Blade awareness is a term that you may have heard during your education as a paddler. But what does that mean? This article seeks to dig deeper into this concept and I encourage you to read this with your paddle handy so that you can imagine being in a kayak with the water flowing beneath you.

Let’s think back to when we were children for a moment. We are passengers in a row boat, canoe or kayak. We are likely tempted to reach over the side and touch the water. The water feels good and we play with the water by changing the angle of our hand as it passes through the water. We may notice that at the surface the water feels soft, even ‘fluffy’, but reach down deeper into the water and the water quickly becomes cold and the force exerted on our hand increases significantly. The only way we can keep our hand underwater without causing drag and annoying our parents is to orientate our hand so that it slices through the water. If we open up the palm of our hand to our direction of travel our hand is forced away from the boat. Twist our hand the other way and our hand is forced into the side of the boat. We are beginning to feel the water and it is our first step to becoming a paddler!

We can consider ourselves paddlers when we can feel the water through the paddle blade, just as if it was our hand. Consider the powerface of the paddle blade is the palm of our hand; the backface of the paddle blade is the back of our hand. To develop blade awareness we need to play with the water with our paddle blades just like we did with our hands as a child.

If you’ve ever been hit by wave in your face you’ll know that water is heavy, really heavy. A liter of water weighs a kilogram (1 US gallon of water equals 8.35 pounds). Pure water is extremely dense and virtually incompressible. But add a load of air bubbles and that density is significantly reduced. If we want more ‘grip’, resistance or ‘push back’ from the water we need to go deeper, especially if the water at the surface is aerated, which it often is in the paddling environment.

Forward Stroke

To go forward efficiently we want the paddle blade to lock into the water so that we can drive the boat past the paddle blade using the power of our torso and legs. If our paddle blade slips through the water, much of that power transfer is lost. If we pull the paddle blade through the water without driving the boat forward with our body, we’re just moving water. So an efficient forward stroke is dependent on being able to feel the pressure of the water on the powerface of the blade and match that with the amount of force we exert on the boat to drive it forwards.
We want our paddle blade to go deep as early as possible during the ‘catch’ phase of the forward stroke so that we grab the water down deep. A sure sign that the forces are out of whack and we’re not getting a good grip on the water is if we are making lots of splash or bubbles. There are lots of things we can experiment with to create an efficient forward stroke. Try using different paddle lengths and designs, change your cadence to match your speed, check your feather angle and make sure your paddle blade is as perpendicular as possible to your direction of travel. But perhaps above all, keep your grip on the paddle shaft light enough so that you can feel the pressure of the water on the paddle blade.

TIP: Try closing your eyes as you paddle forwards and try to feel what the paddle blade is doing rather than look at it. Then have a friend shoot some video of you and look for excessive splash and bubbles.

Slicing

The faster the boat is moving through the water the ‘harder’ the water feels. Paddle as fast as you can then stop paddling and glide (doing this going downwind will extend your glide). At higher speed a flat paddle blade will likely just skip across the surface and we need to slice the water with the edge of the blade to get the blade below the surface.

Learning how to slice the blade through the water is step one in blade awareness. Each paddle blade design has a slightly different ‘neutral’ position. The more curvature or spoon to the blade the harder it is to find that neutral position. At high speed, if our slicing paddle blade is fully buried and we change the angle even slightly, the blade will be forced violently to one side or the other. So start by just putting the tip of your blade in the water and then slice it deeper as you confirm that neutral position. If we are struggling for grip we can try going deeper to find some ‘harder’ water. As we slow down we can progressively dial up the amount of surface area we present to the water or take some of our weight off our paddle blade.

The amount of force that passes from the contact points with the boat (our butt, thighs and feet) through our body to the paddle blade is determined by our speed (relative to the water), our weight, and the surface area of our paddle blade. That force can be significant and if we think of our body as a chain through which force passes from the blade to the boat and back again, arguably the weakest link in the chain is our wrist. The Achilles heel of the paddler, the wrist needs to be protected. Try to keep the wrist straight, knuckles aligned with the backface of the paddle blade. Change the orientation of the paddle blade by raising or lowering the elbows, minimizing the roll of the wrist. We also need to protect our shoulders and the best way to do that is to always ‘face our work’ with our torso, have our arms almost straight and keep the paddle shaft parallel with our chest. By creating the so-called “Paddler’s Box”, maintaining good posture and straight wrists, you will be able to apply considerable pressure to the paddle blade and withstand considerable push back.

Climbing Angle

Remember when you were trailing your hand in the water as a child? Did you pretend your hand was a porpoise or dolphin leaping out of the water with joyful glee? You discovered how to transform your hand into a wing or fin. We can do the same thing with our paddle blade to give us lift. By using the speed of the boat through the water, or if our boat is stationary creating movement with our body, we can generate lift by raising the leading edge of our paddle blade. That can help us keep the blade on the surface of the water or pull us in the direction we want the boat to go.

Sculling is moving the paddle blade back and forth with the leading edge raised just enough to generate lift (like spreading butter on toast). It is incredibly satisfying. It feels good and you will often see paddlers unconsciously and childishly playing with the water with the blade of their paddle.

TIP: Experiment with using the powerface and the backside of the blade as you scull. See which feels easier/more natural to move the boat in the direction you want to go.

Strokes that use a climbing angle:

• The Sculling Draw is an effective and graceful way to move the boat sideways and can be modified to include a draw and a pry in a box-like formation to turn the kayak full circle with your body as the axis.
• The Sculling Brace is an excellent confidence-building skill that utilizes the climbing angle technique to keep the paddle close to the surface of the water. A fun skill to practice and a great way to cool off on a hot day, many a marginal combat roll can be rescued by a quick scull to get the boat fully upright!
• The Sweep Roll uses a climbing angle to prevent the paddle blade from diving as you sweep through ninety degrees. The lift generated by the climbing angle is what provides the support for paddle as you perform the hip snap. If you sweep too aggressively, you are unable to feel the pressure that the water is providing and it can be difficult to time your hip snap effectively. Slow down the sweep, lighten your grip on the paddle shaft and feel the water helping you up.

Bracing

Bracing is all about feeling the pressure of the water on the powerface or backside of the paddle blade and using that force to recover our balance and prevent a capsize. It can feel inauthentic practising this skill on flat water and you might want to experiment with different ways to add realism to your practice such as sitting on your back deck or doing a swimmer back deck carry. By doing so you will discover that an effective brace needs more than a slap on the water’s surface and will necessitate the blade to go below the surface to find sufficient resistance. One of best places to practice bracing is of course the surf zone. The pitching lip of a breaking wave may represent a threat to our stability, but if we thrust a paddle blade below the lip into the heart of the wave, the pressure of the water rising up the face of the wave is extraordinary and gives us all the support we need to edge or lean the kayak into the wave and prevent a capsize.

Whether we use the powerface (high brace) or the backside (low brace) doesn’t matter that much as long as we get our blade into the ‘meat’ of the wave. The most important aspects of the technique are that we keep our shoulders in a safe position, edge or lean on to the wave, feel the push back from the water and get our weight back onto our sit bones as quickly as possible. Maintaining good posture (not leaning back) with help us do that.

We can also use the bracing position to help us turn. This is typically a technique that is used when we have tons of momentum, such as surfing a wave or breaking into or out of the current in moving water.

• The Low Brace Turn can be initiated with a forward sweep stroke on the opposite side to the direction you want to turn. But if you have so much speed that a sweep stroke would be ineffective you might just dive right into a low brace with the backside of the blade providing the support and turning resistance. The more speed you have the more your blade will skim across the surface so the more weight you will need to put onto it to get some grip. Depending on the design of your boat, you may not need much grip. Just getting the boat over on edge may be sufficient to get the boat to turn. The tighter you want to make your turn, the more edge you will need, but we need to remember that as we slow down, the pressure of the water reduces and we need to get back into balance with our weight back over both sit bones.
• The High Brace Turn is aggressive technique that can put a lot of strain on your shoulders if you are using a longer kayak. The powerface of the paddle blade gives us tremendous feedback however, allowing us to feel the pressure of the water change as our speed changes.

TIP: Try experimenting with edging towards the turn (inside edge) and away from the turn (outside edge) and see what works best with both the low brace turn and the high brace turn and your kayak in different situations.

Opening & Closing

Some other strokes that encourage us to feel the pressure of the water on the paddle blade are rudders, draws and prys.

• The Bow Rudder helps to anchor the front of the kayak and allow the stern of the kayak to pivot around the working blade. Initiated with a forward sweep and utilizing sufficient edge to free the stern, the working blade of the bow rudder needs to be immersed deep enough to grip the water and the powerface of the blade needs to be opened up to the direction of travel just enough to allow the water to pull the blade in the direction you want to go. An effective bow rudder tightens the arc created by the initiating forward sweep and a more vertical paddle shaft will enable you to get feel the pressure on the working blade.
• The Stern Rudder is a lovely stroke for developing a feel for the water. To practice this stroke, have a friend tow you for a while. Even with the bow of the kayak held by your friend’s towline you will get enough intrinsic feedback to refine your technique. Experiment with the position of rudder and the angle of the paddle shaft. A more vertical paddle shaft angle allows the working blade to go deeper and get good grip. Rotating the torso towards the rudder side will ensure the shoulders are not compromised. Start with a neutral, slicing blade and then play with the angle of the working blade and feel the pressure of the water on the powerface (draw) and back of the blade (pry). Try edging away from the working blade during the pry and edging towards the working blade during the draw to free the stern and accentuate the turning effect of the stroke.
• The Side Slip (static draw or hanging draw) is a subtle technique that uses the boat’s momentum to move the boat diagonally (forwards or backwards). Experiment with the position of the blade – further forward will tend to pull the bow towards the paddle (bow draw), further back will tend to pull the stern towards the paddle (stern draw). See if you can find that sweet spot where your boat moves sideways without turning. Try edging towards or away from the working blade to reduce the resistance of the boat to moving sideways.
• The Static Pry is more commonly used in a open canoe but is a fun stroke to experiment with in a sea kayak too and helps to develop your feel for the water. By showing the backside of the blade to the oncoming water, the blade is forced towards the side of the kayak and the kayak is pushed away from the working blade. See if you can position the blade so that the whole kayak moves sideways.

Use Your Hands

To discover or rediscover a feel for the water try paddling your kayak with your hands only. You’ll be surprised at what you can do with a bit of practice. For inspiration check out the video of Argentinian slalom canoeist Sebastian Rossi using only his hands to negotiate the course at the ICF World Championships in 2015 after he broke his paddle at the start of the race. You’ll see him reaching down deep to find some grip to turn his canoe.

Now grab your paddle (not too tightly) and try paddling with your eyes closed. Imagine the water flowing across the paddle blade. Feel the pressure change as you drive the blade deep underwater. Slice the blade through the water and sense the added resistance as you feather the blade and generate lift.

During the video you will also notice how Rossi’s hands often stay underwater as he changes direction and propels his kayak forwards. Imagine yourself swimming underwater. You don’t take your hands out of the water to change direction. You blend one swim stroke into another. We can do the same with our paddle blade. We may describe each stroke independently, but in reality we blend our strokes together, often with the paddle blade remaining immersed as we do so. The ability to feel the water through our paddle blade may define us as a paddler, but the ability to blend one stroke into another with seamless fluidity may be what defines us as an expert.

Feeling the pressure of water on paddle blade is a lifelong obsession and connects us to our aquatic world on an elemental level. May it bring you the same joy now as it did when you were a child.