Lefties Rule?

[Aldenb]

oh, i know about those darn leftie rapids! check this out:

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/photos/?photoid=4387

that's on my home river -- a huge pillow that you have to crash into. and if you're a rightie, it aint easy!

interesting, i thought the only move on the nanty is the ferry across the face of the falls (which is a leftie move). well i suppose the ferry to the shore after you've run wesser falls is rightie . . .
Alden

[Space Canoe]

Well, let me settle this once and for all, it's quite easy really,
left Coast = left-handed paddlers
right Coast = right-handed paddlers
thank you very much.
Actually, I also think it has as much to do with balance as it does strength; that your strong arm/leg side can control the boat's tippy-ness much better and therefore you feel much more comfortable paddling on both your more stable and more strong side. The first time that you get in a boat you're very nervous about falling out of it because it's an alien environment.. I'd have to go with Sir Adam on the strength over control issue. My experience in teaching is that you can spend all the time in the world telling a beginner to rotate the torso, but the minute that they enter the boat, it's "arm city", so they put their strong hand on the bottom to pull the shaft back alongside the boat. They don't give a hoot about blade control at that point, and by the time they do they are just much more comfortable.

When I started developing my bent shaft battle for Whitewater, I started taking a look at what would be the most productive way to paddle and ever since then I've been a switch paddler. I also got to thinking that perhaps that was the way that it always was, and so I did some small amount of research into Native American paddling. I managed to get into the Smithsonian and National History Museum archives and I found much evidence that Native Americans switch paddled their butts off and almost never did an off-side stroke, and rarely did at J. stroke or correcting stroke. Also, watching early Nolan Whitesell videos where he calmly switch paddled through stuff that nobody was doing at that time didn't hurt!
I also agree with jdschall about certain runs being left or right-handed. I teach on a short little run out here that is definitely left-handed and favors left-handers significantly. Even though Kalin, the Great White Northern Righty, whup-flower butted us all when he went down it……. …

Kneal is right about the “sinistra” effect; in England the hyphen is known as the "bar sinister" because its placement between a person's last names such as "Cedric Smith-Jones" implies that the person's father was named Smith and the mother was named Jones, therefore making that person a bastard and illegitimate. And so in ancient times, were we lefties considered to be the same.
Ric Taylor

[Sir Adam]

the cool suff Space_canoe knows! For what it's worth I've paddled with Jim Underwood (Wildwater and Slalom racer from the 70's and 80's), and as he started racing before the Hearn / Lugbill time he STILL switches and doesn't do cross strokes. He's amazingly fast at it, and a phenomenal boater! To top it off, his favorite cruising boat is a Jape .

[KNeal]

I see posts from kyackers on sites like btalk and what they mostly want to know and argue about (on-topic, that is) is which kyack is the correct/best kyack for them or for the world. Here we are clarifying the more important, and relevant issue of, "is the rightie/right-handed paddler superior or is the leftie/left-handed paddler the dominant paddler?". This is great !

By the way, as a "sinister" paddler, there is no such thing as a "leftie vs. rightie friendly river" to me. A lot of the time, I feel like the rapids are just not friendly, period ! Look at the back of my hand and both of my elbows and you'll understand why I say that . What was that Sir Adam was saying about a control hand? Do I need a control hand? Maybe I'm just on the wrong coast according to Space Canoe's (aka, Ric) definition.

By the way, the James River is coming back up to its high water mark for the 7th time since April. Heehaw ! I'm gonna go boating again this afternoon (for the nth time since April), especially since the river is just 3 min. drive from the house.

CU,
KNeal

[jdschall]

Seems like more of the ferry moves required you .

Maybe 'required ferry' is too strong a phrase for use on the Nanny. But there are a lot of teaching spots where you are supposed to ferry on a wave face that are offside for lefties. Lots of little elavator moves and things too.

There's a really good right handed rapid on the Maury that once I dove into the RR eddy I was sorry I did. Not sure of the name of the rapid but from right to left there is a deep shoot, at big boof, and a nice calmish channel. The idea is to ferry across the flow from RR to RL and take the channel and the easy way out. I took the shoot and was fine but I was a little nervous pulling out of that eddie.

