Hand Position
In the first article, Pillar 1: Posture we talked about the basics of getting you sitting the right way in the boat.
It is possible for you to master the two other 'pillars' & still get your hands wrong; thus the need for attention.
Your top hand
1. Needs to stay in front of your eye line, and not drop down at the end of the stroke while your bottom hand is exiting.
2. Needs to stay (reasonably) in front of your face, in other words, not drift across the boat.
3. Needs to put moderate driving pressure onto the shaft (away from your head). This differs to 'old school' paddling where considerable force was applied to the paddle to 'drive it' away from you (increasing leverage on the paddle).
4. Needs to stay still while the paddle is exiting the water.
Your top arm
1. Should not straighten, in fact can stay quite bent.
Your bottom hand
1. Pulls the paddle back down parallel to the boat for the majority of the stroke.
2. Drifts the paddle outwards away from the boat (while still maintaining pressure on the water) as the paddle approaches your hip.
With both your hands, your wrists should remain straight. Bent wrists are a bad sign. Don't let your hands slip in too close to each other. Markers with electrical tape may help here.
It is fair to say that paddlers have more problems with their top hand than their bottom hand. It's also noted that fatigue shows in the way that the top hand position is maintained.
Other reading;
A Clean Exit.
A Good Hard Pull.
"Rookie" is a lie
I took him down the valley for his first run and he kicked my ass the whole way. :)
FOB - when you say you're splashing yourself on exit...is it from water flicked up from the surface, or are you hauling water up in the blade and showering yourself? Also, what kind of paddle are you using?
half wet 2
hi Juffy
Can't really answer that question because if I try and watch my paddle out of the water, I think I'd end up swimming.
I'm using a new wing paddle, same length and offset as the old club one I was borrowing. To eliminate some variables, I guess I should go back to the old paddle, and see if I do it with that one. Thought maybe it was a common symptom of a common technique problem- but maybe not.
I'll work on it.
More wet
The symptom I'm thinking of is one that I do sometimes - as you bring the left blade out, you scoop up a bit of water. If you've got the shaft almost aligned with the axis of the boat, as you pull through on the right side then the left blade comes in close and you get a bit of a shower.
The reason it only happens on the left is because of the blade angle offset (guessing at this one, I don't have a paddle here at work to look at) - as you rotate the shaft for the right blade entry, the face of the left blade turns upward forming a cup. Rotating back for the left blade entry, the face of the right blade faces down which drops the water out before you get wet.
As to cause....might be that you're bringing your upper hand too far across your body, which would bring the upper blade close to your head? I should probably leave the real diagnosis to someone more competent though. :)
Rocket science
Hey, sounds more like rocket science than paddling!
Thanks for that. Makes sense.
If I'm reading it right, then maybe the issue is more because of the shape of the paddle and the dynamics of doing it, rather than me necessarily doing something wrong. I hear what you're saying about the top hand, and I'll keep that in mind.
I'll give my old paddle a run, and test your theory, then I'll let you know. Have a good weekend.
sounds like
as juffy says, you may be scooping water at teh end of the stroke. This would happen if your stroke is pulled too early. Usually it goes with a top-hand "cycling' up too high then coming down too early (instead of moving horizontally across in front of your eyes)
half wet
Hi Winged paddler,
I am a novice paddler, trying to nail a decent technique early on. I have an issue at the moment where I am splashing myself with water on the left hand exit, but dry-as-a-bone on the right. I've been aware of this on my last two sessions, but no adjustment I make seems to help.
Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
Back to basics
Falloutboy,
Paddling is really not that hard. Keep a close eye on your top hand has it comes across your face. Make sure that both you left & right hands are doing pretty much the same thing at this point in the stroke.
If you are able to do that then half of your issues should go away.
Once you've got that bit nailed, then take a look at where your exit hand is relative to the boat. You may have a hand too close to the boat.
The next thing to do is strap your wrists flat, so that your wrist can hardly move. Try paddling with no wrist movement & see what difference it makes.
If all that fails I think you may want to look at two possible other areas.
Firstly, play around with your offset of your left blade (assuming that your a right handed paddler). You may have too large an offset.
Secondly, it is possible that you're leaning to one side in the boat & have never really known it. Some people wonder why they can't paddle K2's, and they experience a whole new world of pain when they actually have to keep a K2 upright: it's all due to lean. The best way of checking this is to get someone to paddle behind your single & look for either a direct body lean, or yourself being upright & the boat being twisted.
Let us know how you get on.
Cheers,
WP.
(ps, thanks for the feedback on the site! 1. Tell all your east coast paddling mates about us. 2. Tell us about your local races!)
anyone else half wet?
Hi W.P.,
I have worked through your list of suggestions . End result is I'm pretty happy with what I"m doing, but I'm still splashing myself the same.
I haven't been able to get someone to watch me for lean yet, but even if I'm really conscious and careful of not leaning, still no change.
