RELATED TOPICS: Coaching Index | Screw Roll | C-to-C Roll | Hand Roll | Eskimo Rescue | Reverse Screw Roll CARTWHEELSThe cartwheel seems to be one of the first 'modern' play boat moves that most aspire to perfect. A cartwheel looks pretty impressive but in essence there's not a great deal to it, it just takes a bit of practice and hey presto, you're there! The basic skills required for cartwheels are, oddly enough, covered in the BCU 1 star syllabus. The sweep stroke, probably one of the most important strokes you'll ever learn, is all that's required. You'll also need a boat for the job, ideally a short slicey boat. Essentially a cartwheel is rotating the boat around the paddler using a combination of forward and reverse sweep strokes. The trick is, the boat is rotating in the vertical plane not the horizontal. The true skill comes from getting the boat into the vertical plane and keeping it there! This is where a bit of balance, good timing are required. Before starting to cartwheel there's a few things to bear in mind. Cartwheels require flexibility, mainly in the torso so it's essential to warm up appropriately, stretching those muscles for maximum bendiness! THE FLAT-WHEELTo start we'll use the flat wheel as a means to get you cartwheeling! It's called the Flat Wheel because it's a cartwheel on flat water. Personally I think the flat wheel is harder as there's no moving water to assist with boat rotation, but because it's being done of flat water we can concentrate on what you and the boat are doing rather than worrying about the water around you! Once you've sused that, cartwheeling should become far more naturally. Turning the BoatOkay, lets get back to basics and see if your 1 star skills are up to scratch! To start we'll rotate the boat using forward and reverse sweep strokes. The important points are trunk rotation and head position. To start off with we'll spin the boat in a clockwise direction, starting with a forward sweep on the left side and a reverse sweep on the right. They key points are looking over your right shoulder at where the bow of the boat will be in a few seconds time and making sure the bulk of the rotation comes from your torso and not your shoulders! Practice this in both directions and make sure the switch between the forward and reverse sweep stroke is as quick and as clean as possible. EdgingOkay, so you've passed your 1 star, lets see about that edge control! This is a simple exercise to see if you can maintain an edge. This is very important as this is what gets the cartwheel started and controls it in the vertical plane. To start off, lift an edge, lets say the right by lifting your right knee and pressing down with your left bum cheek! Try and get around 30 to 45 degree edge. Now using forward paddling, paddle around in a large circle holding that edge! When bored, switch edge and paddle back in another circle. Practice this over and over! Initiating a CartwheelFor the purpose of this exercise we'll be doing right handed cartwheels. For left handed, simply insert left when I say right, allright? Okay, so you can do sweep strokes and hold an edge. Lets see if we can initiate a cartwheel.
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