Snappy Exit

I recently was asked a question about foot position in Dragon Boat.  SHould you be foot forward like a C-1, and if so, whcih foot?  Maybe both feet back, or both forward?  This was one of the first things I worried about when I got into a Dragon Boat.  I assumed that the best way would be to try and emulate the C-1 position as much as possible by sticking my outside leg under my seat and putting my inside leg forward.  But I found this to be VERY uncomfortable and made me feel like I was falling off of my seat.

I quickly settled into  a both-feet-forward position where I put my outside foot on top of my inside foot and lock both feet as much as possible against the side of the boat so they don’t move around.  It works well for me because:

1.  I am able to keep my hip close to the side of the boat.
2.  I am able to still get my weight on the catch.
3.  I am comfortable enough in the boat to paddle for long periods.

I think that the relatively low position in the boat makes the stroke somewhere between a kayak and a canoe stroke and so you have to make compromises.  My basic advice is - get comfortable, keep the weight moving forward, put your feet wherever you want.

The majority of the power in the canoe stroke comes from transferring your weight onto the paddle at the catch.  It provides lift for the boat and a surge of “free energy” (that’s another Tonyism by the way) that you will not get from any other action in the stroke.  Think about how hard you would have to pull with the hips to equal a 180lb man falling on the catch.

That is nothing new, and it appliles equally to every canoe stroke, whether it is C-1, Dragon Boat or even Outrigger (although I have actually only been in an outrigger once - I know that this is true).  The trick is to get your weight on the catch and:

• still be in a good posiotion to pull with the hips back and shoulders
• keep as much weight as possible off the front foot.

Keeping your weight off your front foot is mostly about discipline and practice and faith in the fact that if you take your weight off the front foot you will be supported by the paddle and not fall in the lake.  It is also a direct result of keeping your body in a good posiotion to pull with the hips back and shoulders.

So, first things first - you have to get the forward rotation happening in the right order.  Need a refresher?  Link. Link.

Now look at this series of images of Mark Oldershaw (taken in Racize, Czech republic in 2005 - I believe Mark was still recovering from hand surgery, but he is pretty tough and paddled amazingly well even when he was in a lot of pain). 

Notice how the hip stays forward, the bottom shoulder drops down and forward, and the entire torso drops as he puts the paddle in the water.  Those three actions together allow mark to get his weight on the catch and maintain rotation (even improve rotation) as he does it.

Now, when the weight drops on the catch, Mark will support himself with all of his counter-rotational muscles and his top shoulder - failure to do that properly will of course ruin all of your efforts on the catch - but I will deal with that in a separate post.

A couple of points I want to drive home.

1. The weight is dropped on the catch - not driven down with the top arm.
2. You have to commit the hips to hold you on the paddle side of the boat.  If the hips release to the other side you will not be able to get the weight onto the paddle (it’s a center of gravity thing).
3. The same principle applies to Dragon Boat - without the kneeling position.  Keep the bottom shoulder moving forward as the torso drops and do not try to drive the top arm through the water. 
4. Your paddle will keep you from falling in.
5. In fact - your paddle should be the ONLY thing keeping you from falling in.

I remember seeing a video of Larry Cain taken in Florida one year.  Tamas and Larry came in from practice very excited looking to show all the rest of us National Team guys Larry’s revolutionary new technique for getting his weight on the catch.  The video started great, along came Larry paddling very well with his famous big catch.  Apparently he forgot to wash off his sunscreen, because on one stroke his bottom hand slipped right up the shaft - and of course he was head first into the water.  We all had a good laugh, Larry laughing most of all, but it goes to show the kind of commitment necessary to paddle at that level.

Ever since you started canoeing you have been told that there are two sources of power in the stroke. There is the initial lift and pull you get from dropping your weight on the paddle at the catch and there is the force you apply to the paddle by counter-rotating your body after the stroke. All of that is true.

You also know that in order to get a good pull after the catch you have to have rotated forward with your hips, your back, and your shoulders. That is also true. What almost always get left out of the equation is that the way in which you achieve this rotation is extremely important. What I want to discuss today is the limiting effect that focusing on shoulder rotation has on your stroke.

The proper order of rotation during the recovery of the canoe stroke is hips, back, then shoulders. Too often people seem to think that if they throw their shoulders around first, that momentum will cause the back and hip to rotate as well. But what really happens is that by rotating the shoulders first you end up in a position that will not allow you to get good rotation from your hips and back - and usually leads to a very straight up and down type of stroke.

My advice is always this - Forget about shoulder rotation. It is just a natural consequence of a good stroke. If the rotation starts in the hips and you think about moving both arms forward at the same time then it is easy to get into a position where you have good hip and back rotation. The trick from here is that if you just keep your body falling forward and move your arms so that the paddle is vertical, all the while trying to go forward with both arms, you can’t help but rotate the shoulders.

By doing this you gain several inches of stroke on the catch and you have some shoulder rotation to use as pulling power. So remember, when it comes to rotation, concentrate on the hips and forget about the shoulders.

For all you dragon boaters out there the same principle applies. Move both arms forward during the recovery so that you are cross-checking the person in front of you. As you get close to the catch move the bottom arm under the top one so that the paddle is vertical and you will have excellent shoulder rotation.