What I did do was watch both sides on exit. The left blade is just scooping up water, and depositing it neatly on my head.
I have a theory. When the right blade exits, it is twisting away from me, hence dropping any water . As the left blade exits it is twisting towards me, hence scooping up or retaining water which is flung in the air and onto me. Yes, it's the paddle's fault!
My question is: Why isn't everyone else half wet too?
I don't mind getting wet, and I feel really solid with the paddle, but it is puzzling me.
Wear a hat
If it's only a little bit of water, your fine. I'd suggest that you're not scooping as much as it's just 'sticking'to your paddles & being flicked off.
Do you fill up a boat that's sitting next to you (on your wash)? If so then you're scooping water up. If not then wear a hat & the problem goes away.
Regarding you other post re Ski vrs Kayak, I'd suggest sticking with a TK1. They are mostly under-rated boats, and for what it's worth, rarely paddled in WA compared to the east coast. The plastic skis are far heavier, and while that is ok in some situations, in the longer run I'd learn how to control a TK1 & stick with it. You can always fit a pump:) (Note: I've done the Murray Marathon in a TK2, and the Avon on plastic skis, and a comfortable TK is miles in front of a plastic ski. BUT, test paddle a plastic ski & you'll have a better idea.)
Cheers,
WP.
hat? try umbrella
Thanks WP and SG,
That's all good advice. Your right, it is a little bit of water, and I'm not losing any sleep.
I'm happy with the Tk1. Just thought that if I'm tentative and constantly expecting to brace, maybe I'd be better off in something I can confidently paddle through the rapids. I will test paddle a plastic ski, but I'm thinking I'll stick to the TK1.
For what it's worth, hope you guys get plenty of rain over there soon for your big race. Unfortunately Hughey doesn't owe me any favours, so I'm not much help.
Happy paddling.
find a coach!
Hi FOB-
I strongly recommend you find a paddling coach and schedule a session with him/her to diagnose this. If you're hauling water up in your paddle you are wasting energy so it's worth figuring this one out - and a pro who can actually see you will be much more helpful! :-)
-SG
Thanks WP, There's some food
Thanks WP,
There's some food for thought there!
I tried varying the offset, felt terrible both ways.
I will try strapping my wrists flat, but hope no one catches me in the act because it might look a bit weird.
But a lean! I've often been half concious of leaning in my kayak, and have been known to pull over and check that my seat was centred. If that was the case, what could I do?
Thanks for your advice. I'll follow it up and let you know.
And yeh, the site is great. Seems like a really enthusiastic , fun paddling scene over there. I'll spread the word.
falloutboy
I reckon with a name like falloutboy your are well on your way to being a good Avon paddler and RBP contributor ... cool.
Sorry I can't help on technique, I'll leave that for the experts.
Avon??
Actually Rookie, I've got a dirty secret- I'm from over east. I thought the Avon was a river that flowed into the Gippsland Lakes near Bairnsdale. I stumbled onto this site and, though it seemed like some WA club, there so much good stuff here I couldn't resist.
But yeh, I'd love to come over and paddle the Avon some time. And yes, I do fall out a lot- but not so much lately. With a name like Rookie, sounds like we'd get on fine.
Speaking of hands...
My old friends the Blisters have come to visit me again. I first started getting blisters while training for the Avon and doing 4hr+ sessions. This weekend, after a 2hr30min paddle, they came back again.
Other than wearing gloves, has anyone got any ideas about how to avoid blisters? And before you get in with your answer Juffy, no, paddling for 2:29 is not an option.
I've been trying fixomull and
I've been trying fixomull and water proof bandaids.. they last about 1.5 - 2 hours for me. I've yet to find a glove that has the padding exactly on my thumb where it rubs... though i did see a "thumb stabiliser" hand glove thingy at the chemist that looked promising, but seemed a bit bulky.
Fixomull
I generally use the stuff once I get blisters to protect them and help avoid further irritation.
I also applied them in last years Avon, prior to any paddling. They came off after a while and I also got blisters at the edges of where I applied them. However, I did make the cardinal mistake of trying something new on race day.
I might try to apply them pre-paddle again to see if I can make it work.
I find with fixomull the
I find with fixomull the edges roll up and create a pressure point that can cause a blister... I'm gonna try it again but make it a fair bit wider than normal then cover the edges of the fixomull with water proof bandaids to stop them rolling up.
Fluffing around the edges...
So you get fluffing around the edges? (Sounds like an advert' for something else...)
You just need to use wider strips.
Cheers, WP.
That's a lot of Fixomull!
Thanks for the fixomull education WP, I'll try it out next time I'm going for a long paddle.
Fixomull
Dangerman & blisters do not go well in the same sentence... however, I digress.
Fixomull is one of the few bandages that I've found is worth trying.
Apart from that you may have to try time & patience. In the mean time fixo & gloves may be the answer.
Cheers, WP.