Donna sent this video down and Erin asked if I could rotate and post it.
So... here is a video of Erin doing some ERG technique coaching in AZ.
Suffice it to say that that "I''m so confused" look was something we all shared.
4/11/07
3/31/07
Pics courtesy of Lisa N
Lisa, a Dennis, and Valerie at the paddlers party. Despite an otherwise gorgeous week of sunshine, pouring rain and a semi-enclosed venue meant I had to bust out the parka. The Canadians were amused to see down in Arizona.
Wasabi Women prepare for a race at the Arizona Dragon Boat festival. We took gold in the 500M and won the 250M race.
San Diego men saved the day by joining the Desert Paddle Green (camp mix-up crew) for our races. They were great guys. Big thanks to Les for helping us put together a good crew, and to these guys for lending us some male muscle!
Lisa Neilson from Vancouver - a paddle camp participant and lead stroke for Desert Paddle Green's mix-it-up crew.
Jackie and Cat, coach and Water's Edge staff, enjoying themselves after a seriously long week of coaching, organizing, and hosting the AZDBA races.
Many thanks to Lisa N for the photos above. Click the link at the right to her photo album for the camp for more images.
more drill videos
Now that you've seen videos of me in the 'wall drill' and erin doing the same - it's valerie's turn!
Valerie discovered in this drill that her break is in the lower back. This is where the power escapes for her.
Valerie discovered in this drill that her break is in the lower back. This is where the power escapes for her.
This drill demonstrates something that was very effective in general with this camp. With the time we had, the coaches were able to focus on stepping us through each aspect of paddling from the basic building blocks - rather than just going straight to the stroke or worse yet paddling or racing. You'll see in these videos that we start without a paddle, just focusing on generating power to your arm from your feet through your core - initiated from the hips. Then we build up to using a paddle, and then we get in the boat.
The whole camp was structured like this - where we started with a full day just focusing on body position and then built upon that, step by step and piece by piece. Within each piece, everything was broken down into component chunks.
This worked incredibly well and really allowed us to focus on both the process AND the results.
I don't know if the DB track followed the same structure - but this was how the OC track worked and it was great. We went from body position through set up to catch through pull and recovery into turns and techniques and starts all the way to racing. Along the way we covered theory and technique along with practice. We covered training methods and race prep.
As you can probably tell... It was incredibly valuable to me. Anyone who has the chance in the future and who wants to become a better paddler should do this. If, on the other hand, you don't want to become a better paddler or think you can't possibly get better or want to show off how good you are... you might want to pass on what could be a painful experience.
3/30/07
Drills
There has already been some video posted of me doing the "wall" drill.
This drill is fantastic and teaches you so much about being connected through your body - from your toes all the way on to your blade and into the water. It shows you where you break in this "circle of power" and teaches you how to focus on that break as you train.
Here are some videos of Erin doing the same drill.
I can't speak enough about the value of this drill.
It allows you to learn so much. You learn about the value of correct body position, you learn yow to really get weight on to the blade... all while allowing your coach to give you constant input.
I, for example, learned that my sequencing is off and like most guys I initiate with my shoulders instead of my hips. I learned that I don't finish my stroke with a bicep curl. Basically, I learned that I generate a fraction of the power I could be putting into the blade.
I'm seriously considering building a mocked-up OC seat section for this drill.
This drill is fantastic and teaches you so much about being connected through your body - from your toes all the way on to your blade and into the water. It shows you where you break in this "circle of power" and teaches you how to focus on that break as you train.
Here are some videos of Erin doing the same drill.
I can't speak enough about the value of this drill.
It allows you to learn so much. You learn about the value of correct body position, you learn yow to really get weight on to the blade... all while allowing your coach to give you constant input.
I, for example, learned that my sequencing is off and like most guys I initiate with my shoulders instead of my hips. I learned that I don't finish my stroke with a bicep curl. Basically, I learned that I generate a fraction of the power I could be putting into the blade.
I'm seriously considering building a mocked-up OC seat section for this drill.
Amazing experience
I just want to reinforce the other posts -- this was an incredible experience.
I didn't do the DB track at the camp - instead, I did the outrigger track. So my comments will be about the camp as a whole... and the outrigger track in general.
To start with... some photos (all courtesy of Erin):
I didn't do the DB track at the camp - instead, I did the outrigger track. So my comments will be about the camp as a whole... and the outrigger track in general.
To start with... some photos (all courtesy of Erin):
Jason demonstrating our favorite drill
John
Jason
Lynda preparing the troops
Valerie's crew heading to the start line
More of the same
Mid-sprint OC6s
me mid-sprint
More to follow...
3/23/07
About Finishes - and Rating Up - from Jackie
Something Jackie noted about finishes to our crew yesterday...
