I've been meaning to post this for a while now.
I was wondering what you think about hand position on the paddle and in particular your wrist position.
I've been lucky enough to be communicating with Dave Chun from Kialoa paddles every now and then and I once said that I was getting a little wrist pain and I thought it might be from the pulling motion of the lower hand.
Dave said that it could also be from the top hand if I am collapsing my top wrist against the shaft rather than keeping my wrist straight.
I checked my technique and I do collapse my top wrist and my wrist does feel better when I keep it straight and I can paddle with one hand ok but with the other I find it very hard to keep my wrist straight.
I've been paddling for a long time now and didn't know there was a right and wrong way to hold the paddle and maybe I've developed a bad technique.
The lower hand is also very important and the lower hand should be opened so the first finger wraps the shaft and the small finger only just hooks the shaft.. rather than a full fisted grip like you would grip a hammer.
I've taken a few pictures to show the differences.
Also check out the cool proto outrigger paddle that Dave sent to me because I've been looking at getting an OC1 one day soon... This paddle will be available from Kialoa next year.
Notice the angle or bend in the shaft so you can get a better grip with the lower hand.. or puts your wrist at a better ergo possition.. and also the blade is super thin.. I wonder if we'll see a Kialoa SUP paddle like this one day?
What do you guys think about all this.. Is collapsing the top wrist against the shaft such a big deal?
DJ
The right top wrist angle.
The wrong top wrist angle showing it collapsed against the shaft.
The right lower hand position.
The wrong lower hand grip.
Notice the bend or angle in the shaft.
The blade is thin.. flat with a dihedral both sides.. and a slight curl towards the end of the blade.
Thanks Dave for the cool one-off custom paint.
DJ
