Paddling Technique

Different strokes for different folks. With all the different body types and water conditions you encounter, I don't see how there could be one definitive technique.

#2 Tue, 04/24/2007 - 5:13pm

Dammit Jim,
I could tell you weren't listening during practice! Am I going to have to go over this AGAIN?

#6 Tue, 04/24/2007 - 7:15pm

uhhh curse… is too much a point, there, to write to real. it depends, which talent you try to shift. nearly each large man more paddler has smaller than ideal Schlagmann, whom one would train in a man six. thus knows who? it constitutes not too much, what the body. as long as the movement is liquid efficient, balanced, and. when training I mostly the interaction of the paddle with water regard. as long as all six do paddlers the same thing in the water and it are efficient, I am lucky. I have some large literature and illustrations, which came down from the long-term coaches of HCKT and of US crew, but everything them is not electronic on the material paper. So OH well…

uhhh Fluch… dort ist eine Spitze, zuviel, zum wirklich zu schreiben. er hängt ab, welche Fertigkeit du versuchst, zu verschieben. fast jedes große Mann paddler hat einen kleiner als idealen Schlagmann, den man in einem Mann sechs trainieren würde. so weiß wer? es macht nicht zu viel aus, was der Körper. solange die Bewegung flüssig leistungsfähig ist, ausgeglichen, und. beim Trainieren ich meistens die Interaktion des Paddels mit Wasser betrachte. solange alle sechs paddlers die gleiche Sache im Wasser tun und es leistungsfähig ist, bin ich glücklich. ich habe einige große Literatur und Abbildungen, die unten von den langfristigen Trainern von HCKT und von der US Mannschaft kamen, aber alle sie ist auf dem realen Papier, nicht elektronisch. So OH- Brunnen…

uhhh damn...there is a bit too much to actually type. it depends what craft you are trying to move. almost every great one man paddler has a less than ideal stroke that one would coach in a six man. so who knows? it doesn't matter too much what the body does. as long as the motion is fluid, balanced, and efficient. when coaching i mostly look at the interaction of the paddle with the water. as long as all six paddlers are doing the same thing in the water, and it is efficient, i'm happy.

i have some great literature and illustrations that came down from long time coaches of HCKT and the US team, but it's all on real paper, not electronic. So oh well...

#8 Tue, 04/24/2007 - 11:33pm

So in a OC6 is it important that everyone has the same "style". If everyone is entering and exiting their paddles at the same time is it a disadvantage if they have different styles compared to a team that has identical strokes?

#10 Wed, 04/25/2007 - 6:30am

AlanC has a good point. Simplicity. To expand on what Jc9 said, if you focus on paddling in the water properly, the body will follow. The main thing is that all 6 people are applying at the same time.

Some things I find myself saying over and over...
-Paddle with the body
-Find the resistance
-Elbows straight
-poop on your face

So what is the best one man?
What is the best paddle?

Poops on your face

#12 Wed, 04/25/2007 - 8:08am

the paddle into the water insert. shift your more poopmaker (however) BEHIND the paddle. in few the fatiguing way do.

das Paddel in das Wasser einsetzen. dein poopmaker (aber) HINTER dem Paddel verschieben. es in der wenigen ermüdenden Weise tun.

put the paddle in the water. move your poopmaker(but) PAST the paddle. do it in the least tiring manner.

#16 Wed, 04/25/2007 - 7:45pm

OK

O.K.

O.k.

#18 Thu, 04/26/2007 - 12:06am

haha. right on. :)

#20 Thu, 04/26/2007 - 4:01am

I thought that it matters where & when paddlers are applying power more than how graceful they actually look doing it and more than even if they are entering/exiting the water at the same time. Like if one person has great reach and enters far forward and the person behind him/her enters not so far forward then even if they apply power at the same time for the same amount of time, their position in the water will be slightly different so the physics of the whole thing is slightly off, so the boat won't move quite as quickly as is ideally possible. Or you could have a group that looks like their timing is all off in the recovery, but who all power exactly the same time in the same place in the water and kick everyone's butts. Is that true?

Where was it that you get the German translation tool? I have a German friend that I want to annoy as much as possible (as an adolescent display of affection)...

#22 Thu, 04/26/2007 - 8:00am

Jibofo,

1. Timing isn't just good, its critical
2. If all six paddlers are entering/exiting together and applying power together in an efficient manner, does it matter what they are doing technique wise?
3. How much fiber is too much?

poops out

#24 Thu, 04/26/2007 - 8:40am

A vivid memory, more than once, in the Molokai race. Being passed by Tahitian crews, their timing not even close, stroke rate about 74.

#26 Thu, 04/26/2007 - 9:14am

Great.

What are you teaching about the 'leg drive' in your course ?
What are you teaching about hip rotation ?
How do you improve balance effectively and what do you use to assess the results of such training ?

Most of the things that I read about technique comes from kayak literature on the web, the outrigger posts are rare.

#28 Thu, 04/26/2007 - 11:15am

Water soluble or insoluble fibre?

