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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ก.ย. 2015
- This is a quick demonstration of how to use a kayak paddle with a 0-degree offset angle between the blades (0 feather). There is an ongoing debate if 0 degree offset or some other angle is best. I will not try to tell you which is best or when to choose which angle. It is up to you! Other than, perhaps, that very small feather angles such as 30 or 15 degree make absolutely no sense whatsoever - they lose the benefits of 0-degree feather and do not have the benefits of higher feather angles such as 60-70 degrees, or even 90 in special cases.
So why this video? There are some silly arguments floating on the web, including from Werner’s FAQ page, that claim that the wrist alignment cannot be properly maintained with a 0 degree feather. This is simply wrong. You will see for yourself. The key point is this: to correctly use a 0-feather paddle, the control hand must change from one side to the other during the stroke (while the paddle is in the air). While the paddle is in the water, getting ready to start the next stroke, the angle between the wrists is as much as 90 degrees (while the paddle is 0 degree feather). It is important to note that the angle between the wrists is not determined or related to the feather angle on the paddle. You choose a correct anatomic position and that determines the angle between your wrists. The feather angle is irrelevant for this.
Note: this is not an instructional video on proper technique - mine needs work. It simply brings the point that a 0-degree feather works exactly the same as far as wrist alignment during the catch, power, and release phases of the stroke, and the only difference is during the setup for the next stroke: there, with 0-feather the control transitions from one hand to the other, while with a high-feather angle paddle the control stays always with the same “control” hand. I started with 65 degree feather many years ago. At some point I made the effort to switch to 0 degree, to benefit from Greenland-style paddles. Yes, it took some time to adapt, but now it feels completely natural: everything is symmetric on both sides - for paddling, bracing, and rolling. - กีฬา
Dude, this video is so good on a variety of levels. I've had a lot of issues with the right control hand technique with an offset since I'm fairly ambidextrous. The zero feather looks like it'll make perfect sense for me.
Excellent instruction on paddling fundamentals that no one else is teaching (not that I have seen, anyway). I wish I had found your video awhile ago. I have been having wrist pain, and you show me exactly where my problem is. You also show exactly where to shift grip (right to left, etc) on a 0-degree feathered paddle. This is all critical information for beginners who are serious about learning correct paddling technique.
Posted 5 months ago? You're probably the expert now and I'm the noob! I didn't realize how much twisting of the paddle would be required. Interesting. Might get to go out tomorrow.
Great explanation and nicely shown with visual indicators. One of the best feathering explanations on youtube!
Thanks!
An excellent explanation and demonstration - thank you. It's clear that:
1. If you retain control by one hand (left or right), feathering makes sense
2. If you switch control of hands then you should use no feather
I never liked the idea of one hand retaining control as it seems unbalanced and unnatural to me, but that's personal preference. This demonstration explains why a Greenland paddle is never feathered - good Greenland technique requires you to switch control of hands and loosen the top hand.
Excellent. Good explanation regarding 0 angle. I like that very much. Thanks...
Definitely the best video out there for this thank you
many Olympic paddlers paddle very well technically with a variety of feathers, left or right. The only advantage of zero degree is that you can brace better on both sides (advocated for surfski paddlers by Oscar Chalupsky). There may be a bit less stress on the wrists also. But many very good paddlers are racing in Olympic finals with feathered paddles using great technique.
Omg - this is what I’ve been doing and never realized it - I was coached this way zero degree feather but never understood the contrast
Haven't even taken the kayak out yet and I already like the concept of zero feather and switching control hands. Just because it balances the left and right hand actions. The higher angle technique seems cooler, too, as well as that Greenland paddle. Do the two typically go together, higher angle and Greenland?
GREAT VIDEO VERY EDUCATIONAL 👍👍👍
Best instruction I've seen yet. Thank you for sharing. Can you explain what your legs are doing? I'm told you step or kick with the leg to the side you are rowing on.
