O P e n c A n O e t e C h N i Q u e
Don’t let y
our head shoulder all the w
ork.
Photo JAson
chow
neW Canoe song
heADS AnD ShOulDeRS, KneeS AnD TOeS, KneeS AnD TOeS
hAve yOu eveR heARD that old pearl of canoe wisdom look where you want to are moving toward the screen and; your knees are moving toward the wall that
go and the boat will follow? I’ll admit I paddled to this tune for some time. however, you were just looking at.
more recently I have discovered that this statement doesn’t quite point in the right now try it again, but this time turn only your head. not much happens. With-
direction when learning how to use your body to effectively turn your canoe. out winding up your torso you will reduce the effect of the boat rotating toward
The reality is that when we look where we want to go our heads turn and there your paddle.
is a tendency for our shoulders to follow. It is the movement of your shoulders, Pointing your shoulders in the direction of travel also creates the room you
rather than your head, that is the foundation for all turning strokes. need for one-stroke bow draws or cross-draws. Torso rotation allows you to plant
Slalom paddlers are experts at this as they are constantly changing direction your strokes further from the bow. Without rotating your shoulders you will invari-
as they catch eddies and zigzag their way down the course. They have devel- ably run out of room for your paddle—the paddle will slap into the side of the
oped an effective way to use shoulder rotation and bow and cross-bow strokes canoe before the turn is completed. Therefore, you’ll be forced to take the time to
to quickly and dramatically turn the boat with one stroke before scurrying around do a number of turning strokes with challenging recovery strokes.
the next obstacle. The third advantage to leading with your shoulders is that you are forced to en-
To understand what they are doing, I imagine that I have a laser pointer on gage the larger and more powerful muscles of your torso. By doing so, you avoid
each of my shoulders. When I want to change direction I plant a draw or cross- the mistake of using your smaller and weaker arm muscles. your turning strokes
draw or ideally a Duffek or cross-bow Duffek with both pointers shining toward will be much stronger and you will reduce the likelihood of injury.
my intended path. By doing this, especially when turning, I wind up my torso. The Trade your office chair for your boat and try catching eddies or zig-zagging
magic is that my knees and thus the boat will follow toward my paddle. your way around some rocks by twisting your torso so both shoulders are pointed
The next time you’re in front of a computer on a spinning office chair, point both toward your destination. Plant your draw or cross-draw and allow your knees to
shoulders at the computer screen and then plant your feet firmly on the floor. drive the boat toward your paddle. With a bit of practice you and your canoe will
Twist both your shoulders so that they are either pointing 90 degrees to the left or be dancing to a brand new tune.
right of your computer screen, then lift your feet and snap your shoulders back
towards the computer. you should notice two things happening: your shoulders
ANDY WAlkEr is a five-time winner at the ACA Open Canoe Slalom National Championships.
RAPID
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