Re: [Paddlewise] A new way to teach the forward stroke?

Niels, I just watched your second video and I think you are getting things all
mixed up.

If you use your patented roller device to hold up your paddle for you, aren't
you defeating your having gravity help you move forward?

Are you aware that some Eskimos use their front deck as a support for a heavy
paddle and at least some of the time use the same sliding stroke you use to
keep the paddle and arm weight supported? One inventor hangs his paddle from a
cord from a "crane" that arches over his head from the back deck.

To someone putting enough effort into paddling to move their kayak near its
hull speed (which takes many times more energy than it does to move the kayak
at two knots--figure on doubling the effort for each knot faster you go) the
rest part of the stroke is when you have both blades out of the water not
during the power stroke.
During that rest time you do lift one part of the paddle but that is somewhat
compensated for because you are lowering the other half of the paddle at the
same time so the effective weight is about the weight of the paddle and you
are only having to use the trapezoid (neck to shoulder--hold up) muscles for a
very short period of time because you don't want to let the kayak slow much
between strokes because accelerating the kayak again requires a lot more
energy than maintaining a given speed. Once a blade is in the water again you
aren't having to hold up the paddle with the trapezoids (which is one reason
you can paddle a lot longer than you can simply hold up a paddle). So you hold
up the paddle only momentarily with the trapezoids and get to rest those
"holding up" muscles during the power phase of the stroke (which is definitely
not the time of rest when moving fast). By switching sides each stroke you are
getting a rest for the stroke muscles you just used before you need to use
them again as well (which is one reason why weather helm in a kayak is so
frustrating and also one reason why canoe racers switch sides every eight
strokes--although if it weren't for the turning factor they would probably not
switch nearly as often as that).

You use bigger torso muscles because moving near hull speed you will tire out
the small arm muscles quickly if you try to use them to put the amount of
energy into the water needed to maintain a fast speed. I used to race sea
kayaks and I would switch off strokes when the muscles I had been using would
get too tired and achy even though I knew the new stroke I was resting those
muscles with was not quite as powerful or efficient as the main stroke I had
been using.

Your "vertical rest stroke" does rest you from having to hold up the paddle
with the "hold up paddle" muscles (as does any stroke) but you are still using
other muscles to hold up the paddle (unless maybe you have your patented
device or a very buoyant blade that floats the paddle and arms with just one
blade in the water). I've not yet seen such a buoyant blade paddle and though
it is theoretically possible, I suspect there would be major disadvantages or
compromises to it. At the start of the paddle stroke you are pushing somewhat
down on the water (holding up the paddle with the downward effort--and the
reason you don't usually take a long stroke is so that you don't waste energy
lifting water near the end of your stroke).

Paddling against a dock is not a good representation of what happens during a
stroke because when the boat doesn't move the paddle must be pulled through
the water rather than remain planted rather solidly in the water while you
pull the sleek (compared to a paddle) kayak through the water. Pushing a
briefcase is also a poor model for paddling.

Racers used to use a stroke of about 45 degrees to vertical but with the
advent of wing paddles the stroke is steeper because the wing blade needs to
be moved sideways through the water to get the wing effect working. Paddling
too far from the kayak is wasting some energy in trying to turn the kayak more
rather than move it forward. A compromise is needed here though because if you
need to bury the paddle too deep to paddle right next to the kayak that makes
for even more loss of efficiency. Even with a non-wing paddle, I think the
wing paddle stroke, that starts next to the kayak and moves out away from the
kayak until it comes out of the water, is more efficient than a straight back
stroke because it keeps the blade moving into water you haven't gotten moving
back yet (provides a better grip on the water--so less strokes are needed to
go a given distance at a given speed--and therefore less decellerations
between strokes that must be made up for to maintain the average speed).
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