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You need a surprising array of paddling strokes once
you start on the sea or river trips and surfing.
Depending on who guides you on the technique there seem
to be a variety of ways of performing each stroke as
well. However, for the group that recently did the BCU 3
Star Assessment, it was obvious that the assessor was
looking for 'very effective' strokes and hence had a
particular view on how they should be done; which was
not necessarily the way most of us had learnt or become
accustomed to doing the strokes.
The most important factor was a good forward posture
- on every stroke (forward, backwards, draws, supports,
etc.). Leaning backwards in support strokes (even
sculling support) was a definite 'fail' at 3*. So you
must keep that forward posture and work on your
edging... The other lesson was 'get your hanging draw
stroke working before you go'. Before we start we need
to define an OPEN blade position and a CLOSED blade
position. Start with the paddle vertical in the water,
with the front face of the blade nearest to the boat and
parallel with the boat's side:
- An Open position means slightly twist the paddle so
the front edge of the blade moves away from the boat.
The amount is twist is generally quite small (10-20
degrees). If someone was standing at the bow, they can
now see more of the front of the blade, hence if you are
travelling forward this catches the water flow and
deflects it under the boat.
- A Closed position means slightly twist the paddle so
the back edge of the blade moves away from the boat. The
amount is twist is generally quite small (10-20
degrees). If someone was standing at the bow, they can
now see more of the back of the blade, hence if you are
travelling forward this catches the water flow and
deflects it away from the boat.
Forward: Good forward posture - relaxed grip on
paddle - use the body muscles by rotating your body
trunk (do not just use your arms) - look ahead (do not
look right in front of you or at the paddles - look for
what is coming further away).
Backward: Good forward posture still - relaxed
grip on paddle - look behind mostly over one shoulder -
rotate your body trunk. Sweep
stokes - Good forward posture - as you sweep rotate
your body and face to look in the direction that you are
going to turn (not at the bow or paddle). Forward sweep
starts near the bow and comes back to the hips. Reverse
sweep start as far back as you can (by rotating) and
comes forward to the hips.
Sideways draws (either J or sculling) - rotate your
body and look in where you are trying to go. Both J and
sculling stokes are done quite slowly (do not rush).
J-Draw - reach out with paddle as vertical as you
can (upper hand near your temple as your head is turned)
and paddle blade parallel with the boat (maybe 60cm from
the boat side). Pull the blade towards you thereby
moving the boat sideways. As the paddle nears the boat,
turn the paddle blade through 90 degrees so it slices
back through the water back to its starting position.
Turn the blade back parallel to the boat and repeat. Be
careful not to let the paddle reach the boat's side as
it can get trapped and you risk capsizing.
Sculling Draw - possibly harder to master but
very effective at moving sideways. Again with paddle as
vertical as you can (upper hand near your temple as your
head is turned) and paddle blade parallel with the boat
(but this time close to the boat's side) . Slice the
paddle forwards and backwards parallel to the boat and
then slightly open (turn) the face of the blade (only
around 10 degrees) as you push forwards. At the forward
point, twist the blade so it is slightly closed and then
slice it backwards. At the back point of the slice,
twist the blade back again so the paddle is slightly
open and repeat, slowly!
Support strokes - low brace, high
brace, sculling. All these are done with a forward
posture (no leaning back!!). All are done with elbows
bent and hands below shoulder height (do not extend your
arm/shoulder!!).
- Low brace uses the back of the paddle and can be
either a firm downward push and hip flick back upright,
or a forward skim of the paddle blade across the surface
and hip flick. Elbows should be bent about 90 degrees
and be at your sides.
- High brace (or low-high brace) uses the front of the
paddle on the water with elbows still close to your
sides but more bent (120-150 degrees). Firmly push the
paddle down on the water surface and hip flick upright.
Do not extend your arm/shoulder to be straight!
- Sculling support uses similar position to the
high brace with elbows down low and bent. The front of
the paddle is skated forward & back across the surface
of the water from near the bow to near perpendicular
(NOT to the back of the boat). Keep the stroke slow!
Stern Rudder - make sure your body
is rotated and you are looking where you are turning
towards. Do not place the blade too far behind (so you
end up leaning backwards) but far enough to get the
rudder effect.
Bow Rudder - this is not much more
than a forward leaning draw stoke with a slightly open
blade face. With a good forward posture put the blade in
as vertical as you can with the blade parallel with the
boat and then open (turn) the blade to catch the water
flow. The opposite side hand should be near your
forehead, though of course your forehead should be
looking where you are turning, so really your upper hand
is by your temple.
Moving Draw Strokes - used to move
the boat sideways whilst travelling to avoid an obstacle
in front (rock, buoy, log, etc.). Two versions typically
- an adaptation of the J-draw stroke and secondly the
hanging draw:
Moving Sidedraw - basically you just reach out to
one side with a near a vertical paddle as you can and
pull the paddle towards you - thereby moving the boat
towards that side. Instead of completing the J, you turn
the paddle to face the back of the boat and complete
with the second half of a normal paddle stoke (i.e. just
turn it into a paddling stroke and keep paddling). The
position relative to your hips that you start and pull
at is chosen by practice to pull the boat sideways
without turning it - typically this position is near
your hips.
Hanging Draw - this seems quite difficult to
master and needs to be performed linked in with other
strokes. To move the boat to the right, start with the
first half of a gentle right hand sweep stoke (this will
turn the boat slightly left which is counter intuitive
but helps). Then, keeping the paddle in the water all
the time, raise the paddle shaft vertically with the
paddle near your hips, looking right with upper hand
near your temple, and slightly open the face of the
blade. With luck and practice this will draw the boat
sideways to the right (leaving a nice snail-trail of
smooth water to your left showing you have slipped to
the right). The position of your paddle relative to your
hips needs practice to get a sideways movement and not a
turn, however the sweep stroke at the start really helps
this effect and makes it easier to get the sideways
motion. |
