Re: [Paddlewise] Greenland Style Paddles

Rick,

There is dipping, and there is paddling, using the parlance of some of my
paddling buddies ... who mainly paddle tandems.  For them, a "dipper" is
another would-be paddler in their boat who is not putting out much effort,
but only "dipping" their paddle.  OTOH, a "paddler" in their boat is a
partner who is really putting some effort into his/her stroke.

In short, strenuous paddling requires strong muscle activity, whether you
term it "strength", "endurance" or something else.

Could be you have something specific in mind when you say "using strength"
which relates to the use of particular groups of muscles (arm and shoulder,
perhaps) in lieu of other groups (torso, back, perhaps) -- the latter
indicating use of a better technique.  If that's what you mean, then we are
probably on the same wavelength.

In the case of a Greenland paddle, when I used one __very briefly__ I could
not get as much instantaneous muscle demand as I could with my wimpy
small-blade-face 220 cm Euro paddle, especially on entry, which attracts me
because it will help me with my tendonitis problems.  Could be when I use one
for more than a short period, and develop my technique, I'll find myself
using "strength" in different muscle groups ... which I must, in order to
maintain the sorts of cruising speeds I achieve with my Euro paddle.  This is
a consequence of conservation of energy, I expect, inasmuch as I will have to
work about as hard whichever paddle I use -- but the muscle groups used might
be different, and I might be able to even out the force throughout the
stroke, instead of having peaks and valleys in the force applied.

--
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com>

> Okay... long narrow Greenland versus short fat Euro... I can see the
> "Shovel" analogy.  And those who paddle Greenland all say that it's an
> easier stroke once you get accustomed to it.  But beyond that, would you
> consider the Euro style to be strength oriented?  All my learning has
> taught me that if you're using strength, you've got a problem with your
> technique.  Perhaps I'm taking the work "strength" too literally.

> Larry, when you said strength, did you mean to imply "arm and shoulder
> muscles" for propulsion, or just "not as easy as Greenland"?  Because,
> if Euro style is strength oriented, then I've got to go back and
> re-learn a bunch of stuff  :-(  and consider switching to Greenland
> myself  :-)
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