Thank you again for a concise explanation of paddle dynamics. The challenge here is that when a paddler feels real resistance, it’s like picking up a heavy weight. There’s a “woah” and they’ll want to slip the pressure to relieve it. But that pressure is what you need to confront and conquer. When you confront real pressure with an arm paddle, something has to give and generally the paddler will find ways to slip it. It’s actually daunting. So knowing it’s there, confronting and conquering (or mastering) it seems to be a mentally important concept. As a learner, I’ll find real resistance on one side and not the other due to bad catch or whatever. My focus is to find the concrete each stroke and resist all of it. I think the wing blade helps a lot because a so-called “Euro” blade allows for all-too-easy slippage during the stroke. Also, arm pull produces slips, thus making it attractive to the learning paddler who unconsciously wants to avoid resistance. To combat that tendency, I’m trying (mentally) to find the concrete or solidity of the water and confront it and it’s hard. But I think with time and technique that’s where I’ll find ease and fluidity and power. I just know (like in swimming) it will take time on the water pursuing good techniques that I learn here! Who knew paddling was such a complex and challenging motion?!? 😅
