Flat water paddling
Printed From: ProfessorPaddle.com
Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14921
Printed Date: 17 Sep 2025 at 1:03pm
Topic: Flat water paddling
Posted By: megspk
Subject: Flat water paddling
Date Posted: 12 May 2015 at 5:18pm
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So I'm looking to get some flat water practice in on the days I work and can't make it to the river. I'm hoping to get some guidance on things to practice on flat water.
A correct forward stroke and the ability to paddle in a straight line will be one of the items I work on, but what else can I work on? Any advice or links to great advice would be apprectiated. I'm looking to keep up my strength and muscle memory for when I get to paddle the river.
I'm debating between taking out my Mamba or my playboat....which do people think you get more benefit from? Or does it even matter which boat I take? Thanks! ------------- “A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path.” -Unknown |
Replies:
Posted By: geomorph
Date Posted: 12 May 2015 at 6:19pm
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**** Warning!!! If you ask a bunch of knuckleheads their opinion, you'll get a bunch of knucklehead opinions **** I'll start!!!  I'd definitely take your play-boat out on flat-water. If you want to practice in your Mamba, take it out on class III and practice the same things. As an old(er) person, I can tell you that high-braces will eventually ruin your shoulders so I would strongly suggest working on low-braces. As far as I'm concerned, the low brace is the #1 skill. If you rarely flip over, you rarely have to worry about: 1) rolling, 2) swimming, 3) most of the other things that are really bad. My 2 cents (and have fun!). |
Posted By: joshcrossman
Date Posted: 12 May 2015 at 6:52pm
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Strokes and bracing are must. Good forward stroke technique, using your core and posture rather than just arms, draws (dynamic and static), sweeps, backstrokes (crucial for creeking and play boating!). Rolling in every possible posture, offside, hand, etc... You can build great muscle memory and power in flatwater. EJ and many others have done great DVDs on strokes concepts that are solid (i think the site paddleeducation.com has some stuff, but looks down right now). You can do all of that in a playboat or creek boat.
Flatwater play boating can be a lot of fun, you can practice technique like getting your hips/legs moving differently than your upper body. One thing to remember is that the timing on things like cartwheels are different, so it can be a little hard transitioning back to a feature. But still great fun, I enjoy it! ------------- i like it when it rains |
Posted By: pottert
Date Posted: 12 May 2015 at 11:04pm
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Use your flat water paddling time to simply work on cardio. I've found that this translates better to the river than most other typical drills. Get out there in your Mamba or your play boat and just paddle around aggressively. Paddle on edge, use your sweeps to rapidly turn around, switch edges, drive hard, what ever you want. The idea is to actually get a work out while your out there. Try to paddle for one hour straight. I mean with out stopping. Paddle hard for a minute, then paddle lightly for a minute. throw some bracing strokes in, paddle some more. Think of it like interval training. Then, the next time you get on the river, everything will feel soon much better.
Cheers! T-Pot |
Posted By: megspk
Date Posted: 13 May 2015 at 5:59am
All great suggestions so far! Thanks!  ------------- “A strong person and a waterfall always channel their own path.” -Unknown |
Posted By: irenen
Date Posted: 13 May 2015 at 7:55am
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This guy is awesome, great forward stroke tutorial: http://www.micheleramazza.com/en/technique/129-how-to-paddle-kayak-technique - http://www.micheleramazza.com/en/technique/129-how-to-paddle-kayak-technique ------------- It's all fun and games until someone loses a paddle. |
Posted By: NateW
Date Posted: 13 May 2015 at 1:49pm
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Originally posted by irenen
This guy is awesome, great forward stroke tutorial: http://www.micheleramazza.com/en/technique/129-how-to-paddle-kayak-technique - http://www.micheleramazza.com/en/technique/129-how-to-paddle-kayak-technique I was just going to suggest that. You can practice all of the technique stuff on his site. Very good stuff. |
Posted By: JayN
Date Posted: 13 May 2015 at 1:54pm
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+1 for flat water playboating for a couple of reasons. Even if you can't get into a bow stall, or cartwheel, the double pump motion translates well to a boof on edge. Also, you'll find yourself flipping over in all kinds of weird ways which helps simulate an unexpected roll in a whitewater environment (much better then just tipping over). It'll force you to get creative and really feel out your bracing. Just really focus on staying in your box and not overextending your braces. Flat water is the best place to focus on proper technique and really get your fundamentals dialed into your muscle memory. |