049: CC#4 - Cure 'Poo Stance' with Twiggy Van Ryan
SHOW NOTES
Are your hips locked, paddling clumsy, or turns falling flat? You may be making the same two mistakes almost every intermediate surfer does.
In this short coaching concept episode, Michael chats with coach Twiggy Van Ryan about the two biggest killers of surfing progress: poor foot placement (the infamous “duck foot” stance) and paddling posture that actually makes you slower. Twiggy breaks down exactly why these habits hold you back and how to start correcting them—even off the water.
Learn how to fix the most common stance mistake that’s limiting your hip mobility and turns
Discover the posture cue that gets your board planing and your paddling smoother instantly
Hear how land drills and skateboards can help rewire bad habits that seem “stuck”
Press play to learn how a small shift in your stance and posture can lead to massive gains in control, style, and surfing joy.
Surf Coach Twiggy Van Ryan shares some surf coaching tips.
Follow him on Instagram . @bettersurftechnique
https://www.instagram.com/bettersurftechnique/?hl=en
Twiggy’s Website:
https://www.indojoy.surf/
Key Points
Next year's surf trip with Taylor Knox and Matt Griggs is scheduled for the week of September 12, 2020, with early bird prices available now.
The most common mistake intermediate surfers make is improper foot placement, specifically the duck foot posture, which locks the back hip and reduces forward momentum.
Poor paddling posture, such as laying too flat on the board, is another common issue among intermediate surfers, leading to inefficient paddling and reduced speed.
Twiggy works as a surf coach in Balian, West Bali, and conducts coaching sessions on boat trips in the Mentawai.
To contact Twiggy for a coaching session in Balian, use his Instagram handle BetterSurfTechnique or his Facebook profile TwiggyVanRyan.
Outline
Upcoming Surf Trip
A surf trip with Taylor Knox and Matt Griggs is scheduled for the week of September 12, 2020.
Early bird prices are currently available for this trip.
Interested individuals can find more details at mattgriggs.com.au.
For additional information and tickets, people can email Jade at malibupapoyo.com.
Further information and links are available on Matt Taylor's Instagram page and the Malibu Papoyo Instagram page.
Introduction to Twiggy Van Ryan
Twiggy Van Ryan is a 50-year-old surfer who is still performing at a high level.
They are described as a phenomenal surfer and one of the most positive people the speaker has met.
Twiggy began surfing at age 5 and has competed at various levels throughout their career.
They surfed at the state level as a cadet and junior, and at the national level in the over-35 category.
Twiggy is a former Palm Beach board riders senior men's masters champion.
They are currently working as a surf coach in Bali, specifically in Balian, and also do surfing guiding in the Mentawai Islands.
More information about Twiggy can be found on their Instagram account @BetterSurfTechnique and their website IndoJoy.Surf.
Common Mistakes of Intermediate Surfers
The most common mistake observed in intermediate surfers is improper foot placement.
Many surfers adopt a 'duck foot' posture, where their feet are opposing each other.
This foot position locks the back hip and prevents the surfer from pointing forward with their hips and shoulders.
The incorrect stance leads to an undesirable 'poo man' posture, which negatively affects balance and momentum.
This stance causes sideways imbalance instead of forward momentum, reducing overall speed and control.
Another issue is that surfers often plant their feet too firmly on the board, limiting their ability to lift the back heel for forward momentum.
Paddling Mistakes
Poor paddling posture is another common issue among intermediate surfers.
Many surfers lay too flat on their boards while paddling.
When spotting a wave, some surfers experience a mental shift that negatively affects their technique.
They may start paddling much faster, which paradoxically makes them go slower due to reduced time with their arms in the water.
Some surfers breathe in and pull their chest upwards, reducing the amount of arm in the water and making themselves more susceptible to wave energy.
These mistakes often result in the surfer getting 'hung up' over the falls of the wave.
