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Dragon Boat Canada


IDBF


Canoe Kayak Canada

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[tjl]

3. No catch. Start the pull before the blade is buried.

Not from what I always hear from OC coaches.  It is always to put the blade all the way in before you pull.  Otherwise, you might as well have a smaller blade on your paddle.

However, the 5-20 "sit up" is not favored in OC from what I see, since the lighter boat tends to bounce more if you "sit up".  Also, the OC paddle being bent forward keeps the blade closer to vertical on average through the stroke, so the usefulness of the "sit up" in DB (with straight paddles) to keep the blade closer to vertical through more of the stroke is not as applicable to OC.  Given the lesser or nonexistent advantage for doing the "sit up" in OC, and the greater disadvantage as well as making the stroke harder to learn and do properly, I would not expect it to be used in OC much, except perhaps by clubs that do mostly DB using the "sit up".

Lifting the top arm high on exit may be a more paddling style thing -- but it may increase the risk of shoulder injury in some people.  But the top arm should not be coming in too low either on exit, since that is wasted motion.  DB paddlers may need to make some adjustment in the exit to avoid slapping waves too much when padding OC in rougher water than a DB can safely go in.

Paddling styles do vary from club to club (i.e. different OC clubs may have different styles, as different DB clubs may have different styles).  So you may want to find paddlers from other OC clubs as well to see what they have to say.

[Backward Rowing]

[Purged]* I have seen this style with a lot of former recreational canoeist.  They are more long distance, less strenuous type of paddling in comparison to iron OC-6 competitors and sprint dragon boaters.  Unfortunately, this does style does not maximize power and efficiency; however, it does allow the body to move in a regular, circular movement.  The people who use this style with me were usually grand-master level not interested in making great distances in the practice.

1.Lose the high top arm no power will result from this .

Super high top hand (above your head) is great if you want to spear the water.  Low top hand (forehead level) angles out the blade further forward for a longer stroke.

6.Exit  should  be a full D stroke with the blade brought up very high and top arm dropping low in the boat.

Yes, you want the blade to skim the water in the recovery.  The recovery should be slow, as you are in a long distance race, not a sprint, and you want to take advantage of the glide.  The blade is brought high in case of big waves.  No, you still want to use the least amount of strength, so you don't want it so high that it takes energy to lift the blade.  Also you don't want to drop the top arm low as it take energy to bring it back high again for the pre-catch.  A trick would be to use the top hand to twist the blade, so the blade feathers the water (and cuts through those pesky rogue waves).

As for everything else (2-5), I totally disagree with.  With myself, I could last 90 seconds with arms, longer with lats, but it is the core that keeps you going. You need the good catch or else you are pulling air. You need leg drive as it is part of the core (total body motion). You need to lean to get a further reach.

If you want to see an example, try this (without jumping out of the boat )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLTXVCHj5sI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAHE5ooUHMI

We love youtube!

*Apologies to Colossus, I didn't read the first line of his response: first off i'll say this:  different strokes for different folks.  what works for some people might not necessarily work for others.

[Colossus]

not once did i say he was "wrong".  in fact, the first thing i wrote was "what works for some doesn't always work for others".  what i DID alude to, was that the technique said "expert" was preaching was FAR from efficient.  there is no such thing as a "wrong" technique on the greater scheme of things.  there is lack of efficiency, there is incorrect technique when comparing to a desired model, but no "wrong" technique.  BUT, no matter the purpose of the paddle (leisurely, or for racing), efficient technique is desirable.

perhaps you should read posts properly before trying to call people out on things you don't know much about?

[rightarm]

perhaps you should read posts properly before trying to call people out on things you don't know much about?

and take all the fun out of the forum? what the heck are you thinking?!

[Colossus]

eh.  tired of him/her flapping his/her fingers on and on about topics they have no in-depth knowledge or information about.  its not nearly as bad here (yet?) as it was on the east coast forum until several people (hopefully?) put said person in their proper place. 

*edit*  this probably makes me sound like a complete jerk, prick, ass, etc, but whatever.  go read the east coast forums to get an idea about what i'm talking about.  there is a difference between ignorant posting and KNOWING you're posting out of ignorance and accepting correction, and ignorant posting thinking you know a whole lot of everything about whatever the post concerns.  backwards rowing tends to do a lot of the latter. 

[Backward Rowing]

not once did i say he was "wrong". 

I stand corrected and will correct my post.  I did not see the first line in Colossus's response.