Ray Konold Try to find Greg Barton's instructional videos on forward stroke on TH-cam. or buy his and Oscar Chalupski's DVD. Or Ben Lawry's. The idea for the leg drive is that you do just enough to counteract the pull of the paddle. Many beginners tent to push too hard with the feet against the foot pegs, pushing themselves back agains the back rest or rear of the seat - that's too much. The idea is that the butt rotates in place. As the right hip and butt cheek swivel back, the left should move forward, keeping the lower torso and pelvis centered in place. There should be little twist in the upper torso, instead, there should be rotation from the hips up.
Thanks! I'll check the sporting goods stores.
th-cam.com/video/lef_ut8n0ms/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/B9HRyt0fDbc/w-d-xo.html
That was very helpful. Thank you. Entertaining too.
It would only be a better video if there was a thin strip of white tape length wise across the shaft. Awesome 👌 vid,lots of help.
i used to like the flat angle blades on my wing paddle but since switching to a surf ski i find it difficult to feather it to 90 degrees, i.e. many misses of the 'catch' that almost make me swim. This happens i think because of lack of confidence and knowledge of the correct angles [both, relative to the paddle shaft and to the water] of entering the water. 60 degrees or less is more acceptable though. However, i find that once starting feathered is difficult to adjust to unfeathered- i guess is just a matter of practice... can you offer any tips for practice? Thanks.
+daisilui Hi, I started paddling with a 60 degree feather angle and used that for a few years. Wing paddles and touring paddles. Then I began using Greenland paddles, which are 0 degree feather angle. I could not easily switch between the 60 degree and 0 degree paddles on the fly - that would mess with my bracing and rolling. So I decided to switch all my paddles to 0 degree feather, because I liked the Greenland paddles. 0 degrees work just as well in terms of power and feel on the water, and actually better than say 60 in terms of wrist alignment and symmetry. A big feather angle, like 60 degree or more has advantages in stiff wind going upwind and for slalom gates, but other than that it's all disadvantages: introduces asymmetry in the grip and wrist action and is more vulnerable to side winds. So I can't say one is absolutely better than the other - both 0 and 60+ feather have plusses and minuses. The only thing that is clear to me is that small feather angles, like 15 to 30 degrees, that are very popular with modern white water paddles, do absolutely nothing good - it sacrifices the symmetry of 0 degree and does not gain any benefits of higher feather angles. The only reason people use those small angles that I can think of is that they are used to having some feather from years of paddling but are afraid to commit the time to switch to full 0 degree. That and the more ready availability of 15 to 30 feather angle white water paddles vs. the need to custom order a 0 degree one.I can switch between 0 and 60 degree feather on my paddles (wing on my surf ski or touring paddle for sea kayaking) on the fly. And I do it occasionally, bit only if I am paddling for extended periods on flat water against stiff wind. My forward stroke technique adapts quickly enough and after a mile or two I get used to it. But my rolling and bracing do not seem to adapt and they get shaky if I change my feather angle on the fly. It took me months to switch from 60 to 0 when I started using Greenland paddles and gain the new muscle memory needed for instinctive bracing and rolling with a symmetrical 0 degree feather angle. Today, similarly, I can't instinctively brace and roll with a 60 degree paddle, where 0 feels natural for me now (just like 60 felt natural a decade ago). So I can effectively only switch between 0 and 60 for forward stroke on easy water. If it is bumpy and I expect to need to brace or roll, then I don't switch and stick with my now "regular" 0 degree angle.
When Oscar Chalupsky says zero feather is the way to go for new paddlers, I'll take that to the bank. He says if your muscle memory is from a 70° feather then don't bother changing.
i don't have a problem changing- from 90 to 50 to 0 degrees although each time it takes about 1-2 minutes to adjust. Oscar also says that that the main reason for 0 degrees is easiness of bracing on either side + he only paddles downwind. i don't find it confusing to brace with a feathered angle +i am not that fortunate to have someone pick me up at the end so i got to come back- paddle upwind too
Wing paddle for the win!
3 % faster
I have never paddled with a feather
When I paddled 60 on short wings I paddled 70 on long wings. Now I paddle zero on both and fail to see any advantage or disadvantage. It’s just that I struggle going back to feather so I’ll stick to zero. Don’t be like me, keep your feather.
