If you’re just getting into kayaking, you really needn’t be too concerned about minute details of paddling technique. The only truly “bad way of paddling” is one that will cause injury. Having said that, although any stroke that gets your kayak moving is fine, good technique will greatly improve the efficiency of your strokes, increase your range and comfort, and help you avoid strain or injury, allowing you to have even more fun.

The forward stroke is the most important of all because it’s the primary means of driving a kayak forward, and because of the sheer number of times that we perform the stroke on every outing.

Firstly, to do any stroke well, your posture must be good. The ideal sitting position in a kayak is comfortably upright—just the way that your mom always told you to sit at the dinner table! Lounging in a boat is great too, but save that slouched position for sun tanning between bouts of active paddling.

The forward stroke can be broken down into three parts: the catch, rotation and recovery.

THE CATCH
The catch is the start to the forward stroke, where your paddle blade is planted in the water. Sitting up straight, with a relaxed grip on your paddle, reach to your toes and plant your blade fully into the water. This reaching action involves both your arms and your shoulders. Do not lean forward at the waist to reach to your toes, but rather twist from the waist. If you’re reaching for a stroke with your right blade, you’ll push your right shoulder forward while reaching with your right arm. This twisting action sets you up to unwind your torso for the stroke.

ROTATION
With your paddle now firmly planted in the water at your toes, pull your blade through the water by unwinding your torso (twisting from the waist), and punching forward with your top hand. Concentrate on driving your kayak forward by using your large torso muscles, rather than relying on your comparatively weak arms to do the work.

Keep your elbows bent and your hands low. For general paddling purposes, your top hand should be about shoulder or chest level. Bringing your hands up higher will generate more power but is far more tiring to maintain than a low hand position.

RECOVERY
The recovery is the point at which your forward stroke ends and the blade gets removed from the water. Your blade should exit the water at your hip, so when your stroke reaches your hip, slice your paddle up out of the water sideways and get ready for the next stroke. At this point, your body should have unwound past its position of rest, and be wound up ready for the next catch of your other blade on the opposite side.