Читать книгу Paddles Up!. Dragon Boat Racing in Canada онлайн

33 страница из 56

Connection is the most important factor to make the boat go fast. When someone says that certain paddlers have real connection with the water or that they are pulling hard, the comment means that these paddlers have transferred their body weight to the paddle and created resistance between the paddle and the water. Often you can see the water coming off the back of the paddle at the end of the stroke in small, tornado-like movements, if a paddler has good connection with the water. Good paddlers will not throw water or “shovel” water on the exit because this is a sign that they are losing resistance during the back half of the stroke (see ssss1).

ssss1: Paddle at Vertical Position.

Remember:

3. PULL PHASE (FOOT PUSH)

The catch begins the pull phase of the actual stroke. The front half of the stroke is the pulling phase from the catch to about the knee.

At this point, the body begins to unwind or counter rotate, keeping the arms as straight as possible, while pulling the water back with the big muscles in the back and the midsection or core of the body. If the paddler is rotated at the catch, the counter rotation occurs simply by sitting up and keeping constant pressure with the top arm.