Re: [Paddlewise] Torso Rotation

Marvin brings up a good question about torso rotation.

I found myself wondering this yesterday.  I was paddling comfortably, almost
effortlessly in a nice cruise mode, when I wondered if this is what my
stroke should feel like because it felt so effortless and I was making
excellent way. Then, as if I wouldn't notice, I looked at the mechanics of
my stroke as I kept on paddling.  I noticed that I was not pulling with my
arms very much, though there was a slight pull from my lower hand, I was
leveraging the paddle against my upper hand using that slight pull and the
rotation at the "waist" (not so much my waist rotating as my upper body,
that is, chest and shoulders).  I noticed a definite rotation but not
pronounced at all at my waist. I turned to head back into the wind and had
to work harder, but tried not to think about it too much as I was more
focused on "getting back to the put in" (I was dying of thirst having left
my water bottle in the car, the wind was picking up, it was thinking as if
to rain, and I had to teach a class in an hour I hadn't really prepared
completely for).  I notice that when I am power stroking for speed or
against the wind, I rotate a lot more and leverage a lot more.  I feel my
legs "pedaling" more as I increase my stroke power and speed, in part to
"push" the boat, and in part to brace against the stroke. (I have to say I
didn't notice the resistance against the wind with my unfeathered paddle,
but the breeze was only about 10-15 knots).

In several occasions in the past I asked myself how much rotation was
enough.  I think this was perfect for the conditions I was in. How much I
rotate, I would say, depends on how hard I am working at each stroke, but it
never seems to be very much when I leave it alone: my breastbone was moving
about 2-3" to either side in easy cruise I guess, and when working, maybe an
inch more. Without thinking about it, but simply (okay, touchy-feely-fru-fru
stuff here) letting my body go with the flow, I thought the boat forward and
the stroke resulted .  I would like to attribute this to athleticism, but I
think it was more entropy...  Being lazy, by entropy and Brownian motion I
seek the least amount of work for a balance of comfort and speed.  Somehow
this seems to be somewhat equal to efficient and I was flying along with
minimum effort.  How much rotation is enough?  I would have to say whatever
amount keeps me going without wearing me out at whatever it is I am doing (I
am getting there more or less comfortably, without exhausting or hurting
myself). Using my arms more may reflect less upper body rotation and make me
tire more quickly (wimpy chicken arm boy that I am) while letting my trunk
do most of the work requires less overt effort. Entropy in action :-)

IRT sitting up, I've also played with this a lot.  I feel more stable and in
control seated more upright, but my left leg gets wicked numb after about 45
minutes. A touch of lean back and I can feel the efficiency leave my stroke
but my leg doesn't go numb (damn, I used efficiency and stroke in the same
sentence... I should have been paying more attention to the efficiency
posts!).  Moving the footbraces back just made them harder to reach.  I am
working on my flexibility, conditioning and posture in the boat.  I think I
am getting the posture/numbness balance down (more flex, less
cheeseburger...).

Ken Schroeter

Old Town Millennium 160
Laconia, NH, USA
43°32'25"N
71°28'59"W

There is no moral precept that does not have
something inconvenient about it.

            -- Denis Diderot








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