Correcting Foot Placement
Changing a surfer's foot placement from the 'duck foot' stance can be challenging, especially for those with a snowboarding background.
One effective method is using a carver skateboard for practice.
The goal is to position the back foot at 90 degrees or more to the stringer, complementing the front foot.
This foot placement allows for better hip and shoulder alignment, improving overall body mechanics.
A success story is mentioned about an Italian surfer named Matteo who improved their technique using carver skateboard practice before a trip to the Mentawai Islands.
Improving Paddling Technique
To improve paddling, surfers should avoid lying too flat on the board.
A common mistake is relying too much on the triceps for propulsion.
The recommended posture is a 'scorpion pose' with the chest out and shoulders back.
This position allows for a longer reach and more powerful strokes.
Proper board positioning is crucial; surfers should find the 'sweet spot' where the nose is about an inch out of the water.
This positioning helps the board plane better, making the surfer look more like they are gliding than struggling.
Twiggy's Coaching Experience
Twiggy primarily coaches in Balian, West Bali.
They also work on boat trips in the Mentawai Islands with several boats.
Twiggy credits Clayton and Chris Mills for their development as a coach.
Clayton gave Twiggy the confidence to become a coach and taught them valuable skills.
Chris Mills is praised for their broad-minded approach and continuous learning in the field.
At the time of the interview, Twiggy was coaching in Nicaragua for a month, an opportunity they received through Jade.
Contact Information for Coaching Sessions
Those interested in coaching sessions with Twiggy in Balian can reach them through their Instagram account @BetterSurfTechnique.
They can also be contacted on Facebook under the name TwiggyVanRyan.
Transcription
Michael Frampton
I just need a sound check. What did you have for breakfast?
Twiggy Van Ryan
A chainsaw.
Michael Frampton
Welcome back surfers. One housekeeping topic, and that is next year's surf trip with Taylor Knox and Matt Griggs. That's on the week of the 12th of September 2020. Early bird prices are available now. Get on this trip. You can check out details at mattgriggs.com.au. You can email jade at malibupapoyo.com for more details and tickets. There's more info and links to all of this stuff on my, Matt, Taylor, and the Malibu Papoyo Instagram page. Today's episode is another short coaching concept episode featuring surf coach Twiggy Van Ryan. I met Twiggy earlier this year in September and got to surf with him and get to know him a lot. First of all, Twiggy is 50 years old and is just ripping so hard. He's a phenomenal surfer. One of the most positive people I've ever met too, and just a classic Aussie character. Twiggy started surfing at age 5. Surfed at a state level as a cadet and a junior, national level as an over 35, and former Palm Beach Boardriders senior men's masters champ. There is no denying Twiggy's surfing ability. He's a phenomenal coach, just loves sharing knowledge, always positive. Twiggy is currently working as a surf coach in Bali, in Balian, and doing some surfing guiding in the Mentawai. You can find out more about Twiggy at his Instagram, which is @BetterSurfTechnique, and his website indojoy.surf. Links to both of those on my Instagram and of course in the show notes on my website and whatever app you're using to listen to this audio. And without further ado, here is Twiggy talking about a couple of things for you guys to think about during your next surf. What's the most common mistake that you see intermediate surfers make?
