The C-Stroke is your first compound stroke.   This means you are mixing two different strokes into one.

C-Stroke

The C- Stroke is a combination of a closed-faced bow draw and a forward stroke.

Remember when we did the drill where we paddled around in a circle using only the inside strokes and spin- momentum kept us turning towards our paddle?   The C-Stroke is used in the same type of situation, where you want to propel yourself forward, but also control the radius of the turn using some amount of bow draw.

Drill:

1 Big Circle and 1 Little Circle in each direction

Attempt to make the circle so big it almost seems to be a straight line.

The Stroke:

Head:  Look at your target- which is towards the inside of the turn, where you want your boat to go next.

Body:  Lead the turn- face towards the side of the boat you are doing the strokes on and turning towards.

Boat:  Keep the boat flat so you know you are using your stroke to keep the boat carving and don’t confuse yourself by thinking the boat being on edge is what is making it carve and turn.

Paddle:   Paddle goes in at your knees about 2 feet from the boat and 45 degrees closed face.   Pull the closed face draw straight into your knee and then straighten the paddle out and pull backwards with a normal forward stroke.    Make sure your top hand is OVER the bottom hand and your paddle is dead vertical.   Pull the paddle out at your butt and repeat.    The feeling you get when you put the closed face draw in the water and pull towards your knee should be both of propelling the boat forwards (you are sculling the boat forwards with this stroke) and turning the boat in a tighter turn that if you only used a forward stroke and didn’t include the closed face draw.

Common Mistakes for the C-Stroke:

  1. You didn’t get spin momentum going in the direction you want to paddle before you started. You have your paddle on the wrong side of the boat.   If you are turning left, the left blade is in the water doing the C-Strokes.
  2. You are not using a closed-face draw- but instead using an open-face, or normal draw. Remember that you are trying to propel the boat forward during your active close-faced draw.   45 degrees is the easiest angle to start at.     If you are open face, you will stop the boat dead in the water and the stroke won’t work.
  3. You are sliding out before you get started because the stroke isn’t automatic enough to get it in the water before your boat slides and stops. Practice the position of the stroke without moving your kayak enough times that you can get the stroke in the water right away on your next try.
  4. You are not using a vertical paddle and are overpowering the spin momentum during your forward stroke component. If you are not going in a circle indefinitely and keeping the boat moving nicely in the direction of your paddle, you are overpowering your spin momentum.

The Video Below covers both the Draw Stroke and the S-Turn Stroke.

Level 1:

Get the boat moving, turning, and then use your C-Stroke on the inside of the turn to complete a big circle first.   To do a big circle you need to use less draw component and more forwards stroke component.    Then tighten up the radius of the turn by doing a harder, bigger closed faced draw component and not pulling as long or hard on the forward stroke.   Of course you can do a circle with any radius you want after you get comfortable with it.

Level 2:

Practice going through a series of turns in both directions- like a maze, or paddling through a group of kayakers only using the C-Stroke to propel yourself forward and control the turns and a forwards sweep to get the boat turning the other way when you want.    Notice that you can really move around nicely using only the inside blade.

Level 3:

Cross an eddy-line and C-Stroke in a circle through the current and back into the eddy, up the eddy and back out again.   You should be doing circles that have you crossing out into the current and back into the same eddy.    No strokes except your C-Stroke on the inside of the turn.   Fun stuff!