All the top performers (speed) use a 4:1 ratio of soluble to insoluble based on cancer reducing averages of 20-35 g / day.

Cows and goats consume more insoluble fibre and the results are evident.

#30 Thu, 04/26/2007 - 11:43am

eckhart asked about the role of ‘leg drive’ and hip rotation as taught to flatwater paddlers in kayak and canoe.

Comparative biomechanics

What is important to recognize as we compare and learn from these other paddle sports are the similarities and differences in the seating positions.

Looking at C1, or high kneel canoe, first as it is also a "canoe stroke", we need to acknowledge that there is no seat and the paddler is in an upright kneel, supported on the paddling side knee/foot and balanced with the non-paddling side foot. As such, there are less constraints on body movement than in OC1 not to mention a much higher centre of mass.

In K1, the seating position is very similar to OC1, especially the hulls with single foot wells and a higher foot well to seat height difference. The main difference is the kayak stroke mechanics. However, if we overlook the bilateral kayak stroke itself, most of the K1 body position is the same as that in an OC1.

Leg drive

Keeping with the K1 comparison to OC1, leg drive in K1 is very important and a central concept to paddling technique (note: in C1, leg drive is just as important but there are significant differences due to the paddler's stance in the hull).

Leg drive is often thought of as the initiation of the stroke. For for paddlers who visualize and paddle with a stroke seen as pull (i.e. the paddle moves back past the hull) leg drive is often a passive action. However, those paddlers who visualize and paddle their canoe as if drawing the hull forward past the paddle develop a very strong active leg drive.

The difference of seeing the stroke move past the hull or the hull move past the stroke will activate very different sets of muscles and muscle sequencing. It is a simple difference but a cornerstone in understanding correct paddling mechanics;

In drawing the hull forward, core musculature generates force that is stabilized agaist the paddle, then transfered through the leg drive so as to result in the forward movement of the hull.

One quick sidebar: the biggest difference between OC seating and K1 seating is that K1 seats are slick so as to facilitate rotation while OC seats are often foam for comfort. The foam seats often limit rotation through higher static friction. Simply wrapping a grocery bag around the seat or some other semi slippery surface will enhance rotation a great deal. Alternately, layered clothing can allow the same "slippery" effect.

How do you improve balance effectively?

Improving balance effectively often means going outside of your comfort zone; either in boat choice, seat height, water conditions or something similar. There are some drills and exercises that paddlers do to stress balance skills. Some of the more popular ones are;

• Flying the ama (just off the water not shoulder height!) while stationary in flat water: use paddle on right to feather/brace as needed.
• Flying the ama while stationary in flat water: use paddle on left to feather/brace as needed.
• Flying the ama while moving: feather and brace as needed, again with paddle on left and right side
• Flying the ama while moving: try to paddle and maintain hull speed, again with paddle on left and right side
• If possible rig the ama on the right and see what happens (some OC1 designs allow this and if you were motivated you could do it for an OC6 too)
• Raise the seat height slightly using foam pads
• Paddle with your eyes closed (when far from hazards!) and repeat the above drills

What do you use to assess the results of such training?

To evaluate whether technique training is making you faster or more efficient you can look for a few things;

• Faster training and racing results with minimal fitness training,
• A greater distance per stroke- can be measured on a set course you count strokes on or using a GPS,
• Better boat control in rough water,
• Lower heart rate for a given hull speed in similar conditions,
• Higher peak hull speed,

You're right that OC technical literature is rare, but there are some excellent resources out there and the Kanu Culture / Steve West's new book The Complete Book on Outrigger Canoeing comes to mind as one.

#32 Fri, 05/04/2007 - 10:59am

Afshin:
These are my observations from racing canoes (not OC), others have different opinions and you can translate it to OC however you may.

In our river racing, we often view the short and long stroke not exclusive of each other. We're talking about marathon and ultra-marathon races with single blades, so that is my context. But, there are situations where both are needed in the same race.

We have multi-man boats that will employ a short quick stroke of say 75 spm. Others will employ a long, deep pull with about 65 spm. I'm of the opinion that you need to use both in longer races. I've found that the long, deep pull is very effective at moving the boat faster through the water, but it's difficult to maintain for very long distances. For many of the canoe racing teams, the shorter, quicker stroke is much easier on the body and requires fewer calories and still remains below the aerobic threshold. You can keep the boat at hull cruising speed and simply crank away like this for hours. Usually, not so with the long, deep pull, unless you have an extremely fit team.

Our experience is with races that are 260, 340 and 400+ miles. So, my approach is to use a shorter quicker stroke for the majority of a long race except when we want those bursts of speed or simply to break up the monotony. We're also switching sides at about 20 strokes.

Long, but not definitive, reply to your inquiry. Often times, it comes down to what stroke you or your team can do effectively. If a soloist or team cannot effectively use a long, deep pull at a slower cadence, they may be faster with a shorter, quicker stroke -- or vice versa. We all need to practice both so we're good at both.

For you experienced OC paddlers, is this what you've found also?

Dan

#34 Fri, 08/08/2008 - 5:55am