This article from a couple of years ago is offered for what it's worth, not as the final word: TEACHING TORSO ROTATION IN THE FORWARD KAYAK STROKE This is a new method to use for teaching the forward stroke. I have only employed it a few times, so there may be (probably are!) bugs in it that I have not yet stumbled across. Feedback is welcome. Jim Tibensky jtibensky_at_msn.com Theory The purpose of the forward stroke is to move the boat efficiently. The more muscles that can be involved in performing the stroke, the less strain on any one set of muscles. A clean, efficient stroke will allow the paddler to have power when needed and to go long distances when necessary. After the students have been given the fundamental principles of a good forward stroke, such as length, placement of blade, cadence and so on, the concept of using the whole body can be introduced. The most common way to teach torso involvement in the forward stroke has been to have the students paddle with their elbows locked straight, forcing the students to rely on their arms less and the rest of their upper body and waist more. This is clumsy, at best, and is not a real-world technique that most paddlers use when doing a normal stroke. The forward sweep stroke, properly done, involves the legs, waist and back muscles more than does the forward stroke when the forward stroke is done without torso involvement. The goal of this lesson is to have the students learn to use the muscles that are involved in the forward sweep to perform the forward stroke. Lesson Start with a lesson on the forward sweep. Be sure the students are getting their legs and lower body into the strokes. ( I like to do this without explaining that the goal is torso rotation so that there is the element of surprise when the students later realize the purpose of the forward sweep lesson.) Once everyone has a solid sweep, move on to the forward stroke. Explain the basic components of a good stroke, including using as many torso muscles and leg muscles as possible. Have the students practice and demonstrate and critique each others stroke. Assuming that none of them are using good torso rotation, ask them to paddle for a minute or so using the forward stroke, only this time, ask them to pay close attention to what muscles they feel working the most. After they have done this, they will probably say that they have used their arms the most, with waist and legs as possibilities as well. Now have them go back to the forward sweep, again paying close attention to what muscles they feel working the most. They should now say that they feel their legs, waist and back working more than in the forward stroke. Introduce the next part as being the solution to using those sweep muscles in the forward stroke. Technique Demonstrate and then have the students practice blending a forward sweep into a forward stroke. Start by doing five or six sweeps on each side: left - right - left - right, etc. The boat will S-turn its way along. After five or six sweeps, start bringing the lower hand (the one whose blade is in the water) closer to the hull. Do this gradually, moving in a few inches at a time. At the same time have the upper arm start to punch gradually higher above the hull instead of just crossing it along the deck. After ten strokes or so, there should be a very torso-involved forward stroke. There is almost no change in arm motion from the sweep to the forward stroke, its only a matter of shaft angles and blade distance from the hull. Remind the students to drop back into this sweep-blended-into-forward stroke practice technique any time they want to work on torso rotation. *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:37 PDT