This is to the guys who have been paddling for a while,who still kneels to paddle out ?
From day one I always tried to stand and I still do , I think it's the best way to get out. I did cop the board in the melon many times from the white water in the early days but not anymore. Because we mainly surf beach breaks on the Gold Coast getting out is always a mission. Some of my mates still kneel and do pretty well through the shore break.
Interested to hear from the Breezers how they tackle the beaches , on your feet , knees or gut.
Rob
I also mainly surf beach breaks. Depends on what is in front of me and where and how I finish the last wave. Stand up 90% of the time paddling out, but if I come off and have a set coming in to whack me on the head i just scramble on and get past it any way I can then stand up and keep going.
Your right though, the more you force yourself to paddle out on your feet the easier it gets and also the easier it is to get past the break.
Didn't the oils once sing "better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!"
then he waved arms and jumped around a bit. bit like getting smashed but better 
I tend to stand up the majority of the time. Just before the white water approaches I get in the surfing stance but facing forward so i can still paddle on the other side of the board. I am still practising this, but when you pull it off it feels great. Different story for the bigger waves, its every man for themselves. Check for surfers behind you, then ditch the board and dive under. Safety first.
yeah standing is the way to go , expecially if its above a couple of feet. you have more control over the board , so if their is some one behind you their is less chance of your board taking their head off but you can always kick the board through or over the wave so its sitting next to you when you surface.Gives you more time to stand up for the next one.
Get rid off the red thumbs , seriously it will kill this site and that would be a shame.
Why do we need to rate posts through thumbs , stupid
I make an effort to stand up while paddling out, but when I'm tired or have been washed off my board several times I will resort to kneeling and hope I get through the white water without going in the drink again.
Kneeling is a bit of a cop out and I should persist with making the extra effort and face that white water like a man.
UM my choice is to stand all the way
BUT if it is onshore and i am shagged i will ALWAYS use the kneeling position .
I will ALWAYS paddle prone if i sense the chance to get out quick.
Each to his own I believe. I personally dont care how anybody paddles out as long as they are in a position of control.I have seen and had plenty of wipeouts in all forms of getting out. Paddling on the knees gives a more stable base I feel but limits bail out techniques if a big set hits you. Its also good to get a breather as it takes less effort. Standing is more a challenge to see if you can stay upright and unless you have a big tanker takes more effort. I would rather get out the back the quickest way possible then stand when your in the clear. As I said it shouldnt matter how anyone gets out as long as they are in control. Conditions will always dictate this. Werent some guys paddling prone onto waves and also jumping onto their boards from standing next to it in some recent comps.
I try to man up and paddle out on my feet,but not being a great sup'er,I will tuck the paddle under my beating chest and prone it out ( cheating I know )but if it gets me out quicker to catch the next one,all good in my book of kook
One thing you should never do is bail no matter what
i stand 100% of the time my board is actually to thin and tippy if you kneel on it the board will just flip over so no knees for me
cant kneel down for more than a few seconds.
Knee operations have taken their toll.
I can usually take a beachie braking over the board and hitting me above the knees and still keeping up right 80% of the time.
A little off topic...Board sizes...how do people feel about SUPs being paddled out prone, sitting waiting for the waves and then standing up quickly to catch them? If a board is too small to paddle out on your feet then why bother taking a paddle out. When is a board considered too small? Many want to surf the smallest board possible however if you can't paddle out on it, kind of defeats the purpose of the Stand Up Paddleboard title IMO.
Back to the topic... I like to think I spend more time on my feet but admit to kneeling to get out at times through some tough moments. My goal is however to make it out every time on my feet, still working on it.
Standing is preferable because it gets your body out of the white water. You take less of a beating and you don't get knocked off so easily.
Sometimes it takes too long to get to your feet and get paddling so lying down or kneeling is necessary just to get going and get out of the impact zone. Same if you're too tired to get to your feet.
It's often easier to belly catch a broken wave in, get to your feet and ride out of the impact zone or wait inside for a lull to paddle out in.
To all the crew who hang sh1t on people who don't stand ... add a smiley to it or f@ck off to a forum with the mindless shortboarders and grumpy old mal riders. I'll surf how I wanna surf and you can all blow it out your collective arses.
I try to stand as much as I can but if Im having trouble getting through broken waves on a sandbank I will kneel until there is a lull.
Last summer I was surfing a river mouth on the mid north coast and another guy came out on a SUP. He had a different technique where he sat on his board and paddled like it was a surf ski. Looked strange and difficult only having a one ended paddle but it seamed to work for him. I havn't seen anyone else trying it.
paddling out standing up by default for sure, but i have no issues proning, if it is a good size and I find myself caught inside and need to get to shoulder / channel quickly.
Same as DTM- my board is more stable standing than kneeling. I found out early on that the whitewater hitting my thighs/torso pushes me back to the shore way more than if it's hitting my ankles/shins so I stand for whitewater every time I can.
