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

John Kirk-Anderson wrote:

> 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.

Thanks for trying it out, John. When all's said and done, there's just 
one thing that matters: Does it help in instruction?

> 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.

I usually have a guest-instructor doing the forward stroke in lesson 3, 
while I handle lessons 1 and 2 with getting in and out of a kayak, going 
forward without going in circles, capsizes and rescues and a 
demonstration of what _can_ be done with a kayak.

In lesson 3, they'll get the normal instruction anyway, so I plan to 
include my vertical-rest-stroke in lesson 1, just to see if they pick it up.


> 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.

Luckily, I have no reason to scratch my head for several hours. ;-)

But if we look at light activities that ARE performed for long 
durations, like typing, channel-surfing and playing musical instruments, 
you'll find that the more experienced the performer, the smaller the 
movements.
I'm talking about _classical_ musicians: Rock-artists tend to go the 
other way, making their movements as large as possible. I don't think 
they do the same in the studio, though.

Niels
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