Re: [Paddlewise] Motion of control hand in feathering

From: James Tibensky <jimtibensky_at_hotmail.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001 12:47:45 -0600
John Gibbs said:

>After learning the conventional practice of keeping a constant grip on the
>control hand and cocking it back to stroke on the opposite side, I noticed
>that my natural response to controlling a feathered paddle was to rotate 
>and
>re-grip the paddle on both sides, so that neither hand has a fixed grip.

I always thought that everyone must be doing this, at least a little.  I 
have always used a 90 degree feather [old dogs and new tricks]and, as I have 
mentioned before, no human wrist can move back 90 degrees from starting at 
the paddle stroke point. [To demonstrate, put your arm flat on a table, get 
a protractor and measure how many degrees back you can bend your wrist. It 
won't be 90.]  After 36 years of paddling a lot, the bumps and callouses on 
the inside of the bottom joint of my thumbs show that both hands are getting 
friction from the grips of the paddle.  The control hand just gets less.  My 
analysis is that I put the non-controlled side into the water with the hands 
loose in such a way that the rotational force of the water on the tip of the 
blade seats the paddle into the proper position and then I clamp down.  This 
is a rather subtle thing, but I'm pretty certain that's what is happening.

All of which probably changes nothing in the real world.  A loose grip is a 
good thing, no matter what the theory is.

Jim Tibensky
>

>
>
>
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Received on Mon Dec 03 2001 - 10:48:02 PST

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