Dino Alberini well, as long as the kayak moves forward that’s the most important I guess 🙂
Also i never really paddled in my life and setting the feather to 30left just makes it feel natural in my hand. 30right is very awkward
I left with the cat. Feather for down river POWER, zero feather for PLAYBOATING.
I'm just a novice but zero degree just seems natural to me but everyone so far tell me its wrong & the paddles should be offset, i fish from a Cobra fish n dive on the Ocean..Thanks for the video...
Jolly Peanut Unfeathered paddling is not any more "wrong" than feathered. Each has advantages and disadvantages. One works better in some situations, the other works better in different situations. For racing, for going upwind, for doing slalom kayaking on a competitive level - feathered (but only if highly feathered, like at least about 60 degrees, not 30 or less) has benefits over unfeathered. It takes months of practice to switch from feathered to unfeathered and many people just don't have the patience or need to go through the awkward and rather long adaptation period. Once you get used to it, it will be just as natural. For my paddling, unfeathered makes more sense: perfect symmetry, no one dominant hand, the paddle is always in the right position in the hand on the side near the water, works with Greenland and Aleutian paddles that I like, still works with wings and whitewater and "Euro" paddles ...
You provide a useful demonstration of the alternating-hand control method of zero-feather paddling. But one-hand and two-hand control is also possible with zero feather. See my on-water demonstrations at th-cam.com/video/9RjwqChii9w/w-d-xo.html
O Degree is terrible I was always used to 30° bentshaft oder 30° straight shaft. One day the 30° straight shafts were sold out so i tried a 12°.
I needed less then 5 second to adapt. Same movement just less wrist bending. Duffek on the left was nice no need to bend the wrist so much. But on the 0 degree paddle the blade on the left side is to much feathered towards your body you have to use the left hand to bend you wrist down away from your body.
A buddy who use 0° told me you have to learn to use both hand to paddle 0° Paddles
Except you're paddling through the kayak hull. Works great standing in the living room.
Compare my analysis to this one: th-cam.com/video/1p7EW04RKAk/w-d-xo.html which claims the wrist alignment depends on the paddle feather. Decide for yourself. I also disagree with that fellow that feathering is only due to anatomically correct hand positioning and not so much about head wind resistance. As I demonstrate, I can have anatomically correct hand position with 0 feather. My experience is that there is a significant penalty to use 0 feather against a strong headwind. In racing that makes a big difference. In an all day paddle against strong wind it also makes a difference. So, if you paddle long open water stretches or you race flat water, or you race kayak slalom, or maybe if you regularly cut through large surf, consider using a high feather angle, 60 degree or more. Of course, you will struggle with bursts of side wind, which will affect your balance at high angle feather, where they don't with 0 feather. If you are in a typpy narrow kayak, you will easily become unbalanced by side winds with a high feather angle paddle. For recreational white water and flat water, 0 degree feather seems the obvious choice - full symmetry for intuitive bracing, control strokes, and rolling, and alternating control hands for even strain on both sides; and can switch between 0 degree Greenland, Aleutian, and any 0 degree paddle :)
Thank you MPoPov69 to your contribution to this topic.
I know there are many opinions on this matter but want to make sure I am understanding yours...and if we may let's use Canoe (Kayak) Polo as USE case...
From your demonstration video where at 7:55 you show with 90 degree feather that you need to "realign your (right) wrist" in order to setup your pending high angle stroke on the left. So presumably this can contribute to wrist strain especially if high angle, high cadence, powerful strokes -- See Canoe (Kayak) Polo.
Now, keeping this conversation to Canoe (Kayak) Polo for a minute.. there are folks like Pete Howard that make the case if you want to be a good Canoe polo player one should be in the area of 75-85 degree feather... because: Better able to Block passes; better paddling speed, etc.
facebook.com/CanoePoloBC/photos/pcb.938799069541056/938796859541277/?type=3&theater
www.dropbox.com/s/mgbhk2nk7axotdd/About%20Polo%20Feather.pdf?dl=0
However if we control for the Wind and Polo Goalie (take those considerations off the table assume one is not normally playing the Goalie position) it seems like your Switch Control Hand 0 Feather demonstration may provide a possible viable alternatie for Polo players as well.