JD

[NZMatt]

OK, so here's my info:

Kayak-OC1-C1
Right handed and paddle on my right

Interestingly, although I am definitely right-dominant, I used to play left wing or left-midfield in soccer - so you can train to use your offside relatively easily. When I started paddling OC1, I was pretty well teaching myself and I actually concentrated on learning how to paddle on both sides. The right just feels more natural to me and now I am significantly more comfortable paddling on that side as that is the side I work on the most. I can do most of the maneuveurs in flatwater paddling on my offside and will run easy rapids that way, but whenevr the going gets hard I swap back to my right. If I have a river with a lot of flatwater, I tend to paddle that on my left so as to save my strength to run the rapids paddling on my right. That also helps even out the muscles use - and as I get older (at the ripe old age of 28 ) and hurt and creak and groan more I discover that balancing the body is somewhat important to a long happy active life.

A note on kayak paddles - the main difference between a left and right handed control is not so much the grip, but the angle of the blades relative to the grip. That is what really defines a left-handed paddle. With your control hand appropriately oriented on the paddle shaft, the control balde will be upright and the offside blade will be facing up sligthly (depending on the feather angle between the blades). When I started teaching kayaking, I used to try to teach people to paddle with their dominant hand as control - now I just teach right-handed control. It minimises gear issues (we don't really have any left-hand control paddles any more I don't think) and I believe that the body learns on whatever side it is taught. For the majority of the left-handed population this doesn't seem to be a problem.

Thoughts and murmurings

Matt

[jKelly-Rand]

Up until 5 years ago I tended to paddle on my right side as I am right handed. This was also inconjunction with paddling the rear tandem. In the course of switching to solo boating I began to favor my right hand as the control/tgrip hand. I found that I had greater dexterity with the right and that allowed me to have more offside stroke control. Going down river has presented few left right difficulties to me, but there have been a number of playholes that had left or right advantages. Each year I become more succesful at overcoming those.

til next
Jim

[hh2o]

I want to thank all the C-1ers who have posted regarding right vs left paddling. I recently started paddling C-1, and I started paddling on the right (which is what I do in my OC2 with my wife in the bow). I have more power on that side but control not as much. I also have done a lot of kayaking. Yesterday I tried paddling on the left and it felt good, but then I thought I should not be switching, as I assumed it was a sign of weakness, but now I see that it is OK, that I am not a bad person after all.
I can't wait to get out there to see if I can roll better on my left, which is controled by my right...
Thanks

[Guest]

I also paddle leftie, but I am right handed and can do almost nothing else left handed. I started out open boating, and to this day have always paddled leftie... there ARE definitely leftie and rightie spots, I have a terrible time getting on some features where a right ferry is required.... It all depends on how badly I have to make the ferry too though I tend to be more motivated when the consequences are higher....

[candham]

I paddle lefty but I am right handed. It's only natural cause that's how I hold my rifle, as most right handers do. I don't do anything else lefty though.

[Camille]

lefty just looks good. whenever joey and i compare pics of us on the river his face is always covered by his righty-style of paddling. my face-a beam of sunshine amidst a pile of waves.
besides, everyone knows that in order to run sunshine on the green with even a prayer of a chance, you gotta be a lefty.

but seriously folks....isn't it all about the pain?

camille

[NSOC1]

I paddle OC1 and am a rightie for everything except paddling. Maybe it's because my control hand on the t-grip is my right.

[Alden]

Wow, now that is a blast from the past. I can't believe that's still in there!

By the way, just thought I would add . . . since that message has happened . . . 2004 Olympic C-1 champ Tony Estanguet . . . rightie! 2005 World Champ Robin Bell . . . another rightie . . .

Oh yes, and 2005 Green Narrows overall champion Will Lyons . . . rightie . . .

(I'm calling it)
Alden

[Brendan]

I recall this thread from awhile back- I am right handed, paddle left (OC1 to C1), throw frisbee left, shoot a gun left- for me it is due to dominant eye- maybe that has something to do with the side I paddle on- for all other things I am right handed. However, I usually vote towards the left! In the USA- be sure to get out and vote on Tuesday. So, for you folks who paddle on the opposite side of what hand you are, which is your dominant eye?
Brendan

[CosmikDebris]

Wow, pretty optimistic there Alden!