Re: [Paddlewise] Torso rotation

So, I should feel the stokes in my legs.  Which means I should make sure
that I am properly fitted/tight in my boat.   Hmmm.  More work to be done.

>From this I presume that any back support/seat rest/back band should only
support the very small of the back, or more actually, just keep your pelvis
locked into the boat, as I really want to be rotatin all of my spine.

If I am really doing all this rotating, I will be doing quite a bit of
rotating of my spray skirt.  Maybe I should have left more play in the
tube/deck of the skirt.  Right now it is nice and 'drum' tight.

Marvin

From: "James Tibensky" <jtibensky_at_msn.com>

> The pressure on the backband comes from the legs, so the more you use
them,
> the more pressure and the more important the band becomes.  I had
mentioned
> in an earlier post that I knew a 500 meter world champion from Poland who
> routinely broke footbraces and ripped seats off their moorings [sprint
boats
> have seats with very high backs that act as a backband], that's how hard
he
> pushed with his legs.
>
> The way I learned to use my torso was to stand in front of a full-length
> mirror and paddle with a light iron bar [a short paddle would do, or even
a
> broomstick, but I was also developing my shoulder muscles].  I made a
> paddling motion and aimed by top hand directly at my nose reflected in the
> mirror.  I exaggerated the rotation a lot. I found my hips doing a "hula"
> motion up and down, which is not good in the boat [but quite OK for this
> mirror exercise], so I then had to learn to keep the rotation in a
> horizontal plane.  In the boat you will find your legs "bicycling" - it
> shows that you're using them strongly as well as rotating well. After two
> months of this my style in the boat caught up.  When I taught at the
> Madawaska Kanu Centre I was always the poster child for torso rotation, so
I
> must have learned the lesson well. And I was successful in sprint, slalom,
> downriver and marathon racing, so the proof is in the pudding.
>
> Hope this adds something useful to your growing library on the forward
> stroke.
>
> Jim Tibensky
> ps
> Being flexible really helps.  Bob Anderson's wonderful book "Stretching"
can
> help with that.
>
> _________________________________________________________________
> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
>



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