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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: If Ive got this straight
Posted By: Greg Stamer In Response To: Re: If Ive got this straight (risto)
Date: Thursday, 4 January 2001, at 10:24 a.m.
: This very long stroke with forward tilted greenland paddle, held with two
: fingers on blade, how much circular sweep does it have ? Or can it be
: executed parallel to the kayaks side?: Also, how low and close to the water do the hands go, ie. how much
: "dry" blade is there between the submerged blade and the hand?: Having thought it useful to minimize the turning momentum created with long
: euro paddles - something one can't seem to do unless the shaft is short -
: I now wonder if this problem is relevant with greenland technique.Risto,
Generally two fingers are on the loom, the thumb and forefinger, the other fingers are draped over the roots of the blades. This allows a loose, yet secure grip and excellent feedback on the orientation of the paddle.
My pulling hand comes close to, but is not immersed in the water. The blade is completely buried quite quickly during the initial catch and remains buried.
The path of the paddle can be straight back or with a slight flare away from the hull, somewhat similar to a wing-paddle stroke. For power and speed, the paddle can be held very vertical, don't fall into the trap of believing that you must hold the paddle low and horizontal for it to be a "true" Greenland stroke. However even with a vertical paddle, the hands tend to stay lower than by "Euro" standards. For a full vertical power-stroke the pushing hand will rise only to the tip of the shoulder before punching forward. For normal cruising, I hold my paddle at approximately 45 degrees relative to the horizon.
The Greenland championship was broadcast on Greenland national TV and there is some excellent footage of the races and close-ups of stroke technique taken from the chase boats. I am trying to get an agreement with KNR-TV to allow me to place some video clips on my webpage. I don't know if the video footage is for sale, I am trying to determine that too. Some clear images would do well to clear up any mystery or confusion, but in the mean time, I will be happy to do my best to answer any questions. Maligiaq Padilla has a short sequence of demonstrating his stroke, while suspended between two chairs, in John Heath's "Rolling with Maligiaq" video.
Greg Stamer
Orlando, Florida
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