Wednesday May 17th 2017 Marathon paddling is efficiency oriented and the goal is to make the boat go fast while conserving the most about of energy. It is very different from a recreational or touring stroke as it is shorter, much quicker, and does not use steering strokes (correction stroke) in the same way. There are three main phases of the stroke:
The catch (putting your blade in the water) happens as far as you can reach in front of you while still being able to plant your entire blade in the water. You can either “stab” it in, or “slide” it in from the side. It should be clean and quick. Think of it as anchoring your blade. Check out our pervious post on 'The Catch' for more details... The power phase is when you pull the boat towards your paddle. Notice I said "pull the boat", not push the water! Big difference. Think of it as if you were sitting on the ice and you stabbed your paddle into it and pulled yourself towards your paddle. This should be quiet; no turbulent water gurgling around your blade. Use your core muscles for power, not your arms. If your abs are sore at the end of the paddle, you are doing it right! As soon as the paddle passes your knees you should pull it out of the water. It shouldn’t go past your hip. The recovery is extremely quick, as you gain no forward momentum with your blade out of the water.
Paddlers switch sides every 5-10 strokes on average. This keeps the boat going straight without the need for a J-stroke. Paddlers switch sides simultaneously when a “hut” is called. It is usually the stern paddler who calls the huts. Wednesday June 29th 2016 We’ve looked at the mechanics of a good stroke, but the way you position your body has a huge effect on how well you can transfer power from your body to the boat. We’ll start at the bottom: Feet - If balance is good in the boat, having your feet in the middle and pointed up (not angled out) gives you the best reach as your knees don’t impede your forward extension. This is necessary in the bow anyway, where you often have to stack your feet in order to fit into the boat. In the stern try putting your feet in the middle like this. When you need maximum control of the boat (such as when leaning aggressively) you may need to add more contact points with it by bracing one or both legs against the sides. Legs – Your legs should be extended in front of you with your thighs almost parallel to the gunwales. Normally your knees will be a little higher than your pelvis. This is quite subjective so find the extension that is most comfortable and gives you the best leverage. Pelvis – Very important! Think of your pelvic girdle as a bowl full of water. You want to position your “bowl” as if you are gently pouring the water out in front of you. The natural tendency is to angle your pelvis too far back, holding all the water in your “bowl”. You lose a large amount of reach sitting like this and it promotes arm paddling as opposed to using your core muscles. Torso – Positioning your pelvis correctly will get your torso in the proper position. In your profile you should have a forward lean from the hips. Keep your back straight, however - don’t hunch to get that lean. You’ll know you’ve got a good forward stance if your runny nose were to drip onto your knees. Arms –Your arms should stay out in front and your upper hand should circle in front of your face during your stroke without dipping too far down (this means you’re driving your stroke too much). Your lower arm should never collapse too close to your body. Think of maintaining the “paddler’s box”: the rectangle created by your arms, the paddle, and your chest. Your arms should not have too much extra movement during your stroke. If you cock your wrist or elbow when you take the paddle out of the water, for example, you may get tendonitis issues. Common bad habits
Wednesday June 1st 2016 The catch – how your paddle enters the water and anchors – is one of the most important factors of an efficient stroke. You may have a powerful pull but if your catch is not efficient you will lose a lot of potential energy that could be translated into boat speed. The purpose of a good catch is to anchor your entire blade as quickly as possible, as far forward as possible. Your catch should enter the water near your feet. This entry point should be as far forward as you can reach while still being able to quickly bury the entire blade. An often-seen problem is a blade being only half buried when the pull begins. To get a good reach, sit properly in the seat with your pelvis forward. You should have a forward lean from the hips so if your nose was running it would drip onto your knees. Rotate your torso from the hips – away from your paddle side. Lower the shoulder of your lower hand as you reach forward for the catch. As you pull your stroke, this shoulder will gradually come up so that your stroke stays flat (travels in a horizontal line). There are two main ways to enter your blade in the water:
