At 10:47 PM 9/3/2004 -0700, Kathea Rasmussen wrote: >Ken Rasmussen >kayakfit_at_fidalgo.net >www.kayakfit.com > >subject: Greenland Paddle,Toksook feather angle, and sculling with wooden >paddles > > Regarding feather, I don't think you can paddle 90 degree feather without >cocking the wrist. That is the reason why 75, 60, and 45 degree paddles came >into existence. For me, 57 to 60 degrees of feather results in exactly the >correct attitude of the non-control hand blade when I merely raise my control >hand. On the control hand side I'm holding the paddle so that it is at the >correct attitude as it enters the water with a straight wrist. About 5 years ago I took a class with Derek Hutchinson and listened to his speech about his 90 degree feather Toksook and wrist problems and such. Despite what some people think of him, what he said made a lot of sense to me. Perhaps you can't with a 90 degree feather without some cocking of the wrist, but to paraphrase what he was saying, it's not the paddle that causes the wrist problem, it's repeatedly bending the wrist to the maximum range of motion. The key point is the bending of the wrist to the maximum range of motion, and doing so repeatedly. Dropping the elbow and bring the control hand to your should will reduce the amount of bend in your wrist whether you're using a 90, 60, or 45 degreed feathered paddle. I can't believe that a small amount of bend in the wrist with each stroke is going to cause problems. That's what wrists do. I would imagine that if one paddle with completely straight wrists all the time it's going to put a more strain on the elbow joint because it would need to bend more to set the correct paddle angle. It was seem to me that a little bend in the wrist and a bit more bend in the elbow would put the least amount of strain on both joints. Something else that is rarely mentioned, though I often do when teaching beginners is keeping the wrists from bending sideways. When beginners first pick up a paddle the width of their hands on the shaft often varies. Typically people use the "put the shaft on your head" and hold your hands "about shoulder length apart". I just have them grab the paddle and look at their wrists. If their hands are two close then their wrists are bent in toward each other. Hold the paddle with your wrists lined up straight with your forearm and the paddle is gripped in the right place. John Fereira jaf30_at_cornell.edu Ithaca, NY *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sat Sep 04 2004 - 09:07:02 PDT
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