C-Forum

The GREAT slalom (and paddling in general) technique article Jamie McEwan translated for us now has it's images back...I positioned them where I could and thought they made sense-if anyone would like them in other locations before or after certain portions of text let me know!

adam
thank you thank you thank you!

and aaron.. watch out, i'm gonna be doing some secret training!

The writer says:

"Careful! Avoid rotating the shoulders, which has the nasty tendency to cause the pelvis to twist, and therefore to weight the knee on that side as a support. Instead keep both the hips and the shoulders in the same axis, without twisting either one out of alignment with the boat. The lower shoulder can be extended forward without twisting the shoulders (and without pulling the upper shoulder back). "

Is this a change is paddling theory? It seems that I have always been taught that I should rotate. I am not disagreeing here. What do I know? I am just asking.

If memory serves, Wayner and Kent Ford and Bob Foote have all taught lots of rotation. Am I missing something? thanks,
Chris Kelly

Yeah, rotate, torso has more power than your arms. I am going to read the article right now, so maybe they are generating power from some other muscle groups.
I do agree though, in Newtonian physics, every action has equal and opposite reaction, thus rotating one half of your body would cause the boat to turn especially on the recovery of your stroke because the paddle is briefly out of the water.

I just got on the floor. I paddle right. When I rotate my torso, my right knee comes forward, which would make the boat go left. So your body follows the other halves rotation.
The reverse is true too, when we unwind the lower body again follows the torso. Does this cancel everything out? lol

Does the technique change if the boat is on a carve? Im shuting up now and going to read this article
The first one was pretty good too.


GOOD STUFF, Like the arrows showing the direction of force.
Thanks

Let's see if I'm able to add anything that helps with understanding Jamie McEwan's article and rotation. Instead of rotating the torso like a spring-loaded pivot, focus on REACHING forward at the same time when you lean over the deck. I agree that rotating causes the hips to turn as well, but if you are able to develop a good reach, you will be able to keep your hips "squared" with your boat. When reaching forward, you want to feel your chest pointing forward. You should feel like you can keep the pressure even at your hips (hips stay "squared" with your boat). When you rotate, your upper shoulder will push back and you may feel your chest is pointing to the side instead of forward.

The big thing I like about the first two comparison pictures is the difference in the position of the paddler's lower shoulder. In the "DO NOT" pic, his shoulder is somewhat hunched up toward his ear, whereas in the "DO" pic, you can see a significant gap between his shoulder and ear. To me, that speaks volumes about a strong forward stroke and a healthy/"safe" shoulder joint. A key that is seen in the "DO" pic is that his lower elbow points down toward the water. I first noticed that with Davey Hearn and have worked on that specifically for YEARS!

You can practice Jamie's technique in your boat on the water, but try it on dry land either on a wobble board/core board or on a nice fluffy pillow on the floor (or even on the bed as long as your significant other does not become dismayed or alarmed over your new behavior ).

This is great! One can write SO MUCH about taking a forward stroke, especially in a canoe I think I got "word happy" again, but I hope something here is useful. Now what we need is for any of the "real" slalom racers to weigh in.

KNeal