The Forward Stroke

Yes, I Agree, For 30 Years, Oscar
Has been my paddling hero and inspiration, and I’ll always remember him and his brother Herman using flat “euro” blades to beat all the elite paddlers, including Olympians that were all using wing paddles in the 1989 BANKOH Molokai Kayak Challenge. All I’m suggesting is an alternative to the three principles of paddling: rotation, rotation and rotation.



Simply drop your body weight on the blade at the “catch” and feel the boat accelerate forward. No additional effort from your muscles are necessary, other than the reset for the next stroke. Adopting this technique has enable me to extend my water time from 20 minutes to 2 hours. Trust me, it isn’t fun to be 2 miles out at sea when your back goes out.

In kayak, torso rotation is a bigger
issue, but if you look at real-life, good paddlers, not at Greg Barton, you may find that they’re moving smartly along without exaggerated rotation.



It seems not to occur to torso rotation proponents that:



a.) there is a good bit of frictional energy loss in exaggerated torso rotation.



b.) if the arms and shoulders are used correctly, exaggerated rotation is not needed.



What is needed is a firm pulse of torso rotation, combined with appropriately limited arm action, right after the catch, and continuing until the lower hand nears the hip. You don’t want to keep rotating the torso as long as you can, because well before that, you should have extracted the blade.



Shorter, firm torso twisting, shorter, firm arm action, getting the work done in front of the hip. It’s the same basic approach in canoe paddling and kayaking.

Sorry No, But Do Check Out Videos
Of elite outrigger and SUP paddlers that appear to have adopted this technique.

Maybe Half?

True, But this Technique Packs a Bonus
Of being able to use half the effort. And when coupled with a lightweight shaft with a bit of flex, you gain an additional bonus of EPS or elastic potential energy.

Yes, but …
for a different reason. The amount of force you can apply to the paddle is maximal at the beginning of the stroke and declines shortly after that. That is just a function of how our bodies are constructed. So you want to extract the paddle just after the maximal force if you want to go as fast as possible. But for typical sea kayaking you can use a longer stroke so long as you do not bend your lower arm, keep rotating, keep the paddle vertical, and slice the paddle out to the side. That period of lesser effort but not increased effort from lifting water provides a short recovery period.

Different strokes for different folks
I paddle with a lot of groups being a member of an active kayak club. Wings, euros, GPs - some have taken stroke courses, some not etc. We all seem to travel along at the same efficiency and speed - all arrive at our lunch stop together and nobody seems to have any great advantages. Stronger people can just paddle stronger. No doubt, if you are training for serious racing, then proven methods will work better but… you need to be in great shape to use an extreme body rotation like racers do. Big muscles take big energy to operate. Personally, I feel your body will adapt to a very efficient stroke for you with regular use and not a lot of distortion. You can be conscious about incorporating more torso rotation as it pleases you but you described the frustration with that very well in you initial post. I also feel having a few different strokes and varying them can give muscles a break during longer paddles. Most important - enjoy yourself.

posts
Kocho and g2d. Those were great posts. This illuminates the strength of this web-site. Lots of good info from experienced paddlers.

Probably the best post here !
Well said.

I whole heartedly agree



Jack L

Technique is king
Improving technique often yields more dramatic gains than improving fitness or strength, although all are important if you want to perform at your best.



I view forward stroke technique as a lifetime goal. If you work at it you improve each year. If you don’t, you don’t. A big torso rotation needs time to learn – both mentally and physically.



I try to rotate all the way to the bottom of the seat, not only on races but also on expeditions. The longer you sit in the cockpit the more important it is that you have good posture and mechanics, otherwise you are just setting yourself up for discomfort or injury.



The key, IMO, is to learn the fundamentals and then apply them to your physique. We all have physical issues and that might prevent you from making some movements, such as an extreme rotation or lifting the paddle vertically. It’s not always easy to find the wisdom to know what limitations you must accept and which ones you can conquer (such as limited or poor motion caused by poor flexibility, strength, etc). I see a lot of paddlers who are very inflexible; a lot of common problems can be addressed by a good stretching or Yoga program.



Club paddles are not a good gauge of technique, IMO. A group will (usually) travel at the rate of the weakest link. Races give a better view of performance, but are distorted, because the goals of a racer are not usually the same as a long-distance paddler. That said, even an expedition paddler can grow tremendously as a paddler through racing, as well as other skill-intense activities like whitewater and surf kayaking.



Greg Stamer

Great Post! (NM)

Sorry, no free lunch
Not even a 1/2 off lunch.



You can put your entire body weight onto the blade but you have to use muscles to oppose that force and transfer the work to forward motion. Maybe some OC and SUP paddlers get more use out of the big trunk muscles by using GPE as a visual but the muscles are still doing work.

post
OK OK. Stamer’s post was all right. But not as good as Kocho’s !!!

Thank you all!
All of the responses were wonderful!



I do seem to be “shoulder rotating,” and I will try to incorporate the torso more.

I use a rec-style kayak with a full seat, so I will be consious of that when I attempt to rotate by setting the back rest lower.

It is true that one of my biggest problems is bending my lower arms.



I have gone out once since the original post, and I agree that it will take a while to gradually adjust my form. I did notice a slight improvement, however!



Thanks again.

I don’t entirely agree with that. When
I paddle for cruising in a kayak, I don’t change the spectrum of my force application. I just ease it up. I ease the catch a bit, and I ease the rest a bit.



Actually, without focus and practice, it’s easy to lose the firm catch, and to fall into yanking the paddle thereafter. I wish the most force did occur immediately after the catch. As in competition rowing and sculling, something devoutly to be wished, but not at all easy to achieve.



With a very long torso from hip joint to shoulder joint, I am wedded to a high angle style. I have to yield to those who can use a lower angle stroke, where pulling longer through the stroke makes sense.

Only The Water Opposes the Force
Which is simultaneously transmitted to move the canoe.

But you have to pick yourself back up
… in order to do it again.



I think that’s what is meant by “no free lunch” in this context.

Mine was certainly longer :wink:

– Last Updated: Jun-07-13 4:47 PM EST –

But I put my money on Greg's advice, if I had to bet :) I'm a newbie compared to many other folks here who posted good stuff...

“Not a lot of distortion” is key.
An efficient distribution of effort across various parts of the body.

So Really,
How much of an effort is that? Not very taxing compared to pushing 100% with your muscles against the water. It doesn’t hurt to paddle with a little help from GPE.