Re: [Paddlewise] Leg Power (was an apology to Jim et. al. - )

Every flatwater kayaker I have seen pushes with the onside leg.  That is,
they drive with the leg that is on the same side as the stroke.  I have
studied quite a few racers and videos of races and I have yet to see an
exception.  I believe the idea is to increase the rotation of the torso by
rotating the hips with the legs.  Your legs are generally even more
powerful than the back.  The knees are really high to provide a lot of
travel for that side of the hip.  When I use the technique I slide about
4".  This works really well in a sprint kayak with an open flat seat that
the paddler can slide on.  It is less noticable in a snuggly fitted sea
kayak, but it does still work.  In my 17'x24" freighter of a sea kayak and
a Werner Kuai paddle  I can sprint over 7 knots and cruise at 5+ knots.
Pushing with the other leg just feels wrong after all that practice. I
can't see how pushing with the opposite leg can help tracking much.
Assuming the force on your paddle blade is going to be the same as that on
your foot, the moment of the paddle blade can be about 4 times bigger than
that of your foot on the peg.  I don't know if Olympic paddlers use the
rudder for stroke induced yaw correction or just to track the course.

Daniel


At 08:44 PM 6/25/99 -0700, Matt Broze wrote:
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Bhansen97_at_aol.com <Bhansen97_at_aol.com>
> The various
>>posts on forward technique have been of interest to me - some of the
>>approaches (push with the same foot as your on-water arm) are quite
>different
>>from what I've been taught both in ACA and BCU courses. But I guess that's
>>why they make chocllate, vanilla, and strawberry.
>> Bill Hansen
>
> I have always pushed with foot on the side of the stroke.( Disclosure: I
>never took any lessons when I started kayaking.) It seemed so natural that
>when first read some literature (ACA I believe) recently that said to do the
>opposite I thought it was a typo. Later I read the keeping your boat
>straighter explanation and it seemed to make a certain sense. When I tried
>it it felt awkward. But, to somebody with 25 years of doing the opposite how
>could it be otherwise, maybe it wouldn't be awkward for a beginner. Then I
>thought, "maybe thats why I can't keep up with Greg Barton". At least why he
>goes by me like I'm standing still. I haven't watched Olympic paddlers close
>enough since reading this to know what they really do other than having
>their knees way more vertical than I do. Strange I should pay so little
>attention to the feet when I had read many things regarding racing strokes
>both before and after the wing revolution. I guess I just took my way as a
>given. I looked at Andree's pictures of Olympic paddlers but couldn't tell
>which knee was up under the spraydeck. I use my legs alot when paddling,
>especially when paddling hard. The lack of solid footpedals with most rudder
>systems is very annoying and when I remove one foot from a solid pedal I go
>in circles. My question is WHAT DO OLYMPIC PADDLERS ACTUALLY DO?
>Sub-question: If they do it the same way I do it how did the ACA/BCUer's get
>it so wrong?
>
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