In Conversation with Our Canoe
Text and Illustration Concepts by Michael Howard
Illustrations by Dave Howard
“…every paddling experience is an on-going conversation between you and your canoe…” Bruce Kemp, Why Freestyle?, Crosspost, 2016
In the first article to be posted on Crosspost in 2016, Bruce Kemp elaborates on the conversational dynamic of paddling:
“… That Joy is only increased as you learn more about how you can facilitate, enhance, and make use of that movement: in learning how to speak to the boat with your blade, your weight shifts, your heeling; but also, in learning how to listen when the canoe speaks to you…”
Bruce concludes with the view:
“…FreeStyle paddling may be thought of, and described, in many ways, and this is only One of those ways – FreeStyle instruction is all about learning how to be an effective and efficient Communicator with your boat certainly, but also a Good Listener as well. It’s about learning how to hold up your end of that on-going conversation…”
I read this article only recently, but it affirms what I experienced from my first encounter with Freestyle canoeing. While the need to become an effective communicator with our canoe is clear, it makes sense that the surest way of becoming a Good Communicator is to become a Good Listener to the conversation between our paddle and canoe.
This conversational dynamic has played an integral part of my learning the various strokes and maneuvers of FreeStyle. It has also opened up a whole other dimension for why I love to canoe. In addition to functional and interpretive FreeStyle, this conversational approach has led to what I think of as contemplative FreeStyle, that is, paddling different strokes and maneuvers for the inner equanimity and harmony it can bring.
After my first FreeStyle Symposium at Paul Smiths in July 2022, I returned to my local Puffer’s Pond to practice what I had learned. Although I knew how to do a J-stroke, I felt like a total beginner in meeting all the other new techniques and terminology of FreeStyle. Therefore, I was highly motivated to master the remarkable turns and sideslips I had seen in videos and now in person. The way my teachers effortlessly moved their canoes in such incredible ways seemed like magic, but I wanted to understand what was really going on so I could replicate these moves myself. I would spend good amounts of time trying to master Axels and Sideslips the way I had been shown, but one day, I paused from working directly on such maneuvers. I found myself moving my paddle in the water in a playful but attentive manner.
With the angle of my blade parallel to my canoe, I pushed it sideways away from me, causing my canoe to move sideways away from my paddle. Then I drew or pulled my paddle towards me with the effect of moving my canoe towards my paddle. The way my canoe responded to my paddle was naturally of interest, but what stood out most for me was the pressure I felt on my paddle. I was especially struck by the contrast between feeling the water press on the outside face of my paddle blade as I pushed it away from me compared to feeling the pressure on the inside of my paddle as I drew it towards me. I was not thinking about what laws of physics were involved; I was simply living in the two distinct sensations of pushing and pulling. I repeated these simple paddle moves several times so I could live more fully into the pushing and pulling sensation. Attending to this play of forces felt like I was listening to my paddle and canoe. Sometimes, it even felt like we were singing together.
In subsequent sessions, this initial experience evolved into my warm-up routine. The particulars might vary from session to session, but over time I came to recognize a range of variables that gave an inherent order to my playful explorations. It was something of a revelation to realize every paddle stroke involves some combination of three basic elements:
- The angle I hold my paddle blade;
- Where I place my paddle blade in relation to my canoe when initiating the stroke;
- The direction I move my paddle blade in making the stroke.
Four Paddle Blade Angles
In one sense there are many possible blade angles, however for the sake of simplicity, I limit myself to 4 angles. I refer to them simply as Angles 1-4, but also: Parallel, Closed, Right Angle and Open as shown in Figures 1 – 4.
Note: All images show the bow of the canoe indicated by the small triangular figure
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Three Paddle Blade Positions
When it comes to paddle placement, we also have unlimited possibilities, not only in terms of forward and back, but also closer in and further out. I limit the number to 3 paddle blade placement positions, plus 3 cross-positions, as a realistic starting point for developing a feeling for the way my canoe responds to where I place my paddle when initiating a paddle stroke. I refer to these paddle positions as:
| Onside | Offside |
| Forward | Cross Forward |
| Side | Cross Side |
| Back | Cross Back |
Two Paddle Blade Moves
When it comes to paddle moves we might assume there are many so it may seem counter-intuitive to suggest there are basically two. What strikes me as the single most significant dimension underlying all aspects of canoeing–functional, interpretive and contemplative—is that a paddle blade is either pulled to create a drawing or pulling force on it’s inside face, or the blade is pushed away to create a prying or pushing force on it’s outside face. All the many moves we make with our canoe involve either a pulling or pushing move of our paddle, or some combination of both. There is a third type of move in which the blade moves edge-wise through the water so as to produce no water pressure on either side of the paddle. This is known as an in-water recovery as it is very useful when we want to go from one stroke to another without taking our paddle out of the water.
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My exploration of these basic elements of paddling may have begun as a playful distraction and then warm-up exercises, however, I soon discovered they had a direct effect on my original aspiration to master the spectrum of FreeStyle maneuvers such as Axels, Wedges, and Sideslips.
I had observed in myself, as well as my fellow students, that in spite of our best efforts to replicate the positions and moves our teachers demonstrated for a particular maneuver, success often eluded us. While I did not doubt there were optimal paddle positions, for me it did not make sense to keep trying the same thing over and over again if it did not produce the intended result. It made more sense to attend to the play of forces on my paddle and canoe than mechanically repeat positions that were not effective. My playful side was inclined to experiment with where and how I moved my paddle in search of the magical sweet spot where suddenly the relevant pushing or pulling sensation did produce the desired effect. I can imagine many students might benefit from including the playful exploration of how these pushing and pulling forces on the paddle affect the canoe as an integral aspect of learning FreeStyle techniques.
As I continued to explore this more intuitive approach, I found myself making sketches that showed the play of forces for each of the
basic maneuvers. Each drawing would show the blade angle, paddle position, paddle movement and the corresponding movement of the canoe, along with a few simple verbal descriptions. As I write, I have made 53 drawings that cover all the basic forward, backward, onside and offside turns. I can highly recommend making simple drawings for oneself as a way to internalize the play of forces involved in all basic maneuvers. I include Figure 8 as an example that shows the elements involved in doing a Sculling Pry.
Lastly, while I have made some tentative beginnings at weaving together a sequence of basic maneuvers to music, I am also developing sequences without music. In this case, I weave together very simple moves that may be too subtle and slow to be effective when performing a given piece of music. I find weaving together simple and modest maneuvers in a harmonious manner lends itself to the contemplative potential of paddling a canoe. If others include some contemplative dimension to their repertoire of canoeing options, perhaps opportunities would arise to share such efforts together.
In any event, the conversational dynamic of listening to our paddle and canoe, and the contemplative potential it offers, seem like dimensions of FreeStyle worthy of further development.