However, in your follow on comments (which I am replying too here) you state if you race flat water, or you race kayak slalom you would consider moving to higher degree feather. But in same paragraph you state flat water no wind consider that No "0" feather good choice. Appreciate if you would clarify (and/or expand) your suggestions/conversation/considerations around this matter as I think may be helpful for many trying to reduce wrist injury.
If you might, please stick with the Canoe Polo Use Case in your reply... and, again, please assume for this USE case little-to-no wind, flat water (often a pool in the case of Canoe Polo), one is not playing Goalie where 90 degree important for shot blocks...But where High Angle, High Cadence, High Speed, fast transition play is important...and where keeping Wrist in optimal shape also very important. Thanks on behalf of High Angle/High Cadence paddlers! (Canoe Polo or otherwise) -PP411
PP 411 I wish I knew more about Polo than just having heard about it. What I can think of is that it involves a lot of contact with other paddlers. I think you would want high feather so you could move the in-the-air half of your paddle more freely and not catch against a competitor's paddle. Somewhat similar to kayak slalom, where you want to minimize the chance of hitting a gate with the paddle. I would not think that 75 degree vs. 90 degree would make much of a difference, but someone who actually practices kayak polo might disagree and come-up with a good argument that I can't think of. While in Polo there are bursts of high speed, they are short in duration, so I don't think aerodynamics of the paddle matter much, so I would not feather for that reason alone. As with amny competitive sports, athletes might trade comfort or even injury for a winning advantage, so they'd use whatever feather gives them the best competitive advantage, and I theorize high feather would do that.
As for my mention of flat water, no wind, no racing, and using 0 feather, I think it makes sense as it is symmetrical. But, I don't think feathering means automatic injury either - I'm no doctor or expert in paddling, so I may be wrong. Just Sharing my observations here. The purpose of my video was to demonstrate that 0 feather does not interfere with proper anatomical alignment or somehow reduce the effectiveness of forward stroke (other than increasing wind resistance some and making avoiding obstacles with the top of the paddle a bit harder). I did not intend to go much beyond that as I don't feel I am that knowledgeable.
I should also mention that I don't think there is any disadvantage of using 0 vs. high angle feather in terms of power of the forward stroke, effectiveness of control strokes, or cadence speed, and choice of feather angle is unrelated to whether you paddle high angle or low angle paddling style. One can put just as much power to the water at any feather angle. For a goalie, wouldn't 0 feather be advantageous in blocking? Or are they more ofthen positioning their kayaks sideways to the most common trajectory of the ball (at opposed to facing it), meaning high feather angle would be better most of the time?
I've heard arguments that with say 90 degree feather you can more quickly brace on the side away from the water, without the need to twist your paddle. I don't think this is a good argument - realigning the paddle is very quick and not arguments issue in my opinion. Plus, with high feather angle, on one side your paddle is always in position for low bracing, while on the other for high bracing. What if you need to high brace on the side that is oriented for low race and vice versa? I think that would be inconvenient and slower than having a 0 degree feather and symmetry on both sides. Also, if it was true that high feather makes for quicker bracing, whitewater kayakers who get battered by waves all the time would all be using high feather angles, and they are not (many used to decades ago, now most are using 30 degree or less nowadays is what I see).
Hi mpopov69!
Thank you for the conversation...
Qualification understood (you're not a Kayak polo player), but I/we are still curious (seeking clarity) on why:
you "theorize high feather would do that." (ie. provide an advantage over no feather ... again given the stated controls/assumptions for our Use Case)"
re: > For a goalie, wouldn't 0 feather be advantageous in blocking? ... I think we both need to defer to Kpolo (Canoe Polo Goalie) to provide insight here.