If your catch is good, your entire blade will be anchored quickly and quietly and will have a solid feel (you should feel no turbulence against your blade as you pull your stroke). Wednesday May 25th 2016 Marathon boats are designed with a long waterline for efficient speed and straight tracking. They have almost no rocker and are difficult to turn. In order to execute a sharp turn the bow and stern paddler have to work together. The approach to a sharp turn usually starts with the stern paddler calling a “hut” to have both paddlers paddle on the same side (opposite from the turning direction). This combined with a lean away from the turning direction builds momentum in the boat to begin turning. The bow paddler plants a blade around which the boat will turn. This is either a post or a crossbow draw. The stern paddler usually prompts this by calling “post” (or similar) but some tight race teams no longer need this to be called. Here are some things to keep in mind when executing the stroke:
Once the boat has completed most of the turn, or if you feel the boat speed really slowing down, resume paddling (usually on the opposite side of the turn). The momentum in the boat will keep it turning and the stern paddler will slowly take off the lean to resume course. Wednesday May 05th 2016 This kind of paddling is efficiency oriented and the goal is to make the boat go fast. The boats are long and narrow; they track very well and have poor initial stability, so they feel tippy when you first get in one. You’ll get used to it! The Marathon paddling stroke is very different from a recreational stroke. It is shorter, much quicker, and does not use steering strokes the same way. There are three main phases of the stroke:
The catch (putting your blade in the water) happens as far as you can reach in front of you while still being able to plant your entire blade in the water. You can either “stab” it in, or “slide” it in from the side. It should be clean and quick. Think of it as anchoring your blade. The power phase is when you pull the boat towards your paddle. Notice I said pull the boat, not push the water! Big difference. This should be quiet; no turbulent water gurgling around your blade. Use your core muscles for power, not your arms. If your abs are sore at the end of the paddle, you are doing it right! As soon as the paddle passes your knees you should pull it out of the water. It shouldn’t go past your hip. The recovery is extremely quick, as you gain no forward momentum with your blade out of the water. Paddlers switch sides every 5-10 strokes on average. This keeps the boat going straight without the need for a J-stroke. Paddlers switch sides simultaneously when a “hut” is called. It is usually the stern paddler who calls the huts. Wednesday July 29th 2015 Good changes are synchronized, quick, and maintain the glide of the boat. When things aren’t going well, they take too long and can disrupt the boat run. Here are some tips for good changes:
Wednesday May 27th 2015
Light boat Keep the stroke in front of you and paddle with a positive angle. This pushes down on the water and that pops the boat up (especially in the shallow conditions we have had lately!) Paddling behind you with a negative angle means you lift up water with your paddle. This is tiring, but also sucks the boat down and makes it heavier. Try these things to keep your boat lighter:
Wednesday August 20th 2014
All paddling is good paddling, but different kinds of boats need to be paddled in different ways. Recreational paddling often involves some j-strokes and steering strokes behind a paddler's hip. However, in marathon where the main goal is going fast and the boats are lighter, it pays to keep your strokes up front and minimize the drag of paddling behind you. Lighter, up-front strokes keep a light marathon boat moving, without being as muscular or tiring as deep strokes that pull way back. Many of the marathon tips are similar to those we covered when we talked about keeping the boat light a few weeks back:
Wednesday June 25th 2014
Draw strokes help steer the boat from the front and the back. A draw stroke will bring your end of the boat toward your paddle. The person in the bow may need to make micro adjustments when wash-riding in order to keep a line, and they need to take initiative on this since the stern person can’t always see. These little draws are like a forward stroke, but with a much wider catch, like a 30-degree angle stroke. These keep the boat moving forward and add speed, but also correct the direction a little bit. A ‘post’ is a draw stroke that doesn’t move. You place the paddle in the water and hold it there. In both cases the water force should always be on the power face (pulling side) of the blade, not the backside. You can adjust the angle with your top hand to grab more or less water. A strong draw stroke has the shaft almost vertical; this means your top hand needs to be far out over the water. Wednesday May 7th 2014 Smashing down into the catch can make your boat bouncy and it limits your stroke rate. ‘sneaking’ the blade in sideways keeps the boat running smoother and also allows for higher turnover. Try the side entry catch drill when you are sitting still. Keep your bottom hand in the same spot and move your top hand in and out. Think about angling the blade forward so the catch gives you more reach (angling it back gives you less). |
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