Twiggy Van Ryan
It has to be definitely foot placement. This whole duck foot posture, or what I refer to it as, is when their feet are opposing each other. It tends to lock the back hip and stops the surfer from being able to point forward with their hips and shoulders. So they get locked in that unfortunate poo man stance, and it's detrimental because it tends to overbalance us from one rail to the other in a negative way rather than if we're in that lunging position, we're going onto one rail and onto the other with forward momentum. But when you're stuck in that poo man stance, it's all sideways imbalance, which reduces the momentum. And then their feet are usually planted too firmly on the board, if that makes sense. There's no ability to lift that back heel to create forward momentum. So everything's accentuated in a negative way. So for me, that's the thing I notice the most about people once they're up. If we were talking in terms of the other intermediate problem, it would be poor paddling posture, like laying too flat and allowing the lunatic in their mind to take over when they identify a wave and then go to catch it. You can see things change in people from they might paddle from A to B really quite cleanly and smoothly in a, you know, not looking at a wave situation. And then they identify a wave and it's like a crazy person takes over, and they paddle much faster, which actually makes them go slower because their arm's not in the water for as long. They might breathe in and pull their chest upwards, which reduces the amount of arm in the water. It allows the wave energy to influence them in a way that keeps them at the top of the wave, hung up over the falls, that kind of thing. They're the two main things. I've found it really easy to impress on people how to paddle better and breathe better into a wave. They seem to get it really easily. Helping someone or coaching someone out of that duck foot stance to move that back foot to, say, 90 degrees or better to the stringer so it complements the front foot, it's hard because they've done it for a long time. And if they have a snowboarding background, they're used to being strapped in that way. And I'm still trying to work out is there a way to fast-track that. It may be a good thing for Carver skateboard practice to get them on that and just impress on them how important that foot is, and then they get to feel their hips being able to point forward more, and their shoulders, and their body just works better. I recently worked with an Italian guy, Matteo, who lives in Byron Bay, and he got some really good stuff off the Carver just on a nice smooth road about the foot placement, and then he took it with him to a trip in the Ments and had pretty good results. He was stoked with the outcome.
Michael Frampton
Getting some time under tension with that different foot position on a skateboard. And what about in terms of the paddling position, do you have any cues for that?
Twiggy Van Ryan
The thing I'm kind of trying to get people to realise at the moment is if they're lying too flat on the board, just ask them to feel where do they feel the paddling's coming from. And it's more often that little tricep trying to do all the work to propel this big body. And then if you can get them to pull back into that kind of scorpion pose with their chest out and their shoulders back. And then, yeah, I think when people lay too flat paddling, they tend to paddle in a snaky motion as well where they can't reach out as far. It's more this side-to-side thing, which you don't get much power from that. The position on the board is super important. So people that lay flat tend to be further back on the board, so then the board's not planing so well. And if they get forward on the board and then the nose goes under, but then they engage into that scorpion-type posture, then the nose should just come about an inch out of the water, and they can really use that sweet spot of the board for paddling. They'll look more like they're gliding than struggling. That's a good cue.
Michael Frampton
Yeah. Cool, so whereabouts do you work as a coach? I.
Twiggy Van Ryan
Live in Balian in West Bali, and then I work in the Ments on boat trips on a handful of boats. The coaching thing I mostly do in Balian, and then obviously I go on some of these trips with Chris and Clayton too and work on those, which has been great, and that's why we're sitting here together in Nicaragua doing this podcast. I was fortunate enough to meet Jade, and she made me this wonderful offer to come and be here for a month coaching her and helping out the guests. I'm really grateful for where that's led me. I have to really put a big shout out to Clayton for that. He was the one who gave me the confidence to believe that I could be a coach, and then taught me all the skills, and then brought out a lot of stuff in me that I didn't know was there. I've got a lot of love for Clayton. And Chris—Chris Mills—he's such a broad-minded person in his field, and he's great at studying every year and bringing new things into what he teaches. I see that he's going really well with teaching Clayton's methods as well. Those two guys are top of the grateful list for me for sure. Cool.
Michael Frampton
If someone's in Balian and they want a coaching session, how do they get a hold of you?
Twiggy Van Ryan
I'm @BetterSurfTechnique on Instagram, all one word, and on Facebook I'm TwiggyVanRyan. They're the two best ways to contact me. Too easy.
Michael Frampton
Cool. Thanks for taking the time.
Twiggy Van Ryan
Mike, thanks for the opportunity, and it's been a pleasure hanging out with you this last week, mate. I'm really glad I got to meet you. Cool. Thanks, mate. Cheers, buddy.
49 Coaching Concept #4 - Cure the poo-stance w Twiggy Van Ryan
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