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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: If Ive got this straight
Posted By: Don Beale In Response To: Re: Forward tilt? (Greg Stamer)
Date: Wednesday, 3 January 2001, at 10:37 p.m.
I am bass ackwards again. Ive been tilting the blade reverse to this, and leaning on it slightly in the power stroke as if it were a brace. The crook of my thumb/hand is closer to the top edge of the paddle, where yours ( and Maligiaq's ) crook is on the flat of the blade.
My power stroke is adopted from several articles about torso rotation. Short. Think of holding the elbows almost tight to the sides, lifting one blade then the other, and rotating at the same time. Then add a little punch.
Your stroke is with the blade at about 25 degrees forward tilt, which apparently is not enough that the blade wants to dive. Maligiaq uses more push-pull, " like a boxer making slow motion downward punches".
My new paddle is a little long in the loom, when I get the blade edge figured out I'll make one a little shorter. If you look at your paddle on edge, how thick is the blade at it's edges? And do you coat it with wax, or rainX?
Thanks awfully much for the input Greg, you are an inspiration.
: Don,
: It shouldn't matter that you are left handed -- or whether you are in the
: north or south hemisphere, for that matter ;^): The forward tilt (top edge is closer to bow than bottom edge) causes the
: Greenland blade to bury quickly and efficiently. Flutter is eliminated and
: ventilation is also very greatly reduced. Ventilation often sounds like a
: scratching noise with a Greenland blade during the power phase of your
: stroke if your stroke needs tuning. It is very easy to turn the forward
: tilting blade into a brace by slightly rolling the wrist forward.
: Regarding the correct "tilt angle", if your paddle is sized so
: that the thumbs and forefingers are on the shaft with your other fingers
: placed over the beginnings of the paddle blades, the paddle will tilt
: forward naturally. Not all Greenlanders use this technique but many of the
: best paddlers that I met were very much in favor of it. Maligiaq Padilla
: said that beginning paddlers are often taught to use a vertical paddle
: orientation and then adopt the forward-tilt once their skills had grown.: I have never had any sensation of being pulled "down toward the
: water" toward the working paddle blade. Although the blade is tilted
: slightly forward, the path of the paddle is straight back or with a slight
: flare out to the side. From working with Maligiaq and other Greenlanders,
: I have adopted a strong push-pull component to my stroke. I find that this
: is usually absent from most American Greenland-style paddlers and they
: tend to associate this with "Euro" technique. I can assure you
: that the Greenlanders use it as well. Try letting your pushing hand rise
: to just the tip of your shoulder before moving forward, your hands don't
: have to scrape the deck. Blend the push-pull component with a strong torso
: rotation and strong lower-body foundation. Keep your elbows fairly near to
: your torso. Please note that there are no rules on paddling style in
: Greenland, but I found the guidelines above to be very much in evidence
: during the Greenland competition and work for me. YMMV.: To provide clues to your post about paddle drippage, I have never found this
: to be a problem. Most runoff from the paddle hits the foredeck of my
: kayak, not my hands. I will give this more attention the next time that
: I'm out to see if I can determine how this relates to equipment or
: technique.: I recently read a passage from Eugene Arima's text on the Caribou (Canadian)
: kayak. Eugene was instructed by the local Inuit to paddle with the forward
: edge of the blade tilted forward. I found the reference interesting since
: it was printed in the seventies and indicates that the forward tilt was
: used outside of Greenland.: I have attached an article from several years ago, that goes into more detail
: about the forward tilt: Greg Stamer
: Orlando, Florida
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