Basic kayak strokes: how to hold the paddle, forward, reverse, sweep and draw strokes

TUREFF• •0

A handful of strokes covers almost everything you need on flat water: going forwards, stopping and going backwards, turning, and moving sideways. Learning them properly from the start saves a lot of tired arms, and it is far easier than unlearning bad habits later.

Holding the paddle

A kayak paddle has a blade at each end. Before you worry about strokes, check three things.

Which way up: many blades are slightly asymmetric, with the shorter edge at the bottom. Hold the paddle so the blade looks the right way up when it is in the water.
Which side faces you: most blades are slightly curved like a spoon. The concave face, sometimes called the power face, should face you as it pulls through the water.
Where your hands go: hold the shaft with your hands a little wider than your shoulders and evenly spaced from the blades. A quick check is to rest the shaft on top of your head; your elbows should make roughly right angles.

Many paddles have blades set at an angle to each other (feathered). If yours is, one hand, usually your control hand, keeps a firm grip and the other lets the shaft rotate within a loose grip. If the blades are in line (unfeathered), you do not need to rotate at all. Beginners often find an unfeathered setting simpler. Keep a relaxed grip. Clenched hands tire your forearms quickly.

Forward stroke

Sit up straight with your feet against the footrests and your knees lightly braced.
Rotate your body so your shoulder moves forward, and place the blade fully in the water near your feet.
Pull by unwinding your body rather than bending your arms. Think of pulling the boat past the paddle.
Take the blade out at your hip. Going further back just lifts water and slows you down.
Repeat on the other side.

If the boat keeps veering, look at a point ahead, keep strokes close to the side of the kayak, and make both sides equally strong. Long sweeping strokes turn the boat; short, upright strokes drive it straight.

Reverse stroke

The reverse stroke stops you and takes you backwards. Use the back of the blade, the same one you already have in your hands; do not flip the paddle. Rotate your body towards the back of the boat, put the blade in beside your hip and push forward to your feet. Look over your shoulder every few strokes to see where you are going. A few short reverse strokes on alternate sides are the quickest way to stop.

Sweep strokes

Sweep strokes turn the boat without losing much speed.

Forward sweep: put the blade in near your feet, held away from the boat, and draw a wide arc out to the side and round towards the stern. The boat turns away from the side you are sweeping on.
Reverse sweep: the same arc in the other direction, from the stern round to the bow, using the back of the blade. The boat turns towards that side and slows down.

Combining a forward sweep on one side with a reverse sweep on the other spins the boat on the spot. Watch the blade as it moves and rotate your whole body with it.

Draw stroke

The draw stroke moves the kayak sideways, which is useful for coming alongside a jetty, a bank or another boat.

Rotate your body to face the side you want to move towards.
Reach out and place the blade in the water with the shaft as upright as you can manage, the power face towards the boat.
Pull the blade towards your hip.
Before it touches the boat, turn the blade a quarter turn and slice it back out to the starting point under water, or lift it out, then repeat.

Do not let the blade hit the side of the boat while still pulling; that is a common way to capsize. Stop the pull a short distance from the hull.

Practising

Find calm, shallow water near the bank, ideally with a coach or an experienced friend. Practise each stroke slowly on both sides, then string them together: paddle forwards, stop, reverse, turn on the spot, and draw sideways into the bank. Short regular sessions do more than one long one. Which stroke are you finding hardest, or what helped it click for you? Tell us in the comments.