Martial Arts Of Canoeing

Believe it or not, the practice of paddling a canoe has been linked to one of China's age old martial arts: Tai Chi. Concepts behind the gentle flowing martial arts can be applied to the way canoeists put their paddle into the water and how they tackle the surface to produce fluid, efficient strokes.

Not that I'm saying that people should learn Tai Chi before they start to learn the basics of canoeing. It's just that, some practitioners of the martial arts as well as the water sport have found out that studying the two totally separate activities have, surprisingly, deep connections with each other and complements each other.
Tai Chi exercises have been found to be an effective means of developing muscles and practicing movements essential for paddling a canoe. But like I mentioned earlier, you don't need to learn the martial arts to learn the skills involved in canoeing.

Regardless, there are a couple of things that you need to learn when paddling a canoe.

Keep your center of gravity as low as possible. In canoeing, the right posture will bring better results. The stability of our body will flow down to the canoe. When you want to use power strokes, it is best that you keep your arms and hands in front of the shoulder plane. Keep the front of the shoulders and your arms and hands aligned together to prevent injuries to your shoulders.

If you want to move faster it is essential that you maintain the stability of the boat. If you go rushing in, all you will produce is big splashes and less movement. To move faster in a canoe, avoid major side-to-side movements of the boat and bobbing the boat's bow and stern. Keep it calm. You'll find that moving calmly over the water results in a better speed.

Handling a canoe can be very tricky and at times quite difficult. Take for instance turning the canoe. The best possible way to turn a canoe in a direction is by executing sweep strokes. An effective sweep stroke involves having a horizontal paddle with the actual sweep starting at 90 degrees out. You then pull back all the way to stern if you're turning at the stern. Going to as much as 180 degrees to make a sweep is already counterproductive.

There are other techniques when you use the paddle, either you complement your canoeing skills by learning Tai Chi or practice with just that, it doesn't really matter. As long you're dedicated in learning the basics and practicing the correct form all the type, being an excellent canoeist is just around the water bend.

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