Forward Stroke Practice
Libby Wolf
The Journal of Paddlesport Education
The Missing Piece in the Forward Stroke Puzzle: Torso
Rotation in Fifteen Minutes or Your Money Back
Posted on September 1, 2011 by Jim Tibensky
Photo courtesy Larry Ausley
Most of us know that torso rotation is crucial to a good, efficient, powerful forward stroke. But not enough of us truly attain it. Using the whole body in the forward stroke provides more power, allows you to paddle longer with less effort and looks really, really good. Even though the forward stroke has always been the foundation of kayak paddling, there have not always been good ways of teaching torso rotation. At least, not until now. If you have good students, in fifteen minutes we can probably have their torso working hard on every stroke.
Students struggling to learn torso rotation the old-fashioned way, by paddling with their elbows locked in the straight-arm position look a lot like they are doing sweep strokes tilted sideways. The muscles we use in a torso-involved forward stroke are also those used more in the forward sweep stroke than in an “all arms” forward stroke. That is, the abdominal, latisimus, and obliques, all the important muscle groups in the middle and lower torso, get used a lot more in a forward sweep than in a typical forward stroke.
An example lesson outline begins with a the forward sweep. Be sure the students are getting their legs and lower body into the strokes. Try doing this without explaining that the goal is torso rotation so that there is the element of surprise when the students later realize the purpose of the forward sweep lesson
Once everyone has a solid sweep, move on to the forward stroke. Explain the basic
components of a good stroke, including using as many torso muscles and leg Assuming none of the students are using good torso rotation, ask them to paddle for a minute or so
using the forward stroke. This time ask them to pay close attention to what muscles they feel are
working the most. After they have done this, they will probably say that they have used their arms
the most, with waist and legs as possibilities as well.
Now have them go back to the forward sweep, again paying close attention to what muscles they
feel are working the most. They should now say that they feel their legs, waist and back working
more than in the forward stroke.
Introduce the final part as being the solution to using those sweep muscles in the forward stroke.
The Sweep Lesson
A good forward sweep has at least the following five characteristics:
both hands are kept as low as possible
the top arm scrapes across the front of the waist from one side of the boat to the other
the lower arm stays straight
the head and shoulders follow the blade in the water, which causes the torso to rotate
the legs are pushed hard in the opposite direction to the blade in the water
Sit quietly in your boat. Relax. Clear your mind. Prepare to become one with the boat, to feel every
subtle muscle movement that you will make. Prepare to feel which muscles are working the most
and which are not. Now do four or five forward sweep strokes on each side. Pay attention to what
muscles and muscle groups are being used. They should later be used in the forward stroke.
Putting it Together
Sit quietly in your boat and think about using those torso muscles. As you go through the following
steps, keep those muscles working.
Start the boat moving through the water by doing perfect forward sweeps alternating on each side:
left – right – left – right, etc. Be sure the head and torso are following the blade that is in the water.
This really helps the rotation. The boat will S-turn its way along.
After five or six such sweeps, start bringing the lower hand (the one whose blade is in the water)
closer to the hull on each successive stroke. Do this gradually, moving in a couple of inches at a
time. Do not change anything else about the muscles you are using.
At the same time have the upper arm start to punch gradually higher above the hull instead of just
crossing from gunnel to gunnel along the deck. Raise the top arm a few inches more on each stroke
until the punch is at shoulder or eye level.
Have the head and shoulders continue to follow the blade in the water to encourage the rotation
even more.
Once you are pulling the blade in the water close to the boat and the top arm is at
normal forward stroke height, shorten the stroke in the water by taking the blade out
at the hip.
After this sequence is complete, there should be a very torso-involved forward stroke. There will be
almost no change in arm and body motion from the sweep to the forward stroke. It’s mostly a matter
of shaft angles and blade distance from the hull.
Helpful Hints
The legs must be involved. Without anchoring the body in the boat, a lot of energy is used to move
the body around in the cockpit rather than the energy being transferred through the body to the boat.
The knees should “bicycle” a bit on each stroke, with the right foot pushing on the foot brace during
the right stroke and the left foot pushing on the left stroke.
The backband or seat back should allow some movement of the butt in the seat. A good, forceful leg
push will cause the butt to lift off the back of the seat just a bit.
The shaft of the paddle should never cross the cockpit rim at any point if the torso is working. (This is
the “paddler’s box.”) The shaft describes a semicircle around the front and sides of the rim. If one’s
arms are a bit short, or if the cockpit is a bit large, there should at least be an attempt to maintain the
paddler’s box by keeping the paddle shaft as far toward being outside the cockpit rim as is possible.
The top (“pushing”) arm will probably cross well over the center line of the boat. This is good! It will
cross in front of the cockpit rim, so there should be no conflict between keeping the paddle shaft
outside the rim while crossing over with the pushing arm.
The head should still move slightly side to side. Our neck is most comfortable when the head is kept
perpendicular to the plane of the shoulders. Since the plane of the shoulders is moving, the head
should too.
The paddler’s navel should be moving at least three or four inches from the centerline of the boat on
each stroke. If the paddler looks down and nothing is happening at the level of the navel, there is no
rotation. The shoulders are not the place to look for spotting torso rotation. It is easy to thrust a
shoulder forward on the stroke without any middle and lower torso involvement. In fact, this is what
many paddlers do, thinking that they are using their whole torso. But their waist looks as though it is
set in concrete. If the paddler is wearing a centerline zipper pfd, the zipper will tell the tale – it should
be moving side to side.
Remind the students to drop back into this sweep-blended-into-forward-stroke practice technique
any time they want to work on torso rotation.
Adapted from previous publication in the ACA “SEI Focus” newsletter.
Jim Tibensky is an ACA L5 Coastal Kayak Instructor and former age group national champion in
both sprint and slalom racing. He teaches at the Geneva Kayak Center in Yorkville, Illinois.
muscles as possible. Have the students practice, demonstrate and critique each other’s stroke.
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