Stand Up Paddle > Technique

I'll fight the yaw...and it won't win!

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Bulky:
Posted recently on my experience in the fog (http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php/topic,29892.0.html) and yugi made an unrelated observation on how much yaw there was on my course track.  My first instinct was to get a little defensive and make excuses like "I'm sure the GPS capture makes it look much worse than it is" which is kind of like saying "the camera adds 10lbs".  I was going to point out that I'm actually on my back-up board since my main ride is in the shop but looking at past tracks would have voided that argument.  Even considered starting a "yugi is a jerk" campaign to the get back at the guy in cyberspace who decided to point out the bad habit I'd grown to accept.

But he did have a point.  I remember looking at a Larry Cain video of him paddling in a canal going just straight as a dart and never changing sides and dismissed it cuz he's pretty much a freak.  There's lots of things the pros do that I'll never be able to so I just figured this is the way I paddle.  But since yugi pointed it out, I decided to do a few searches of old Zoner posts and decided to see if there were a few pointers I might pick up.

I paddle a lot and have pretty good endurance and paddle control--don't use RSP because I almost never wack the rails--but one simple mistake I was doing was simply tracing the profile of the rail with each stroke.  Since there's always going to be some kind of arc from the tip to the cockpit, that means that each stroke was not even close to parallel with the vector of travel and would push me off my heading.  For the last two days, I've made the simple adjustment to make sure I'm reaching out away from the rail when I plant so the stroke is more parallel to my centerline--feels like it's way out there, but it's probably only a couple inches.  I've also moved my feet slightly to the center so I'm not weighting the paddle side rail as much.  Beyond that, it really is a matter of concentration and focus--easy for me to daydream and not really pay attention to how far I'm letting the nose yaw.  Even easier to just get tired and not reach out that extra couple inches.

Pretty noticeable difference in only two days.  Amazing how I can definitely feel a change like this in terms of fatigue after my session.  Aching little muscles are a pretty good indicator that I'm using a few different ones from what I've been doing habitually.  You can see the difference on tracks below. 

First pic is the track yugi noticed my inability to maintain a heading.  Second one is also a before pic along the route I've done the last two mornings for a clearer point of reference.  Last two pics are the last two mornings trying to break a bad habit and learn a new skill.  Pleased to see some noticeable improvement already.

Love to hear feedback and any further advice you geniuses have...

PonoBill:
Good. I hear people say they never hit the rail as if it were a fault those rail whackers should correct. If you stack your shoulders, get the paddle as vertical as you can, reach hard to get the paddle completely in the water, and then uncoil into your stroke you're gonna hit the rail unless your rails are perfectly straight and your paddle is really buried so the neck of the blade is fully under the board. People who don't generally have their paddle angled instead of vertical and they have it too far away from the board. Both of those faults apply turning torque.

stoneaxe:
Timely post. My PT and I have decided that my paddle technique may be partly if not largely to blame for the SI joint pain I'm having. I'm a 5-1 right side paddler (at least) and can go straight forever right side but instantly yaw when I switch left. Almost all due to the fact that I heavily weight the right rail. It's a very bad habit I developed from the start and it's been self reinforcing. I need to balance out and even try to go a little left for awhile and focus on technique is going to be key. I may look for some paddle coaching once I'm back in shape to work at it.

It's also made me wonder if the left shoulder problems I've been having are partly due to the imbalance in paddling. Going straight with balanced paddling for me is the goal. At least the parts will wear out at similar rates that way..... :P

southwesterly:
 I fought the yaw and the yaw won.

Bulky:

--- Quote from: PonoBill on June 08, 2016, 06:55:15 PM ---Good. I hear people say they never hit the rail as if it were a fault those rail whackers should correct. If you stack your shoulders, get the paddle as vertical as you can, reach hard to get the paddle completely in the water, and then uncoil into your stroke you're gonna hit the rail unless your rails are perfectly straight and your paddle is really buried so the neck of the blade is fully under the board. People who don't generally have their paddle angled instead of vertical and they have it too far away from the board. Both of those faults apply turning torque.

--- End quote ---

Point taken.  Might have to revisit my thinking on this a bit.

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