Video Transcription

The first thing you have to do is open your handboard strap, open up the Velcro. Now we have to make sure that it fits our hand. If it doesn't fit against your hand, you're not going to be able to get good traction when you're in a wave. So everybody's got this little removal piece, right? You got to take that out, it goes underneath. This  goes against your hand. Make sure that it's lined up. Put your hand in there. Thumb out. It’s got to line up. Put your hand underneath it. You got to pull as tight as you can. So you have a nice firm lock, so you don't actually have to hold your handboard. You're going to just have your hand loose, so you're really pushing with the heel of your palm. You want to get your hand as in there as you can.  Now we're going to discover which hand or which arm feels better as our lead arm. And this is how, we're going to do a couple things against the sand to learn how to move with your handboard. This handboard is going to help us direct our body's energy better. Humans are super bendy. And we are going to be our own surf boards. So we're going to stretch out. Your hands go forward, and take your lose hand and stack it on the top of the Slyde logo.

The first thing you're going to do, you're going to leave your hips in the sand, you're going to leave your toes in the sand, all you're going to do is shrug your shoulders into your ears and then pull your shoulders away from your ears. Keep your arms straight. Shoulders go up into your ears, shoulders pull away from your ears. And we're going to keep getting bigger and bigger until you're almost in a back-arched position. Do it all from the shoulders. Push down into your handboard, shrug your shoulders away from your ears so much that you feel yourself start to lift. Good. One more time like that.

Okay, now we're going to add onto it. I need you to tuck your toes under, so it feels like you're standing in the sand. And then you got to connect your knees to the sand. We're going to treat this handboardlike it's an ab roller. I'm going to start by shrugging my shoulders into my ears and then away from my ears. Don't do it yet, just watch. And I'm going to pull in so much that I end up right over my handboard. And then, I'm going to control myself back down. I'm not just going to flop. You may or may not make it. You've got to use your hips and you've got to use your butt cheeks to help you get this handboardunderneath. Keep your knees in the sand. Look out at that sailboat. Shrug your shoulders into your ears, shrug them away from your ears. Start pushing down so much that you lift. Keep your knees down. Yes. Out, control it out. We're going to do it three more times, then we're going to try the whole thing with the other hand. And whichever side feels normal, that's your lead hand. Ready? Look out to sea. Push up. Press down. One more time. Push up. Press down.

Okay, and now we're going to add. Your lose hand is going to turn up to the sky. Watch me first. Pushing down and going up, and then back down. Ready? Push yourself up, turn, and down. Try to smooth it out. Push up, lift, keep your toes connected to the sand, and down. One more. Keep your toes connected. Don't be a floppy fish. Pull yourself up, turn, and down.

Nice, okay, we're going to try it with the other hand. Anatomically, the same thing is happening. It might feel really hard, though. That's your clue, which hand should be in the handboard. The same way, that when you discover which foot should be forward when you surf, your body has an instinct, same way with your arms. So we start by just shrugging the shoulders into our ears and pulling them down. Shrug them up, shrug them down. Now I know this is my hand, I'm lefty. Because the act of shrugging my shoulders gives me such giant lift without even trying. Keep going. Warm up your shoulders. And down. Warm up your shoulders. Down.

We're coming up into the full move. And down try to keep your back straight if you can. Push. Stick lift. Right there. And down. Last time. Okay, next time we add the arm roll. Ready? Down. Up, open, and down. Ready? Push and open. Open from your waist, not your arm [SP]. Reach. And down. Turn your waist, don't fling your arm. Ready? Push and open. And down. Okay. Now, when you're actually in a wave, the wave is going to take you down. It's more of a reach forward. In a wave, because of wave energy, your core...the feeling that you felt in your core, that's the feeling you're looking for. Your actual shape is going to look more like this. Or like this. Or like this. You won't actually be...on your take off, you might be under yourself, and then it's going to change and you're going to use your board to direct you where you want to go. Does that make sense? You don't have to shove down this way, the water is going to move out of the way of your handboard. Right? It's hard on the shoulders on land because we're working against a hard surface.

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