I’ve paddle conoes for a few years, but just started using single blade paddles last summer and had an interesting observation today:
My least fatiguing paddling technique today was when I was kind of “rocking” in the tractor seat and using mostly my body weight and lower back muscles during a rythmic rocking action while doing sit and switch. I’d rock forward, plant the blade and rock back during the power portion of the stroke. This approach resulted in much less work for my arms and shoulders and didn’t seem to have any adverse effects on my back.
Another way to describe it is that it seems kind of like a one sided rowing action.
Is this an odd ball approach to single blade paddling, or is it common, but not usually described this way?
Today I was paddling a Mad River Slipper which doesn’t have foot braces, but was using a similar “one side rowing” technique in my Sawyer Summersong Tuesday and it does have footbraces.
I was using a bent shaft paddle in both boats.
Commonly
seen style in some racers using bent shafts. When combined with leg drives it makes the boat move nicely. I personally try to emphasize the shoulder rotation and leg drives, but in a sprint I find my self lunging forward in the seat as you describe. As long as the bow of the boat is not porpoising into waves and slowing you down I would refine it a little and join those of us who try to paddle hard and go fast! ( although most of us only go half/fast 
Charlie
“Rocking” from the waist up
maybe, but your legs should be firmly planted against foot braces, which would prevent any waist down movment other than firmly pushing off the foot brace.
That is for speed paddling of course.
Cheers,
jackL
I was trying to go fast most of the time
because I was delayed by portaging around some log jams and wanted to be sure I got to my destinatiion before dark :) Besides, going fast is just plain fun :) I was definately using my legs in the Summersong which has foot braces and my legs were quite tired and sore after paddling a couple hours on a windy lake Tuesday.
In the Slipper, I didn't have footbraces, but was using the legs to facilitate the "rocking" action.
I was using my legs as much as I could.
I was definately using my legs in the Summersong which has foot braces and my legs were quite tired and sore after paddling a couple hours on a windy lake Tuesday.
In the Slipper, I didn’t have footbraces, but was using the legs to facilitate the “rocking” action. I plan to install some sort of permanent or temporary foot brace in the Slipper just as soon as I figure out what will work in this Carbonlite 2000 hull.
For efficiency, you should minimize
"rocking." However, some racers do their best with an inefficient stroke.
I try to minimize fore/aft trunk motion because during the power phase of the stroke, your body is moving toward the stern, but then during the recovery phase, your body (mass) moves toward the bow, and checks the momentum of the boat.
My legs are the sorest part of my body
today, so I guess I really was using my legs yesterday and Tuesday.
I see what you mean.
I was mainly using that technique because I seemed to fatigue less quickly and hadn’t really thought about it from an efficiency stand point.
Thanks for those insights. I may get into racing someday. It seems like it would be a lot of fun and I’m concerned that I might get hooked and spend lots of time and money travelling to partake in any race that will accept me.
I’d probably need to upgrade boats as well, even though the Summersong seems to be pretty quick.
You put an expensive thought into my head 
I do a lot of racing with both…
canoes and kayaks, and the day after a race, especially a long one, or a long hard training paddle, the only thing that is sore on me is my legs. (It is a pleasant soreness though)
I am also a cyclist, (or used to be) and I equate the soreness with that following a ten mile time trial.
I am not sure if my paddling style is correct or not, but if I don’t have that soreness it tells me that I am not paddling as hard as I can.
Cheers,
JackL
I sometimes do
the same style, but lean back as well as forward to extend the paddle stroke. Good for the stomach muscles, and makes the canoe porpoise which is fun.
I did notice that it extends the paddle
stroke, but I didn’t notice any porpoising. I guess I wasn’t really going at it hard enough for porpoising. I was going for efficiency to make sure that I had enough left to get to the end of the trip at a reasonable pace.
my son
and I get into a good sync at times, and we use the porpoising to freak out the canadian geese, then we do a power slide and check our wake, then generally burst out laughing. I can only take flatwater for so long some days…