this week) and Kai Lenny in Alaska

Recently I watched a short video of Kai Lenny and Robby Naish paddling around icebergs and basically “chilling” in Alaska. It’s good to study their stance, paddle placement, reach, posture and recovery during racing sequences as well as more recreational paddling. Sometimes it’s tough to assimilate exactly what is making their performance so efficient and powerful.

This very short video by Dave Kalama posted on the Distressed Mullet YouTube channel gives direct and easy to implement advice on how to protect your lower back. Hinging rather than bending is a habit that is not too difficult to hone – give the video a few, or maybe a couple of views then try the movement on your next paddle.

Dave Kalama provides a more advice in his blog article I found to be easy to put into practice. “Don’t rush.”

He explains that even if your technique is effective, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are utilizing it properly. If you rush through all the phases of your stroke and don’t take the time to execute each phase correctly, then you are not using your level of technique in an efficient way.

For me, one of the pieces I took away was to take the time to really drive the paddle down into the water. Create a complete stretch of your reach. According to Dave, ” it only costs you a little patience and time to completely extend your arm forward. Also, rushing through the recovery phase will break the flow of a smooth rhythm, which is where real efficiency resides. If you rush into getting your hips all the way back under you to the neutral position, then you miss out on all the potential momentum you can generate through the hips.

During yesterday’s training that resulted in muscle fatigue and “good workout” soreness, it might have been that fully extended reach, getting my hips back to neutral and rotating the upper body appropriately that made all the difference. There’s nothing like practice, exploration and observation to add even more fun to this sport we love so much!

We’d love to hear from you – what blogs, videos or images have been useful as you improve your technique?

GoPro: Wordsmithing Images

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Water Words

Each week I look forward to receiving links to GoPro VIDEO OF THE DAY. Astounding views, amazing athletes, adventures and non-stop-action abound! Always diverse and endlessly cool – naturally when my friends and I watch these we hope to create something of that caliber ourselves. We are passionate about standup paddling of every sort and we’re crazy about getting in and on the water at every opportunity.

Full moon magic is an Elder SUP routine, how about you?

Take the Water – Wherever You Are: Talking story around the fire on the beach, at a lakeside campsite or over a brew in a river town used to be the default way to re-live great SUP experiences. Armed with a GoPro easily strapped to a chest mount, a head mount, or a solid mount on our board we seamlessly collect images as we play our way through the day – or full moon night. There’s no end to the number of ways we can “take the water wherever we are” via cool video clips and movies – Dropbox, Vimeo, Picasa, YouTube, Facebook, blogs.

The next question begs, “How many of your videos are so compelling that friends – and friends of friends – actually want to watch your story?” For me, as long as there is beautiful water, people grinning and having a good time and a play of light and sights – then I am into a video. Next caveat, attention span.

We love a production called, Reflections, but at 8 minutes it’s asking for a lot from most of us. As a poetic approach to editing wonderful video footage, it’s inspiring.

Where’s your inspiration-generating water? Here is Suzie Cooney of SuzieTrainsMaui.com getting her stoke on!

So here’s our plan. During an upcoming vacation to Maui, rather than trying to get epic shots of us catching waves (not so much) or attempting to capture the energy and magic of the Olukai Ho’olaule’a while actually participating, we will simply capture what we capture. We’ll plan some shots that would set a mood or emotion. Later, all sun-burnt, salty and inspired, we’ll create the wordsmith story, maybe even a poem, that comes to mind. With that as a guide, we can watch our GoPro footage again and again. Grabbing scenes and images that can be woven into a story may be commonplace for many videographers. For us, it’s going to be new – an adventure of its own.

For a terrific example of great word-smithing of images can be, check out Blue Sway by Paul McCartney, below.

GoPro – No Need to Be a Pro

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Water Words

Chuck Patterson, early GoPro sample of awesome! This is at Teahupoo

The best thing about the relatively lame minutes of edited footage I have been gathering from our last SUP vacation is that they were just that – relatively lame. Sure, I’d love to produce the absolute awesome-ness that someone like Chuck Patterson shares – but it just ain’t gonna happen in this lifetime. (Follow Chuck on Facebook to stay current on his GoPro Hero 3 projects) No matter!

OLur GoPro Hero 3 captured the fun, for sure! In our minds we were charging sets like maniacs, drenching our senses in incredible sights as we paddled long runs in West Maui and experienced cool wipeouts. Like most “my vacation” videos, the footage left a lot to be desired. So, why are we so jazzed about the GoPro?

