USACK - Dragon Boat USA Technique

Provided by Mike Blundetto - USACK - Dragon Boat USA Chief Racing Officer / Coaching and Training Chairman / 2009 World Games Head Coach / 2010 - 2012 US National Team Coach

Square in the Air: This is the setup or prep phase of the stroke, in which the body and balance of the athlete, along with the paddle are positioned to begin the stroke. Height of the blade above the water is approximate blade width, with the blade square to the front of the boat the paddle is in a positive angle with the top hand just outside the gunwale so that the paddle is vertical (90 degrees) avoid overextension. The athlete has a slight forward bend from the waist, with rotation in the hip and torso to achieve this setup or prep phase. Bottom arm is fully extended, with fingers hooked on the shaft (palm open) with bottom wrist straight or in a neutral position. Top wrist is in a neutral position the top arm is straight A frame. A slight flex at the elbow is more comfortable for some. Top shoulder is back in line with the ear keep the shoulder and head from touching athlete is looking slightly ahead. Near hip is rotated forward the near knee is flexed near foot is on the footrest . The athlete should feel that their weight is on the near butt cheek their centre of gravity is out over the water this is a balance point.

In this phase, the athlete is at the end of the recovery phase and is firming their body in anticipation of the drive phase. The core muscles are set. This heightened awareness or anticipation of the drive is crucial there is a slight hesitation in the square in the air position.

This square in the air position will reflect an A frame position with the paddle and straight arms, back and inside hip. It is important to avoid overextension and over rotation. Drive Phase This is a critical phase in the dragon boat stroke. It is what separates the top paddlers from all the rest. It is all about maintaining the angles of square in the air, while both arms and shoulders drive or press the paddle into the water forcefully. This powerful driving down is assisted by having the weight of the athlete out of the boat and over the paddle. The athlete uses his/her body weight to assist in the drive towards the catch. In order to avoid catching the water short (CWS) the athlete should remember to: Keep top shoulder back versus moving or pushing forward. Bottom shoulder presses down and forward towards the water - think of bottom shoulder moving forward and down versus back - think of bottom hand going forward versus moving or pulling back. Keep torso and hip rotated and maintain strong A frame position. A powerful entry of the blade into the water, while still maintaining the angles achieved in square in air, is critical in transmitting power to the catch. Catch Phase This phase begins when the bottom edge of the blade touches the water and ends when the blade is totally buried in the water. The angle of the paddle as the catch begins is 60 degrees. When the blade is completely buried the angle will be slightly less than 60 but greater than 50. This will naturally occur if fully rotated and arms are straight. There is a sequence of events that begin to occur at this moment, in order to maximize power transmission.

Just as the blade is totally submerged the catch the first movement is with the hips. This allows the paddle to stall or lock into place in the water. This is a must in order to connect the paddle with the water. The athlete thinks (Mental Focus MF) of driving the paddle into a post hole and then locking it against the near side of the hole by moving the hips. The hips rotate on the seat remember there is movement in both hips. You are attempting to rotate the hips on the seat versus just driving the near hip back and locking out the near leg. The inside hip moves forward and towards the paddling side gunwale. Look for movement in the knees coordinated with movement in the hips. The power in the stroke is going to come from the hips and legs. The athlete thinks (MF) of a bungee cord from the bottom hand to the near hip. Stretch the bungee cord by leaving the bottom hand there and rotating the hips on the seat. This will increase the distance from the bottom hand to the hip.

Keep your body position tight to the gunwale. Keep the weight on the paddle. This is strongest part of the stroke. The athlete is attempting to keep the paddle in this part of water time as long as possible. All trunk and shoulder rotations are still in place. The top arm is to maintain a strong powerful position straight is best. Look for the top shoulder to stay back. Look for the torso to be still rotated. The top hand must stay out over the gunwale in the channel. The blade stays buried through a powerful driving down with the top hand and shoulder. Both wrists are neutral straight and strong. Bottom hand has the fingers hooked on the shaft of the paddle. This is a strong position avoid pinching grip avoid choking the shaft with the hand and fingers ( death grip ) Top hand is strong on the grip avoid any skewed positions of the palm and fingers on the grip again strong and straight position. MF body position is such that the blade is buried and bottom hand is below the gunwale note the triangle created by the shaft / gunwale and bottom forearm. Avoid dropping the body down too far and getting trapped in the catch or trapped in the hole

Press Phase There are 3 distinct sections with the blade in the water the catch / press and exit. These should be noticeable in the length of time that the paddle remains in each part. The athlete attempts to maintain the paddle in the catch and press sections for as long as possible. The paddle has the most powerful angles during these first two sections of water time. As the paddle angle begins to go less than 90 / 90 degrees, the athlete begins to accelerate the paddle through this third section of water time. Biomechanics make this section the weakest, as all effective rotation has been lost. Remember to keep your weight on the paddle.

