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Jo Taylor ~ SUP Coach 🏄‍♀️

@jotayls

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🏄‍♀️ Your SUP sidekick, helping you feel confident on your paddleboard
🌊 Taught 1000+ paddlers skills & safety
📍New Zealand paddle spots & adventures
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➡️ Welcome to your mini guide! Here’s what I would teach you in your very first paddleboarding lesson. You just don’t know what there is to learn about paddleboarding when you first start - and trust me, there’s a lot! Getting confident on your board is key and having a lesson is the best way to learn good habits right from the start. Here’s my book of hints and tricks for the skills that you need to know if you are just getting started… - Getting comfortable on your board - Learning how to stop quickly - Mastering a effective turn - What a good forward paddle stroke looks like (the basics!) All of these can be done kneeling or standing up. Just because you are on your knees, it doesn’t mean you can’t paddle well. Standing up can be super hard with lots of factors holding you back so if you are struggling with this, I can’t recommend having a lesson enough as there is so many hints and tricks to make this as easy as possible. And most importantly - let’s celebrate falling in! It’s part of learning. And we want to make sure that you can get back on your board - which can be super hard without some guidance. As a SUP coach who’s taught over a thousand people to paddle, these are the foundations to give you confidence to get started, on your local river, lake or beach. Save this for your first paddleboarding adventure and send it to someone who’s just getting started 👇🏽 taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
9
a month ago
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From holding my paddle the wrong way round… to teaching more than 1,000 people to paddleboard. 😂 If you’re new here, hi, I’m Jo 👋 I started paddleboarding in 2018 with absolutely no idea where it would take me. I went from running my own SUP business in the UK, before packing up my life and moving to New Zealand in search of bigger mountains, more wild places and more adventures. And I’ve found ALL of those things here. After fracturing both my arms three months ago, I’ve spent a lot of time stuck on the shore, so I started sharing the beginner SUP skills I’ve picked up from my years of teaching. And now… I’m getting back on a paddleboard - yay! 🙌 So this is a little bit of my back story and the start of the next chapter. Expect SUP tips from the water, paddleboarding adventures, places to paddle in New Zealand, gear, safety and plenty of learning along the way. So if you’re into paddleboarding you’re in the right place. Follow along for the next chapter 👇 taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
81
2 months ago
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Buying a paddleboard can feel overwhelming. There are so many sizes, shapes and brands that it’s hard to know where to start. After teaching over 1,000 people to paddleboard, the biggest piece of advice I can give is this: “Don’t buy the board someone else says is “the best”. Buy the board that’s right for you.” Your height, weight, experience, balance, where you paddle and what you want to use it for all make a difference. You can grow into a board as your skills develop, and the right board should give you confidence, not make every paddle feel like you are about to fall in. There’s nothing wrong with getting a cheap budget board but if you get really into paddling, I often then see people upgrading their board to meet their needs. So, in this carousel, I’ve broken down the key things I’d think about before buying a paddleboard. It is all general rule of thumb, and more aimed to inflatables, as most people start there. The last slide is my absolutely favourite piece of advice!! For reference, my touring board (inflatable) is 12’6 x 30” or 28” x 4.5” My SUP Surf board (hard) is 8’5 x 31” x4.5” My teaching board/go to cruiser 11’3 x 32” x4.5” I am 63kg, 5’6 and paddle a lot! 💜 Save this for when you’re ready to buy your first SUP. 💬 Got a question? Drop it in the comments and I’ll do my best to help. Jo xx taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
15
3 months ago
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As a coach who’s taught over 1000 people to paddleboard, I’ve helped so many people master standing up and these are the common mistakes I see that make standing up on a paddleboard harder than it needs to be! Standing too far back, looking down, feet too wide, locking our legs out, not paddling straight away…. These little things make all the difference to make it as easy as possible to master standing up. And once you’re up, the more you go down and come back up again and practice it on calm flat water, I promise you the easier it will be! Follow along for more paddleboarding tips from your SUP coach in your pocket. 👌 by @jotayls
0
a day ago
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Why paddleboard on two legs when you could paddle on one? Haha just kidding, paddleboarding on one leg is hard! Butttt it’s a great one to try to challenge your balance and trust your paddle! If you wanna give it a try, here’s my top tips to learn: - A wider board will be more stable - Put your supporting foot in the middle of the board and keep your knee soft - Keep looking at something not moving in the distance and do not move your gaze - Keep your body low for stability - Plant your paddle in deep and build momentum and speed - Slowly lift your foot off and keep paddling! - Be ready to go for a swim!! This is the ultimate trust your paddle exercise! Think of your paddle as your third leg or walking stick and start to learn to trust that it will take your weight and support you. Have you tried it? taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
4
25 days ago
