No matter how
practiced a canoeist you are, you can develop bad habits, or
“bugs” in your paddling stroke. Let’s review the basic
principles of pulling a canoe forward through the water so we can
better enjoy trips to come.
One thing that
“bugs” me is canoeists who lean forward as they paddle. I
wonder if Mom ever taught them to sit up straight. They should.
Power and performance in a canoe come from the back, not from
leaning forward, and not really from the arms, either. Sit up
straight, let your body paddle the canoe, and you’ll find all
kinds of untapped power flowing into your paddle blade.
Head up
How do you sit up straight? One way is to start at the top:
stabilize your head. Visualize your head moving neither forward or
back, nor side to side. A stable head encourages body rotation
with each forward stroke. That rotary motion of your body is done
with your back, which is more powerful than the strongest of arms.
Furthermore, a stable head keeps your body centered in the boat,
so your canoe maintains an even keel. A straight posture also
allows you to relax; it’s tiring to lean forward all the time.
Relaxing in a canoe is a good thing, whether you are moving with
purpose or just gunkholing. When you sit straight, relaxed, and
with a stable head, you can look around and paddle with more
efficient power. Ask a friend to watch you paddle. Does your head
stay in one place? If so, good!
Arms Locked
Next, focus on the arms. Power comes from
strong back muscles as you rotate; consider each arm to be a
connector between your back and your paddle. That’s not to say
your arms don’t move; they do. But if you want to learn how it
should feel, lock your arms, elbows tight, and take a couple of
practice strokes. Even standing on shore doing “air” strokes
with rigid arms, you can tell how your body must rotate to
complete a stroke (remember, your head stays still). Your back
rotation around your spine is your engine; your arms connect the
engine to the paddle. Take that same feeling in the canoe with you
as you paddle. There’s the body rotation you seek.
Sit up straight,
reach up high to place your paddle in the water, choke up the
lower hand on the paddle shaft, and finish up with a relaxing
rotating flourish to rewind your engine.
Grip Hand High
Now that you’re using your body (feels strong, doesn’t it?),
help yourself by allowing your grip hand to rise high as you reach
forward with the paddle. No mealy arm-action stroke for
you—reach that upper hand high and plant your blade in front
without leaning forward. Sound contradictory? Here’s another
trick to make this work: move your lower hand up the paddle shaft
a bit (choke up). Adjust your lower hand so it remains just above
the gunwale throughout your paddling motion. Instead of leaning
forward to extend your blade, let the lower portion of the paddle
shaft do the extension for you, while you stay centered in the
boat. You paddle with more authority and increase the range of
your paddle blade. No need to lean forward to grab water; it will
come to you if you let it. You will feel the difference when you
paddle, and if you find your lower hand slipping back into old
habits, wrap a few turns of skinny duct tape where the lower hand
should be to help remind you.
Follow Up
We’re nearly finished here. You’re sitting up, reaching up,
and choking up. Now “follow up” to prepare
your body for the next stroke. Whether
you use a high recovery (vertical paddle) or a
horizontal recovery (across your body), this movement
should be the “relax” part of your stroke—while at the same
time rewinding your torso to power the next stroke. I
think a canoe paddle recovery is the “elegant” portion of
canoeing. It’s one independent element that our double-bladed
brethren don’t share, since their recovery on one side is
concurrent with a power stroke on the other. For canoeists, a
relaxed recovery is a moment to be savored.
And there you have
it: sit up straight, reach up high to place your paddle in the
water, choke up the lower hand on the paddle shaft, and finish up
with a relaxing rotating flourish to rewind your engine.
I can feel it already; the bugs are leaving your forward stroke!
Good paddling!
