Paddling technique

From KayakWiki

Of all the living creatures upon land and sea, it is ships alone that cannot be taken in by barren pretences, that will not put up with bad art from their masters.

Joseph Conrad

Paddling technique can be broken down into a series of different kayaking strokes, body positions and body movements. The Stroke page lists the different kayaking strokes, with links to descriptions of the techniques involved in each of them.

[edit] Basic techniques

Forward strokes, sweep strokes and bracing are the first ones to learn. These form the basis of all kayaking techniques. After that it can depend of the type of kayaking you are doing, as to which strokes and other techniques are most useful.

[edit] Swimming and Rolling

While learning the basics, you may experience a capsize or two. Initially this will result in a swim. Having suffered this cold wetness you may quickly become interested in learning to Roll. There are various rolling techniques, which are listed on the Eskimo roll page. Note however that beginners tend to place too much emphasis on learning to roll, when they would be better off working on the basic techniques described above.

[edit] Training and conditioning

In order to attain a certain level of skill, you must have the training and fitness level to achieve.

See also: