RELATED TOPICS: Coaching Index | Reverse Sweep Strokes

FORWARD SWEEP STROKES

Sweep strokes are the primary turning strokes of a kayak. A sweep stroke is a ‘Dynamic Stroke’ and is used to rotate the kayak around the axis of the paddler. Sweep strokes crop up all over the place, sometimes in not so obvious ways. If you’ve ever seen a play boater doing flat spins, stern dips or cartwheels you may notice that the primary stroke used is a sweep stroke (even when the boat is in the vertical plane). Mastering the sweep stroke is key to progressing into other kayaking disciplines.

Forward Sweep Stroke (Right Hand Side)

With the body in an upright position with a slight twist to the left (right shoulder should be slightly forward of the left), position the paddle so the right blade is completely in the water at the bow of the boat. The drive face of the paddle should be pointing away from the bow.

Slowly rotate your torso so the right blade travels from the bow to the stern in an arc movement, ensuring that the blade remains submerged throughout the stroke.

BODY

  • Arm on side of sweep stoke should be almost straight throughout stroke.
  • Opposite hand should remain low, near waist.
  • Torso should start with a slight twist, with the shoulder on side of sweep stroke pointing forward.
  • Head should watch where the bow of the boat is going.
  • Torso should rotate as the paddle sweeps round.

BOAT

  • Boat should rotate around the axis of the paddler.

BLADE

  • Blade on side of stroke should be completely submerged.
  • Drive face of blade pointing towards direction of sweep.
  • Shaft of blade to remain low.

COACHING TIPS

Some novice paddlers struggle with torso rotation and the paddle invariably doesn’t complete a full sweep. As a coaching tool it’s sometimes useful to have the paddler watch the blade throughout the entire stroke (from the bow to the stern) as this encourages good trunk rotation.

EXERCISE

This is a simple little exercise that makes the strokes a bit more fun (mainly for younger paddlers).

  • Pair up the paddlers with plenty of space between each pair.
  • Line the boats up so they face each other with the bows of each boat almost kissing.
  • Each paddler should position the paddle at the bow ready for a sweep stroke.
  • When the instruct shouts go, using forward sweep strokes on one side only, each paddler must rotate their boat through 360 degrees until they face each other.
  • The first one back wins!

Other variations include:

  • Rotate the boat through 360 degrees in as few sweep strokes as possible.
  • See how many rotations can be achieved in 30 seconds.