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

Hi Niels,

First up, I must commend you for taking a different look at something so 
familiar as the forward paddle stroke, and seeking a better way to 
understand/explain/teach it.

I haven't followed the threads, some seem a little heavy for me, so 
apologies if I have missed something important.

I'm not very good with physics, nor am I a mechanical engineer, so I simply 
watched your video and went and tried your ideas out.

My conclusion, after two paddles, one a couple of days ago in flat calm 
water, and one today in 15 knots, was that the idea of allowing the paddle 
to "drop" was a good way of getting a relaxed entry and encouraged a flowing 
motion. For this reason I may use part of this explanation when instructing.

However I found it was not an efficient (I use that term in reference to 
forward motion, not in an engineering application) way of paddling, as my 
speed dropped markedly (nothing measured, just feeling) as I was relaxing 
during what should have been the "power phase" of my stroke, when the blade 
was fully submerged and I could employ my body rotation to power the paddle.

I think your way of looking at the stroke may be a good way to teach the 
fundimentals, but I would then rapidly move the student to getting more bang 
for their buck.

Regarding using the smallest muscles necessary to get the job done, your 
example was scratching your head, I wonder how you would scratch your head 
if you had to do it for several hours? I suspect that the shoulder and back 
muscles would soon come into play rather than the fingers.

Anyway, my two cents worth. Thanks for making me think again about the core 
concepts of what we do, always a good exercise.

Cheers

JKA

John Kirk-Anderson
Banks Peninsula
New Zealand 
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