The PaddlerUK magazine July 2015 issue 3 | Page 15

Bull Coaching
Lets say we want to turn our canoe towards the side that we’re paddling on. In terms of strokes we could
use a reverse sweep, or we could use the “Inside Pivot Turn. Lets explore the two in more detail:

The Reverse Sweep:

Kneeling on our thwart in an offset position, facing a little towards the side we are paddling on, we windup our core muscles as we reach to the back of the boat. As we unwind our core, sweeping the paddle in
a wide arc from the back of the boat to the front, with the back of the paddle blade active and used
throughout the stroke. If we were to use our thumb as a flag or marker, it would be pointing upwards. As
a consequence of this action the front of the boat turns towards the paddle. If we need the boat to
continue to turn then we take the paddle out of the water and repeat the stroke until the desired amount
of turn has been achieved.

turns

The Inside Pivot Turn:

For this stroke the initial wind-up, paddle position
and kneeling position is the same as for the reverse
sweep stroke. However, after the first half of our
reverse sweep has been completed (as the paddle
reaches an angle of about 90 degrees to the boat)
we roll the top hand towards our body and
downwards so that our indicator thumb is now
pointing down. This action has switched the active
side of the paddle from the back of the blade to the
power face. We now continue the arc towards the
front of the boat - almost like a long bow draw. In
the case of an inside pivot turn, if we want to
continue to turn the canoe we can neutrally slice
the paddle through the water from bow to stern
and repeat the stroke.

So what’s the difference?

The paddle has travelled the same distance - all
we’re doing differently is using both sides of the
paddle blade with the inside pivot turn versus the
back of the blade with our reverse sweep. The
differences may be subtle but they are significant:

With the reverse sweep stroke, as the stroke nears
the bow, our muscles have already unwound to
their fullest extent and the stroke loses power.

With the inside pivot turn, once we switch the
active blade side at 90 degrees, we engage a
different set of muscles and wind up our core again,
making the start and finish points of the stroke
equally as effective and powerful.

I often set this as a guided discovery task for my
students to go and find the differences. The
feedback speaks for itself as they feel the
differences for themselves. Go and try it if you
haven’t already done so!

ThePaddler 15