Continue to drive down or press with the top arm / shoulder and hand, in order to keep the blade buried. NOT FORWARD. Avoid pushing with the top arm and hand this will cause the paddle to move through the first section of water time too fast and will eliminate the 90 / 90 angles immediately MF keep top shoulder back and exerting only a down pressure. The bottom arm is straight. Look for a big open angle under the bottom armpit. The A frame position(s) are maintained. The athlete tries to support their weight on the paddle while sitting up. The blade stays in the 90 / 90 position for as long as possible. The athlete presses up so that the relative distance between the athlete and paddle is maintained MF stay away from the paddle.

As the paddle angle begins to lose its 90 / 90, the weakest part of the stroke is beginning. The athlete is now trying to accelerate the body and paddle movement patterns.

The summation of joint forces is a principle being applied in this phase, as two counter rotations will occur. 1. Just as the blade is buried, the near hip begins a backward movement while the inside hip moves forward. This torque action tries to keep the paddle locked in the water. 2. The torso counter rotates following the hip movement but is delayed as much as possible in order to again maintain the strongest paddle position. NOTE: MF hip rotation / press up / finish it off. The first two sections in the water the catch and press are the strongest part of the stroke. The blade should stay in these sections as long as possible. This is similar to top swimmers when the hand enters the water and sculls to find a connection with the water versus pulling the hand through this powerful section of the stroke. MF press up versus rotate through the shoulders. The third section is when the paddle angle drops below 90 / 90. This is the beginning of the exit phase MF accelerate the blade through the exit, while maintaining a strong connection to the water MF finish it off / accelerate out of the water. Picture pushing off a wall - this will set up the exit.

Exit: With the paddle angle less than 90 / 90, the paddle is now in the weakest part of the timeframe that the blade is in the water. The athlete in now thinking exit .

Squeeze the near hip and bottom hand together. Accelerate the speed of body / paddle movements in order to get through the exit zone as quickly as possible. The top hand continues to press as it breaks from the channel (position just outside the gunwale) and moves in and up towards 2 oclock for lefts and 10 oclock for rights there is a timing element here as the press and release of the exit occurs. NOTE: if the athlete presses down with the top hand without the accompanying movement across and up, the blade will shovel water up and back causing the boat to slow and upsetting the exit timing. The bottom hand lifts and moves laterally and forward trying to compress the water trapped on the near side of the blade as it cuts out of the water. There is a slight flexion in the bottom elbow on this lift. When done correctly, there is very little water surface turbulence. It is under the surface in the form of a whirlpool of bubbles. The stronger the exit the more visible is this bucket of bubbles. A strong exit sets up the next stroke (Catch). Lead with the elbow on the exit. MF imagine as the bottom thumb moves forward, it is tied to the hip which has already started to move forward. Thus the hip and thumb are in concert in executing a strong, powerful and yet smooth, aggressive exit.

The exit is at the hip slightly behind MF think of the hip / butt as a wall and try to: 1. accelerate off the wall - Bust your outside elbow through the wall 2. hip and thumb are in concert, 3. stay on the gunwale - keep weight from shifting inside the boat, keep your weight on the near butt cheek, 4. go forward with the paddle versus lead the paddle with upper body. Remember sequencing hip, torso, shoulders, elbow and hands. (High hands as you throw the paddle forward and relax at the front end in order to set up the next stroke) THROW Everything forward and rise up.

Recovery / Relaxation: When the blade breaks from the water, the main emphasis is on muscle relaxation and breathing (inhalation) as rotation towards the set up occurs. The torso is upright (slight lean forward) as the athlete moves forward, a rotation around a vertical axis occurs to establish a strong square in the air position. This setup or firming position is at the end of the recovery phase. Look for relaxation in the neck, shoulders arms and hands. The athlete is looking ahead- high hands, not across the lap. Summary: Although this dynamic paddling motion contains a number of phases the coach / athlete must think of setup to setup as a powerful, sequential, continuous, rhythmical and coordinated motion. It takes a long time, many kilometers and hours of practice, with patience and attention to detail. Paddle front to front - not back to back with relaxation at the finish - relaxation occures at the set up point (front of the stroke). The art of coaching is in breaking down a dynamic movement pattern into a series of meaningful static drills with external and internal cues. These drills teach the muscle memory patterns of movement and allow the athlete to feel the desired connection to the water. Contact Information: www.USACK-DragonBoatUSA.com Mblundetto@aol.com