Anyone who follows this blog knows that we have a few issues with paddling our canoe.  There aren’t many instructions that I have found online about how to get 3 people to paddle a canoe well.  But, I did run across a few videos that I wanted to share.  These are slow motion videos of some of the best kayak racers.  Since we typically use kayak paddles when racing, the technique should do well for us.

If you check around 3:13 you can see some tandem kayak action and around 3:40 there is some 4-person kayak action.  I’m definitely no expert in paddling technique so I can’t offer any “real” commentary on the video but I think that just by watching it, you can pick up a few key techniques.

You can definitely see how torso rotation plays a key part in developing power.  I also noticed how for most paddlers, the returning arm (the one that just finished the stroke) comes to a return point straight out in front, perpendicular to the body and then it crosses the body as the other arm finishes the stroke.  Yeah, you like my technical jargon there?  Basically, my advice is check out the videos, see how the pros do it then go try to mimic the same movements.  If you’re half as good as us, you’ll probably dump your canoe within 30 seconds.

Here’s one more video from a pro…