That stated ... to your implied point... yes you can hold the paddle so guarding paddle face (either power face or backside) at 90 degrees (flat) to incoming shots on goal when using a Zero Feather paddle. In that case, you may give up a little height (protect less of the goal) depending on how you choose to hold the paddle... Normally, the more experienced goalies (that use the 90 degree feather) hold the bottom blade perpendicular to their chest depending and often switch grip depending of angle of attack ... I suspect it has a function to do with both ability to move the top blocking blade pitch quickly as well as possibly working as a better shock absorber for very hard shots on goal while also providing the max height (protection) of goal ... th-cam.com/video/jpwzPjNOaLQ/w-d-xo.html although it would be interesting to have a high level goalie chime in here; eg. if I hold the bottom blade (near my chest) ... parallel to my torso ... can I get effectively the same height, while also keeping the other benefits: quick blade position control, shock absorber, etc.
... although Goalie multi-purpose (Paddle well, Goalie Well, etc) feather discussion related and of interest... MPop- .... the more "important" higher priority question/discussion to us .... is why.... given your strong argument for No Feather (being *generally speaking better* on wrist?)... you theorize that high Feather better (provides advantage) over No Feather in Kayak Polo? ... Multiple opinions around this topic are to be expected/welcomed!.... but would welcome your MPoP specifically expanding upon why you *theorize* (qualifications noted) that high feather in kayak (canoe) polo is "better/more advantageous" than No Feather?
...Do you believe, for example???..., that a High Degree Feather (75-90 degree) naturally (better) improves Torso Rotation and ergo more torque and quick paddle transition power eg. going from Start-Turn-Stop-Start-Sprint transition play? (you did not posit this as example ...I am just providing an example of the type of clarification we are seeking?... what your theory is?)
This conversation particularly relevant for those that may be paddling high angle, high velocity (Kayak Polo or otherwise) and may have or be concerned about potential wrist Issues; ie. what happens to fixed control hand/wrist (eg. right wrist) when high angle, high cadence, high torque (strong hard paddles) -- Fwd-Stops-Turns-Fwd... high velocity transition type of play you see in the above shared TH-cam video.
... Again, all qualifications noted, we remain curious esp. given your good arguments for why No Feather just as good in many paddling situations ... why you *theorize* High degree Feather may provide an Advantage in Kayak polo (again controlling for stated assumptions -- not goalie, not high wind, mostly flat water etc.) Thx!
p.s. ... Spoiler alert (Hopefully which will inform your Reply): ... Yes, right hand/wrist (Control or Glue Hand) should ...when in high Feather Angle ... normally maintain very minimal twist to setup next stroke (Stroke on Left Side) via the "Grease Hand" ... but as your 90 degree Feather + High Angle demonstrates (time stamp 7:50 th-cam.com/video/cOZnEPXt5ZE/w-d-xo.html ) there is some wrist twist ... which I understood to be your one of the main points you intended to make right... That being ... when paddler uses No Feather Pitch (0 degree feather) and switches control hands (when and where you demonstrate) between strokes it can actually Result in No/Less strain on wrist than a paddler using a High Degree Feather (eg. 90 degrees) ... because of the High Degree Feather requires a "Locked" Single Control Hand that needs to twist in order to setup the stroke on the Left hand side. Again in this conversation we need to "Control" for all the other considerations: No Death Grip, Good Torso Rotation, Flat Water, Not playing Goalie, Etc! (....is No Feather paddling just as good as High Feather when doing High Angle, High Velocity paddling eg. Kayak Polo) .... Thx mpopov69... Any high-level Kayak (Canoe Players) out there... Goalie or not ...opinions welcomed! Cheers!
I think high feather might be advantageous in terms of maneuvering around other paddlers. Imagine taking a forward stroke while someone is trying to block you - if you have 0 feather your out of water paddle will offer more surface area to hit the other paddler's body or paddle. A 90 degree feather will minimize this chance. As I mentioned, this I think is similar to kayak slalom, where a 90 degree feather minimizes the chance to hit the gates.
A lot of waffle that does not say anything. Why switch every single stroke ? stupid waste of energy
Zero feather might work for downwind paddling, but that's not called kayaking. You never see a sprinter use zero feather for a reason.