Content

• Steps
• Warnings

This article is about how to properly hold and use a kayak paddle. How you hold the paddle can affect your kayak's efficiency and energy consumption.

Steps

1. 1 Explore the construction of a kayak paddle. Unlike a canoe paddle, two paddles are attached to the handles of the kayak paddles. The handle is the part of the paddle by which you hold it, and the blades are the parts with which you row and push yourself and the kayak through the water.
2. 2 Hold the paddle with both hands so that there is about 40 cm between them.
3. 3 Turn the paddle correctly. On their first kayak swim, people often make the mistake of holding the paddle backwards. Beginners don't see the difference in the different paddle positions, but they have a big impact on how powerful your strokes will be. Hold the paddle with the notched side of the blade facing you. The front side of the paddle is the one that will be used for strokes.
4. 4 Hold the paddle right side up. Many kayak paddles are asymmetrical, meaning that their paddles have a top and a bottom. It is important to hold the oar as intended by the designers: the top of the oar is smoother than the bottom, which is slightly chamfered. Sometimes there is a horizontal inscription on the oar; hold the paddle up, not down, and this will help you remember the correct paddle position.
5. 5 Make sure your knuckles are in line with the paddle blades.
6. 6 Hold the paddle about 30 cm away from your body.
7. 7 Determine which hand you are guiding the paddle with. If you are right-handed, then this will be the right hand, and if you are left-handed, then the left. As you paddle, let the paddle rotate and move in your auxiliary hand, so each blade will enter the water more smoothly and gently. At the same time, do not change the position of the leading hand on the oar.
8. 8 When you are kayaking, push the paddle harder and dive deeper to accelerate.

Warnings

• Do not keep your hands on the oar too close together.