After a too short presentation the forward stroke by Brent Reitz at Canoecopia I saw the light on body rotation. It has made quite a difference in the power of the stroke, and the chicken wing has certainly eased strain on the wrist. The DVD is on my father's day list. Question: When paddling at a more leisurely pace, is it more better to lower the cadence (pull slower) or reduce the stroke length (less body rotation?)? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I don't give a damn for a man who can spell a word only one way. Mark Twain WhiteRabbit - ICQ#111665477 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Tuesday, June 10, 2003, at 10:41 PM, WhiteRabbit wrote: > After a too short presentation the forward stroke by Brent Reitz at > Canoecopia I saw the light on body rotation. It has made quite a > difference > in the power of the stroke, and the chicken wing has certainly eased > strain > on the wrist. The DVD is on my father's day list. > > Question: When paddling at a more leisurely pace, is it more better to > lower > the cadence (pull slower) or reduce the stroke length (less body > rotation?)? I advocate doing a very different stroke when going at lower speeds than what you would use at high speeds. As I slow down, my hands and arms drop down and the paddle position becomes less vertical. I end up doing less torso rotation but keep the strokes fairly long, the cadence probably slows down as well. I think it makes sense that the biomechanics of applying full effort are probably different than what is most works "best" at low effort. Holding the paddle vertically takes effort. When you are paddling hard, this is worth while because compared to the effort required to move the boat, holding your arms up is small. And if you move your arms in a more-or-less circular motion the effort is relatively small. This effort makes less sense at more relaxed speeds. I also think it makes less sense to keep your whole torso moving a lot when the relative effort of paddling is smaller. A more relaxed paddling speed calls for a more relaxed paddling motion. Nick Schade Guillemot Kayaks 824 Thompson St Glastonbury, CT 06033 USA Ph/Fx: (860) 659-8847 http://www.guillemot-kayaks.com/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 6/11/2003 2:01:46 PM Eastern Standard Time, nick_at_guillemot-kayaks.com writes: > ... I advocate doing a very different stroke when going at lower speeds > than what you would use at high speeds. ... This is almost a more interesting topic than blade shape theory! ;-) I find that my stroke varies significantly depending on the boat, the paddle, the conditions and my intent. When I use a Greenland style paddle and slow down after faster travel, I retain some torso rotation, drop the cadence only slightly, lower my arms and then use them as little as possible, preferring to let the large muscle groups of my torso do the work rather than the small muscles in my arms and shoulders. Someone out there might even wish to explain the biomechanical advantages of that approach (not for my sake, please) -- I just find that I relax, my breathing slows and the "burn" abates. :-) Best regards, Ralph Ralph C. Hoehn Folding Boat Center P.O. Box 700 Enfield NH 03748 info_at_FoldingBoatCenter.com www.FoldingBoatCenter.com phone: +1-802-649-2555 -- Ralph phone: +1-603-632-9500 -- Alv (yup, they rhyme) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Question: When paddling at a more leisurely pace, is it more better to lower the cadence (pull slower) or reduce the stroke length (less body rotation?)? It is more better to do what feels most better to you. I've watched some really good paddlers and almost all the really good ones use torso rotation no matter what the speed. But cadence and length are quite variable. Even Nigel Foster, the best sea kayaker I've seen, paddles quite a bit behind his hip at very slow speeds. This is what I have seen a lot in racing: the faster the speed the shorter the stroke. The reach is long but the sprinting racer takes the blade out of the water earlier than when not sprinting. My own stroke gets farther in front of the cockpit the faster I paddle and the take out of the blade gets farther forward as well. So, paradoxically, the shorter stroke is the faster and the slower stroke gets long just because, I think, there is no reason to hustle the blade out of the water. Jim Tibensky *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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