The Go Pro Hero 3 came along like an unobtrusive buddy, joining in on all the fun and easily capturing the images. Once home, because we can edit out slices of the footage with ease using the free CineForm Studio software, the fun began. Rather than sequestering myself away in my office, nose to the editing grindstone, editing the GoPro footage is good group fun. (Warning: Be sure you have a thick skin. The great stance you believe you display while catching that thigh high swell may seem absolutely hysterical to your kids).

But that’s the point. Seriously, who wants to see a regular “SUP Joe” riding a wave. You are the only viewer for which that experience is incredible. But that funky stance and maybe a few wipeouts later you could have fodder for a short film friends and family will enjoy – and maybe even share. be bold!

So yesterday I sat with a beer (Deschutes Brewery Jubelale, if you’re wondering) and our daughter, son-in-law and my husband, Ed for an editing session. I watched them watch the clips I had made with the CineForm Studio software. Yup! They found many things hysterical. We labeled those clips and added them to the “media bin” in the Sony Movie Studio software I had. That software is not exceptional, I just happened to have it. Many people enjoy using iMovie or even Windows Movie Maker. Premeir is also another choice – we’d love to hear what you use for your final film.

Back to our editing fun. We took one wave that was Ed’s favorite and sliced sections of it to play over and over in 5 second repeats. “Ooooh, cool, ” our editing team replied. Then we took a smooth off the tail wipeout that was relatively nondescript and played it about 6 times in a row. It brought a chuckle every time. The resulting one minute 45 second clip was much cooler than the raw footage. With music added it became even more fun.

The point is- without the ease of the GoPro easily fastened to our chest or to our boards we wouldn’t have had any video at all. Instead, we had a great family gathering creating a video project instead of dozing while watching the full (gotta admit it) boring raw footage. I am pretty lame at music, but my son-in-law, Joe, and daughter are great at remembering pieces that might fit well in our SUP films. They promise to share a playlist. The whole experience is cool – and the learning curve is absolutely part of the fun if you play it that way.

Do we have that sweet 20 minute “my vacation” action film? Nope! But after the first view, who watches them anyway. Go get a GoPro and see how much fun reviewing and editing can be. If your editing team laughs at your “talent,” buck up, get a thick skin and be sure to add that to your final project. That’s part of the audience fun and who knows, you might go viral.

What editing software do you like? What have you posted online? What’s your favorite online platform? Share a link to your best effort GoPro film – we’d love to see it.

Crush on a Hero (GoPro)

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Water Words

There was a time when golf was not a televised sport. Logic had it that watching a bunch of golfers whack a little white ball around a golf course, no matter how beautiful the course, would not be entertaining. Millions of rabid viewers later, the power of a great story woven into well shot images made all the difference. We engage with diverse characters (pros) developed across their careers whether we play or not. Watching golf is adventure and drama when the story and filming is exceptional.

With the amazing digital and video tools available we have a chance to “film life.” We can see the images and become engaged in stories of all types created by pros-and people just like us. As in golf, some are going to gain a huge audience – others, not so much. For example, put the best set of golf clubs in my hands and bring the best video team on site to film my round of 18 holes, no one would care to watch. There’s no way I could deliver the shots or drama viewers need.

Similarly, I actually do own “the best” in equipment – the GoPro. Based on my skills and needs I selected the HERO3 Silver Edition. Armed with chest mount and surfboard mount I set off to document an 8 mile flatwater paddle down the incredibly beautiful coast of west Maui for my first Go Pro experience. Ed and I took off, taking turns paddling the Naish Glide GS 14 where we’d mounted the GoPro surfboard mount.

The best equipment can’t counter boring footage and inexperience. We had a chest strap to mount the GoPro – but didn’t use it. The surfboard mount can be turned to face the surfer – we didn’t do that. We aimed the GoPro forward and simply let it run for 90 straight minutes of mostly downwind paddling. The Go Pro Cineform Studio software is easily learned, even by a techno-phobe like me. Thanks to lots of YouTube and online experts sharing insights every question that came to mind had an easy to access answer. All of that couldn’t make up for my relatively boring footage and lame editing skills.

View from the nose – first wave caught on the Naish Glide GX 14′

Do I mind? Not really. No matter what, I have documentation of that very first, massively exhilarating ride I got on a chest high glassy wave on the Naish 14′ Glide GX in the few seconds before I bailed out. It was nearly dead low tide and a reef loomed too close to the surface. Editing that first set of Go Pro footage is the start of a cool new hobby. Priceless – and day one on my learning curve.

Elder SUP

Connecting Across Generations and Oceans

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