She said that the leads don't have to bring the rate up. When we call a focus and "bump" at the finish, and the team starts to power together, the boat will move faster. And we'll naturally rate up with the boat to keep moving effectively with the water.
To me this means that the leads are, in a way, listening to, the boat and feeling it surge and allowing that to dictate the rate coming up, instead of trying to "pull" or "push" the rate up at the finish. An interesting thought...
This ties into something that Andrea said about how it's all about being connected to the water and feeling it. A bit esoteric right now but I think with more paddling experience I will develop this water sense and feel for the boat better.
She said that the leads don't have to bring the rate up. When we call a focus and "bump" at the finish, and the team starts to power together, the boat will move faster. And we'll naturally rate up with the boat to keep moving effectively with the water.
To me this means that the leads are, in a way, listening to, the boat and feeling it surge and allowing that to dictate the rate coming up, instead of trying to "pull" or "push" the rate up at the finish. An interesting thought...
This ties into something that Andrea said about how it's all about being connected to the water and feeling it. A bit esoteric right now but I think with more paddling experience I will develop this water sense and feel for the boat better.
3/22/07
Connection Drill on Land - from Jason
Had a chance to work with Jason today on getting on top of the paddle more.
In case you didn't read my previous post... The drill is... Paddler sits on a low wall or ledge. Brace feet against the feet of another friend or a wall. Gets in normal body position at the top of the stroke. Will focus on a strong, connected stroke, weight on top of the paddle with top arm. The Coach or a friend puts opposing pressure against your blade with their hand and full body weight behind that, they'll need to scoot along as you apply pressure. This person is playing the part of the 'wall of water' - and is there to spot you if you fall off the wall.)
We started with me holding out my "water side" arm and the coach clasping it - bodyposition is like that at the start of a stroke, hinged forward and rotated. Then I focused on getting a connection all the way through a "circle of power". This circle extends from the bottom of my water side foot, through my lower leg, upper leg, hip, lower back, middle back, upper back, shoulder, arm, wrist, to the hand the coach is clasping. Before I even begin to pull back, I establish that connection and circle all the way from the bottom of my foot, up to the coach's hand. If he can't feel it, I don't have an unbroken circle. Once I find the circle, I pull back, hinging backwards and derotating as in the stroke, to pull the coach towards me.
Once this drill feels good, we add a blade and my top arm in, and I focus on driving on top of the blade, down into the water. I should feel like I will fall out of the boat if the blade (and coach substituting as water) were not there to support me. I should practically lift myself off the seat with my blade - in a boat this would have the effect of transferring weight off the boat and onto the blade, assisting with glide and forward momentum.
Another isometric exercise Jason suggested is sitting forward on the top of a wall, and putting your blade up against the wall next to you, as you would have it in the power phase of your stroke. Focus on proper body position for where you would be in the stroke at that moment, look in a mirror, feel the isometric pressure of your blade against the wall. Sit further back to simulate the catch phase.
In case you didn't read my previous post... The drill is... Paddler sits on a low wall or ledge. Brace feet against the feet of another friend or a wall. Gets in normal body position at the top of the stroke. Will focus on a strong, connected stroke, weight on top of the paddle with top arm. The Coach or a friend puts opposing pressure against your blade with their hand and full body weight behind that, they'll need to scoot along as you apply pressure. This person is playing the part of the 'wall of water' - and is there to spot you if you fall off the wall.)
We started with me holding out my "water side" arm and the coach clasping it - bodyposition is like that at the start of a stroke, hinged forward and rotated. Then I focused on getting a connection all the way through a "circle of power". This circle extends from the bottom of my water side foot, through my lower leg, upper leg, hip, lower back, middle back, upper back, shoulder, arm, wrist, to the hand the coach is clasping. Before I even begin to pull back, I establish that connection and circle all the way from the bottom of my foot, up to the coach's hand. If he can't feel it, I don't have an unbroken circle. Once I find the circle, I pull back, hinging backwards and derotating as in the stroke, to pull the coach towards me.
Once this drill feels good, we add a blade and my top arm in, and I focus on driving on top of the blade, down into the water. I should feel like I will fall out of the boat if the blade (and coach substituting as water) were not there to support me. I should practically lift myself off the seat with my blade - in a boat this would have the effect of transferring weight off the boat and onto the blade, assisting with glide and forward momentum.
Another isometric exercise Jason suggested is sitting forward on the top of a wall, and putting your blade up against the wall next to you, as you would have it in the power phase of your stroke. Focus on proper body position for where you would be in the stroke at that moment, look in a mirror, feel the isometric pressure of your blade against the wall. Sit further back to simulate the catch phase.
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