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forward stroke checklist
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Forward Stroke Checklist

  1. Plant paddle and rotate past it with your pelvis

  1. One leg bends the other straightens

  1. Touch one thigh brace at a time

  1. Make sure your paddle is canted

  1. Do your paddle stroke at the back

Plant paddle and rotate past it with your pelvis

If you’re moving the paddle through the water, there’s not much stability. When you plant the paddle and move yourself past it on the other hand, you can add speed to your forward stroke while getting support.

Moving paddle in water

Not moving paddle in the water

When you plant your paddle and move yourself past it you can keep up your speed as you paddle in waves. Because you don’t

have to stop to brace as often.

If you do too much bracing and not enough paddling you can end up stopping. And it can be hard to get going again.

Rotating the pelvis puts you in a secure position for edging and bracing as you will learn more about in the edging checklist.

Here’s a video course you can take to learn this deeper.

If you are already a club member simply click the link.

https://dancing-with-the-sea.mn.co/posts/journey-to-confidence-how-to-add-a-lot-of-power-to-your-forward-stroke

One leg bends the other straightens

This makes the pelvis rotate more.

You straighten the leg on the paddle side, and let the other leg bend, and touch the thigh brace.

Make sure your foot pegs are not too tight, or it won’t work.

Make sure you have good thigh braces.

Here’s a video course you can take to learn this deeper.

If you are already a club member simply click the link.

https://dancing-with-the-sea.mn.co/posts/journey-to-confidence-move-with-your-kayak

Make sure your paddle is canted

Paddle not canted

You obviously don’t get much support from this.

Canted…when you plant it and rotate past it as you learned in the previous step, you get a lot of stability. Both ways.

Canting the blade also helps bury it quickly so that you can release a lot of power without having it slip.

Paddle canted

Here’s a video course you can take to learn this deeper.

If you are already a club member simply click the link.

https://dancing-with-the-sea.mn.co/posts/journey-to-confidence-leg-power-generation

Do your paddle stroke at the back

Paddle stroke in front

Paddle stroke further back