With which part of your body do you paddle a kayak?
Paddling a kayak seems to be all about arm-strength. But it isn’t. Every trained rower knows that rowing power is generated from the body’s core. A kayaker’s head and spine are erect and stable, but her core muscles twist around the spine to propel the kayak forward. This twisting is levered at the feet and transmitted into the water by the arms. Like electric wires, the arm is merely transmitting the power generated in the rower’s core to the paddle.
I received this insight on looking at a video right before our recent kayaking trip. Using a better technique helped me enjoy every one of my thousand strokes more.
Learning the correct technique is an unbelievable bargain. And today, one gets to learn learn concepts that experts have invested their careers to figure out in a 10 minute video. What a time to be alive!
Observations 