Is this video a good example of three different Greenland style paddling techniques…or are these not the best thing to reference/visualize if I want to work on this style?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOlOE1fJh-g
they are different strokes
first is the sliding stroke, second a racing high angle stroke and third a touring stroke…all three are used in GP
at least from what I can make out
definitely good technique…
Those guys have nice strokes and you could do a lot worse than use that clip as a point of reference to start from.
Greenland-style Video
Check out the video of Greenland technique on the Qajaq USA site (where some of the You Tube clips were copied from without permission…)
http://www.qajaqusa.org/Movies/movies.html .
You will see many different styles. Michael Jakobsen’s technique (the first clip) is very impressive. I was in the race where the video was taken and he was well ahead of everyone in the pack, including Maligiaq Padilla.
In the sliding stroke clip, Arne Nielsen is powering ahead to temporarily pass Maligiaq Padilla. A full sliding stroke is rarely used with a full-sized paddle, but when it is, it delivers a lot of power and requires a lot of strength.
After viewing the clips, read the technique information at http://www.qajaqusa.org/Technique/Technique.html .
Use this (and other) information to get a good mental image of what your stroke should look like, then develop your own stroke that uniquely incorporates these examples. A GP is very vocal about “telling you” when your stroke needs work (a good stroke is virtually silent and delivers a very strong bite).
Greg Stamer