View topic - Is this video useful?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYiWydC8TjA

This is an introductory video I just posted, part of a series I'd like to do on youtube. I'd like to do a few short segments on various aspects that should help understand some of the technical aspects involved in becoming a better paddler.

Be interested in feedback on this one and suggestions on things people might want to see in other episodes.

thanks

That is really well done.

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Rolf,

This is a great video....very useful....I can see instructors using it as an introduction before getting out on the water....video is short (bite size) but has lots of great info....shows some great concepts especially on different ways to practice paddling....underwater shots are great (shows what blade is doing)....also nice touch with one shot of dog 'paddling' along too....good overview of such basic strokes as J, Canadian, and Indian....also on hand position on paddle and illustration of pivot effort (upright vs. heeled)....I look forward to more such video clips....and the eventual DVD

This video reminds me of the Path of the Paddle series by Bill Mason, as well as Becky Mason's own DVD on Classic Solo Paddling, all of which I consider great resources.....I loved your YouTube video clip on Canadian style paddling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4RJAeP7pDI&feature=fvwk. Some of the material on that clip are in this current video, is it not????....if so will we be seeing any shots of the paddling in the swimming pool in subsequent videos????....I hope so as I think this is a novel approach, especially again the underwater shots

If I could add anything to the video, it might be an animated pattern of the paddle similar to that in Path of the Paddle....just seems to make it easier to visualize the movement of the paddle through stroke

Great video....I've added a link to it on my blog

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[i]And the paddle, in the water, is a long, lost friend.
There are times I’d like to wander down a river without end,
In a hull of flowing cedar, carved by knowing hands....[/i]
From [i]Shield[/i] by Dave Hadfield

http://reflectionsoutdoors.wordpress.c

great video. Can't wait to see more.
Perhaps you could do one on controlling the canoe in high wind and big waves, how to respond to the yaw when when going down wind, moving weight to the centre to lighten the bow and stern, that sort of thing. Or one on getting in and out at difficult spots, beaver dams, steep banks into fast currents, sharp rocks etc.

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shearjoy Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy. Thich Nhat Hanh

Excellent Rolf!

Feedback on this one: One of the movements of the Canadian stroke that is hard to explain to people in just words, is the slicing paddle entry almost at 45 to the boat at the top of the stroke. Your video shows this, and I think it might be a skill piece you could add a verbal commentary on in your existing footage. What also helps make the stroke so elegant and efficient is having a nice knife edge on the paddle, because that entry is more of the blade edge dipping in, rather than the tip entering perpendicular to the water like in a full reach power stroke. My hidden agenda in suggesting this added commentary to the video is to send the message to paddle makers that we really value that convex cross section of a paddle with really fine knife edge for almost splash-less entry, and of course for the smooth and non cavitating slice back for the correction. And while we are on that topic, maybe you could hold up to the camera some really nice paddles in cross section to show this convex shape.

Really good demonstration of releasing the ends of the boat with a nice lean, and showing stability in going straight when aggressively leaned. One suggestion for a skills add-in, is the old bean can demonstration which we used at my canoe camp: place a full can of beans or other canned food can in the chine of the boat and try and smooth out the ride so it does not roll around. The beginner J-stroke on a in big lean will have the can rolling around as the boat jerks, and then you can show the can rolling less and less as that smooth Canadian stroke kicks in as the boat reduces the jerking motion less and less as the rhythm of the beautiful Canadian stabilizes the forward motion.

Really good stuff Rolf - keep it coming!

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My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Wintertrekker

Yup, I used sections from the original youtube posting. I didn't go back to the camera footage, but will do that for later sequences. I'm using a better editing program this time around and I'm still working my way through it. I'm not sure about how possible it'll be to add illustration to the video. I also thought it'd be great if I could do some window in window shots so you could see both what the hands are doing and what's happening underwater in the same frame, but I haven't got that far in the program. If I can pull that off, I'll probably have to reshoot some of the footage to allow space for the insert.

I put my camera inside an aquarium to get the underwater shots for the pool. Recently got a little high def camera that I used for the underwater and over the paddler shots - both of which were a challenge before. I was going to redo all the underwater stuff in a more natural setting and do have a bank of shots in the can already... but your point about keeping some of the pool stuff is well taken. It might turn on some light bulbs if there are viewers who are having a hard time thinking about places to paddle.

thanks for the link

There will be more on handling wind later, I've already done most of the shooting for that.

There will be some "other" skill sections though I haven't made up my mind about how much depth I want to get into for that. It'll somewhat depend on how easy it'll be to break content into chapters for the DVD otherwise it'll be one very long program. The list of potential topics is almost never ending... gotta draw the line somewhere.

thanks for the feedback

Thanks for the comments and suggestions Hoop. Don't know if my little effort will influence paddle makers, seems like they're having a hard time just staying in business.

I learned to smooth out my strokes by leaving camera lenses on the bottom of the canoe. They'd roll around like the cans you mentioned but the incentive for smoothing things out is probably a little greater cause they sure cost a lot more than a can of beans. Good suggestion for a tip to include though, hadn't thought of that one.

love it.

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http://www.awholebunchofings.com

Self propelled mindfullness kayak and canoe travel

Excellent vid...made me excited for the ones to come.

I have been canoeing for a while, but my technique is still very basic, which makes solo very challenging. I hope there will be more vids out by the time I place my paddle in the water this season. I was hoping to find the time to practice flat water stuff.

Keep em coming and great work.

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Mens sano in corpore sane

Thank you for the video - just the kind of thing I was looking for in my other post. The suggestion above about the soup can (or camera lens) is great - I have used my water bottle for the purpose.

As an experienced, but, unskilled canoeist compared to you I was blown away by the canoe control you demonstrated in the video. Loved the camera shots and explanations of the strokes. Excellent, excellent, excellent job!

So is the boat planing?

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I like canoes

Good thing I wasn't taking a drink when I opened your post... woulda sprayed the keyboard

inside joke... anyone wanting comprehension can refer to a thread entitled canoe physics if I recall correctly.

Awesome....

The "canoe community" needs this kind of thing if we are to properly create interest from new users...the young, new Canadians etc.

Path of the Paddle is great...but getting a little long in the tooth.

Love the "dog paddle" section!

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Dave

"The way of a canoe is the way of the wilderness, and of a freedom almost forgotten." Sigurd Olson, 1956