Generating power & control with your hands

When most people think about surfing, they tend to focus on what they’re doing with their feet but if you look closely at some of the most technical surfers in the world, like Kelly Slater, Mick Fanning, or Kolohe Andino, you'll notice something else…

They don’t just rely on their feet; they use their whole body to generate power, and a lot of what happens above the hips is guided by the positioning of their hands.

Your hands play a crucial role in how you control the board and generate power on the wave, with each hand serving a different but equally important purpose.

The Role of the Front Hand

The front hand plays a crucial role in steering, especially during turns. By using your front hand as a guide, you can precisely control your movement. As Devon Howard put it on our recent podcast, you can think of it like staring through the sights on a rifle, directing you where to go.

The Role of the Back Hand

If we think about the body like a big elastic band, the longer you can create and hold tension before releasing it, the more power you’ll unleash on the wave. This is especially important when you’re trying to execute critical maneuvers or carve through powerful waves and the way to build this tension is by using your trailing arm.

Adam Knox explains that when you’re setting up for a turn, keeping your trailing arm on the opposite side of your body to where you’re turning the board creates torque throughout your torso. The longer you hold this position before releasing, the more tension you build. When you finally bring your trailing arm through to the other side of your body, you release that tension, generating more power to whip the rest of your body and board through the turn.

Putting It All Together

So the next time you're out in the water, pay attention to what your hands are doing. Use your front hand to guide where you want your board to go, and use your back hand to build the tension and momentum for more powerful turns. By understanding and practicing these concepts, you can start to surf more like the pros.