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If you are a beginner paddle boarder stuck on how to stand up on your paddleboard without falling in, start here ⬇️ It takes technique and skill to make standing up on a paddleboard as easy as possible. Here’s some extra bonus tips below if you’re doing all of these in the video and still struggling! - if you keep falling off to the side, play with how wide your feet are. If they’re too far apart it can rock the board a lot more than if they’re just under your hips like when you stand on land - if you fall forwards or backwards, try standing up with one foot slightly in front of the other to help - if you fall because your legs shake so much, practice going up and down over and over again to get your legs used to the board - If you can’t get your feet underneath you easily in the middle on the board, move forward on your hands and knees before you stand so you don’t have to bend your legs so much. - if the board is banana- ing, it might need more air in it so pump to a higher PSI. Or you might need a bigger board if it’s not stable enough I’ve taught people with injuries, disabilities, illnesses and fears- all things that can make it harder to achieve your goals, and if your goal is standing up, then don’t give up - there’s always a way to make it happen. A little change or a simple trick - Here’s some small things you can try that can make a big difference. And the biggest thing… take a deep breath and relax! taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
5
a month ago
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It’s always fun learning new ways to stand up on your paddleboard. So, which one have you tried?! by @jotayls
16
a month ago
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If you’re new to paddleboarding, these are the 4 strokes I’d teach you first. As a SUP coach who’s taught over a thousand people to paddle, I know you don’t need loads of fancy techniques to start feeling confident on your board. In my first SUP lesson, I’d teach these both on your knees and standing. Practising on your knees is a great way to learn the movement without worrying about your balance, then you can take the same strokes into your standing paddling. These four give you the foundations to move forwards, slow down, turn and move sideways: 🛑 Braking stroke Knowing how to slow down and stop gives you much more control and confidence on your board. Get low with your body, sink all the blade in the water behind you and bring it or your body 🔄 Reverse sweep turn Need to change direction? The reverse sweep lets you turn your board smoothly and is one of my go-to turns for beginners. Keep low with your body, look where you want to go. Plant your paddle deep in the water touching the back of your board. Draw an arc shape with your paddle to the top of your board. Wide paddle = wide turn. ↔️ Draw stroke Want to move sideways? The draw stroke lets you bring your board towards your paddle, which is super useful for getting alongside a jetty, another board or the bank. Sink all the blade in the water, bring the paddle parallel to your board and keep the paddle vertical. Play around with where on your board the paddle enters the water as your fin acts as an anchor. 🏄‍♀️ Forward stroke Reach forwards, hinge from your hips and keep the paddle as vertical as possible. Push down on the paddle using your body weight, rather than just your arms. Take the blade out in line your feet, (or knees if you’re kneeling) - not behind them. Learn them on your knees, practise them standing, and you’ll have a great foundation for your paddling. Save this reel and have a go next time you’re on the water! Follow along for more paddleboarding tips. 👋 by @jotayls
7
a month ago
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POV: You forgot to put the valve UP before pumping up your paddleboard… 🤦‍♀️ …and now the whole car park gets to watch you pump it up AGAIN 😂 Your quick inflatable paddleboard reminder for beginners: ⬆️ Valve UP = pump up ⬇️ Valve DOWN = deflate It’s one of those tiny things you definitely only forget once… until you forget it again 😂 Save this for the next time you’re setting up your board! And if you’re new to paddleboarding, follow along for more SUP tips from me 👋 taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
33
a month ago
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How to paddle faster! Whatever you do, you always seem to be the one struggling to keep up with your paddleboarding mates? 👀 Before you start paddling harder, try paddling more efficiently. Here are 3 things that can help you get more power from every stroke: 🏄‍♀️ 1. Get the whole blade in the water Fully bury your blade with each stroke so you’re not wasting energy. 🏄‍♀️ 2. Take the paddle out at your feet. If you leave the blade in the water past your feet, you start braking yourself. Even though in line with your feet feels early, trust me it works! 🏄‍♀️ 3. Use your body, not your arms Instead of trying to pull yourself through the water with your arms, use your body weight to fall onto the paddle and create power. 💡 Try the drill in this reel to practise trusting your paddle and feeling what it’s like to load your body weight onto it. Start on your knees, then try it standing. Remember, it’s a drill, not something you need to perfect straight away. Focus on one thing at a time, feel what changes, then build it into your normal stroke. Hey 👋 I’m Jo and welcome to my series for beginner paddlers to help you paddleboard with confidence! taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
41
a month ago
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We forgot the pump 🙊 🤣 turns out paddleboarding still works deflated on the snow 😜 ❄️ taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
25
a month ago
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The cross-deck turn - my favourite turn on my paddleboard! And the next step up from the reverse sweep turn in my recent video. One of those paddleboarding skills that, once you learn it, you’ll wonder why you didn’t learn it sooner! It’s a super handy turn for changing direction quickly without needing loads of space, without needing to change the way you grip your paddle, and without moving your feet. The key is twisting your body and planting your paddle deep in the water and let the board do the work instead of muscling round. Get low, look where you want to go, and give it a try. It takes a little practice to get comfortable crossing the paddle over first, but once it clicks… 👌 works on your knees too. I am on a touring board here that’s long and narrow so it’s a little harder work to get a tight turn but give it a try on any board and see how you go! Save this one and give it a go next time you’re on the water 💛 I’m Jo, a SUP coach and guide exploring the best places to paddle in New Zealand 🇳🇿🏄‍♀️ Follow along for more paddleboarding tips and skills. taken in New Zealand by @jotayls
15
a month ago
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