Footrest is adjusted so that with the legs straight,
the feet are straight up at ninety degrees.
Backrest is low and far enough back to allow the hips
to rotate forwards and backwards.
Holding the Paddle
Thumb and index fingers are around the loom and the other fingers
are on the root of the blades.
The paddle is held with the top edge of the blades tilted forward
slightly.
The stroke side hand grips the paddle.
The upper hand grip is kept relaxed to allow the paddle to rotate
freely and the wrist to remain in a neutral position.
Plant
Upper body is sitting straight up or forward slightly.
Reach forward on the stroke side by rotating the upper body from
the hips up.
With slightly more than ninety degrees of bend in the elbow, raise
the upper hand to or just below shoulder height.
Keeping a slight bend in the elbow, reach forward comfortably with
the stroke side hand.
Keep both elbows pointed more downward than outward.
Slice the blade down and deep into the water quickly and smoothly.
Don't start to rotate the stroke side back until
the plant is complete.
Rotate
Push with the stroke side foot and relax the other
foot.
Straighten the stroke side knee, bend the other knee, and rotate
from the hips up, with the stroke side of the upper body rotating
back and the other side rotating forward.
Pull the blade deep and close
along kayak. Feel the water spilling
over the top
edge of the blade, which eliminates flutter and creates lift and
more power across the blade. This
technique is opposite of the wing blade, which creates lift by
pulling away from
the kayak
and
spilling
water
under
the bottom
edge of
the blade.
If you hear a scratching sound, which is caused by air being drawn
behind the blade, you may be reaching too far forward
during the plant or not letting the blade go deep enough into the
water before rotating. The
stroke
should be silent
with
no air following the blade through the water.
Keep slightly more than ninety degrees of bend
in the upper elbow, and keep both elbows pointed more
downward than outward.
The upper hand starts and remains at or just below shoulder height
as it crosses the deck. Avoid pushing the upper
hand downward, which wastes energy by pulling water up rather than
back.
Push the paddle with the entire palm of the upper hand,
rather than pushing with just the thumb side of the palm, which can
cause elbow pain.
Avoid rocking the kayak from side to side.
Recover
As the stroke side hand reaches the hip,
lift the blade out of the water, and hold the
body in this rotated
position
during the plant on the other side.
The Qajaq USA website has more
information and links about Greenland
stroke technique. Brent Reitz also has an online article
about the
forward
stroke. Although his article is for a Euro blade paddle, many of
the same techniques apply, except that with the narrower grip on a Greenland
paddle, you don't want to reach as far forward for the plant, the upper
hand will stay lower, and the elbows will stay closer to your side.