OC Cross Forward

[Jon]

To perform an OC Cross Forward stroke, your arms are straight to get the paddle verticle and you bend forward for the plant and then straighten up to 'scoot' the boat forward. Keep the stroke short (ending at the knees) and slice the paddle forward thru the water to the next catch. True?

Where are you bending from, the waist or the hips, or do you use a technique similar to the pelvic thrust as described in the Techniques Section?

Tks

To give some background here. I competed at the Gull Slalom last weekend, and noticed that the really good paddlers were generating far more power on their Cross Fwd than I can on my Forward (even on a good day). Even my wife, watching, accused me of 'lilly dipping'.

[NEOC Slalom Rules]

Jon,
I keep my forward/backward orientation pretty much the same as I do for an onside forward stroke. Due to the awkward positioning that I experience, I choke up my grip on the shaft a bit (6-8") so I can more easily get the paddle to as verticle as possible on the catch. Both arms are held straight. The power as I do it comes from a combination of rotation at the waist as well as pulling back with my lower arm, with the emphasis on the rotation. With my raised lower arm the leverage and power are less than for an onside but my control is improved. I'll let someone else speak as to the motions of the recovery stroke as it is a quite different motion from the onside. That said, the power does not come from leaning forward and back. Use the power of your ABs, build that six pack and the hip thrust will follow.
Pat

[Jim]

Pat has got that 6-pack down pat! I just wanna know what kind of 6-pack it is? PBR?

To add to what he said. Go out a do a couple thousand crossover strokes on flat water over the next couple of weeks. It is so un-natural that it takes a LONG time to learn the movement so that you can use your full body. Then switch to whitewater and there is another, new, learning curve. When you can relax and also use that stroke as brace on that side you are getting the hang of it.

I do not think “pelvic thrust” as I do it, for me it is more of a trunk curl. I try to start with my trunk *and arms) elongated and then I pull it all in. Also, it will require more power (strength) from the arms than an on-side stroke, so you need time for that to develop.

Summary- spend more time paddling and more time on your crossovers. The learning curve for those slalom moves is pretty long.

[Open Gate]

Hi,

Try to minimize the forward backward movements with your body as much as possible. They'll make your boat dig in the water and stop your momentum.

This is really obvious with my low volume C1 or even with my CU Fly. Less obvious with my bigger boats but the idea remains the same for efficiency of the movement.

Think flat, and enjoy !

[ezwater]

I certainly agree with Open Gate, but it is surprising how many c-1 paddlers, including the thousands who run easy gates much better than I do, are body humpers. One of the local ACE coaches, an alternate in C-2 in previous Olympics, advised me to start yanking my body back for speed.

I guess if you are really fit and trying hard, many approaches will work for a while, but for a c-1 slalom hull to move efficiently through the water, horsing it up and down by marked weight transfer will overcome the intentions of the boat designer.

[bearboater]

when i do cross strokes, I usually do a large stroke on my on side, and then shift back just a bit for the transfer to the offside, and then take all of my offside strokes fairly far forward mainly with just my arms, and upper torso, and try to minimize bobbing. but if I am going into an offside eddy, offside pivot, or back to my onside, I then start to take 1 or 2 longer more powerful full body strokes, until I am then back on my onside, or I have gotten the weight shift needed for the move. however, this all changes when the water does, if I have to throw weight forward, over a large standing wave etc...
cheers
-isaac
I found with an Esquif Vertige, no matter how much I bobbed up/down, forward and back, the boat was still really slow, and so every stroke was a long power stroke, but with smaller boats, much less is needed.

[Bob P]

The cross-forward stroke is much stronger if you use your whole body, which is why I only paddle race boats. With a shorter and/or low-volume boat, you can decrease bobbing slightly by slicing the stern, creating a small "pivot" simultaneous with the forward body movement. Also, angling the paddle forward on the catch, creating an upward thrust, helps.
Here's some race footage of Davey and Jon.
89 Worlds

[bearboater]

not to get off topic, but it's interesting how much more they favor te onside vs the offside in that little clip. seems like Tony, and Michal, etc. are more willing? able?/ do, more offside strokes in a row, the longest series of offside strokes in there was maybe 2-3. might have also been the course, lots of factors, just interesting. but they definetely did whole body lunging strokes, and it worked for Jon, it works for me.
cheers
-isaac