Sygma SUP school

NO SPEED = NO SURFING 🌊

One of the most important skills in surfing and SUP surfing is learning how to generate speed.

And before you can do it on a wave, you first need to understand the movement.

That's why we spend time working on land drills like this Trimming Motion exercise.

In this video, I break the movement down step by step:

• Compression & Extension
• Toe Side & Heel Side Drive
• Shoulder Rotation
• Hip Rotation
• Arm Drive

Then we combine everything into one fluid movement.

The goal isn't to become better at surfskating.

The goal is to create movement patterns that transfer directly into your surfing and SUP surfing.

The ocean is a difficult classroom.
Waves move, conditions change, and opportunities come and go quickly.

By training these movements on land first, progression becomes faster, easier and much more consistent.

This is one of the key elements we've integrated into our coaching sessions and camps this season, and the results have been incredible.

🔥 Autumn camps are now open for booking.

Train smarter.
Surf better.

SUP SURF ETIQUETTE MATTERS 🌊
How To Be Accepted In The Lineup

A few days ago in Arrifana 🌊

This session was a good reminder that being a SUP surfer doesn’t automatically mean conflict in the lineup.

When you surf with awareness, respect and proper etiquette, surfers often stop seeing the paddle first… and simply see another surfer sharing the ocean.

That’s something really important.

In this video you can see a few little details that matter a lot:
checking who’s behind before kicking the board over a wave during cleanup sets, staying aware of positioning, respecting priority, and kicking out when another surfer deeper than me successfully makes the drop.

Small decisions… but they completely change the energy in the water.

A lot of tension between surfers and SUPs comes from lack of awareness, not from the paddle itself.

At the end of the day, we all just want good waves, good sessions and to go home safe 🤙

And honestly… this session was just pure fun.
Good waves, good people and beautiful energy in the lineup ✨

This morning’s SUP tour at Ponta da Piedade felt like the perfect start to the summer season ☀️🌊

Warm colors, glassy water, fish everywhere, birds flying around the cliffs… and even a dolphin showing up to say hello 🐬

The girls had such a good time that the session naturally ended with a swim in the ocean 😄

These are the kinds of mornings that remind us why we love sharing this place so much.

No stress.
No rush.
Just beautiful nature, calm water and good energy.

Summer is officially starting in the Algarve ✨

One of the biggest mistakes in SUP surfing progression is trying to learn everything directly in the lineup.

When you’re surrounded by surfers, currents, waves and pressure… it’s almost impossible to properly focus on technical repetition.

That’s why pool training has become such an important part of our camps 🌊

The pool gives us a controlled environment where we can really break movements down and build strong foundations through repetition.

Classic stroke with feathering.
J-Stroke.
Brace techniques.
Pivot turns.
Positioning and balance.

No stress.
No waves in your face.
Just time to understand the movement properly.

And once those movement patterns start becoming natural, everything becomes easier in the ocean.

We also work these techniques in the river before heading out to catch waves at Praia de Amoreira, but the pool remains one of the best tools we have for creating real progression.

Sometimes slowing things down outside the surf is actually the fastest way to improve in the surf ✨

Yesterday’s surfskate workshop was such a good reminder of why we include this training during our camps 🛹🌊

Andy and Colette had never stepped on a skateboard before, and Paul had only taken one skate lesson in the past… so seeing the progression in only one session was honestly amazing.

Super proud of all of them 👏

The goal first was simple:
build confidence on the board in a safe environment, with helmets and wrist protection always on.

From there, we focused mainly on one essential concept:
TRIMMING MOTION.

Because without speed, there is no surf.
Without speed, there are no turns.

That’s why surfskate is such an incredible tool for progression.

As I always say:
1 hour of skate = 1 full hour of practice.
1 hour in the ocean can sometimes mean less than 5 minutes actually surfing.

These workshops help create repetition, body awareness, balance, confidence and movement understanding much faster than only practicing in the water.

And the best part?
Everybody finished the session smiling, stoked, and already talking about buying their own surfskates back home 😄

That’s exactly the energy we love to see ✨

Yesterday’s session at Praia de Amoreira 🌊

Beautiful conditions, fun waves and a perfect little access through the river, passing between the rocks and small bushes before reaching the ocean 🤙

We started with some technical work on flat water:
pivot turns, sprints, J-strokes, positioning and timing… then shared a few really fun waves together to finish the session properly.

That’s what these clinics are all about:
building confidence, improving technique and spending quality time in the ocean with good people ✨

Simple day.
Beautiful energy.
And plenty of progression.

🇬🇧

Most people know us through surfing.
But honestly… gardening is probably our second biggest passion after the ocean 🌱

12 years ago, when we arrived in Portugal, it wasn’t only for waves.
We came here to do WWOOFING, volunteering on organic farms, because we started realizing something important:

Knowing how to grow food is a form of freedom.

Not only for health, but also for resilience, connection, and understanding where your food actually comes from.

No, we’re not perfect.
We still go to supermarkets like everyone else.
But growing even a small part of your own food changes your perspective completely.

For me, gardening is also one of the best forms of physical and mental training.
Sometimes honestly more meaningful than going to the gym.

You move all day.
You work with your body.
You reconnect with nature.
And somehow your mind slows down too.

Hands in the soil, away from screens and noise.

And now seeing our daughter slowly starting to garden with us… that part feels really special ❤️

These last days we’ve been busy preparing the spring and summer crops, which is why we disappeared a little from the surf side of social media 😄

And yes… sometimes vegetables from the garden even end up shared during our camps 🥬

We know not everybody has access to land, but there are always small ways to reconnect with food:
community gardens, local farmers, organic cooperatives, balcony herbs…

It doesn’t have to be perfect.

Even a small step matters 🌍