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[podcast]http://www.dragonglobe.com/podcasts/George_Louie_Interview.mp3[/podcast]

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George Louie, coach of Sydney’s DSA Dragonboat Club has been enthusiastically paddling for over 25 years and shares with us how to improve your dragonboat paddling. Louie also was the NSW State team head coach, guiding the NSW team to win every category that they competed in at the National competition in Canberra in 2005. (I can confidently say we did because I was there to be part of the win) This success on the water over other states gave NSW the right to represent Australia at the Berlin World Championships.

In this Interview George shares with us…..

• How he got involved in Dragonboating
• His new “Elite Development Program” that is designed for the average paddler wanting to take their dragonboat paddling to the next level.
• His recommendations for new paddlers starting out

This interview should serve as a serious inspiration for anyone who wants to improve their dragonboat paddling as George is an excellent coach and definitely knows what he is talking about from experience.

The biggest challenge of dragon boat racing is managing synchrony. Since there is no gym exercise for building synchrony, teams that spend more time practicing on water tend to have an advantage.

Paddling
Some teams that emphasize stroke rate might put their strongest members in the front to set the stroke rate for the team. Some others that emphasize the mechanical science of propulsion put their strongest members in the back to deal with water resistance. There are also those who theorise on the centre of gravity of the boat and the best lineup to lower the centre of gravity. Whatever the lineup, there is a rationale for it. Yet, basic execution, including flawless strokes and synchrony, is the most important part of competitive dragon boating. No amount of alignment experimentation will help the team if its members fail on the basics.

There are four (4) basic phases of paddling:

1. “Catch” as you lean forward, turn your body slightly toward you partner and submerge your paddle in the water. Make sure that the full blade catches water.
2. “Pull” as you lean back to pull water. Propulsion of the boat is based on countering that water resistance you feel. Therefore the boat experiences maximum propulsion as the full blades of all 20 paddlers catch and pull at the same time.
3. “Finish” as you pull the blade out of the water. This phase signals the completion of your first stroke and preparation for the next stroke.
4. “Reach” as you lean forward again to prepare for the “Catch” phase of your next stroke.

The “finish” and “reach” phases are sometimes known as “ready-and-reach”. Together, they are also addressed as the “recovery” phase.

In the “catch” phase, how far should you lean and how much body turning should you have? If you are a beginner, imagine doing that again and again until you finish a race course of 500 metres or longer. Don’t freak out as “practice makes perfect”. Perfect execution requires physical conditioning outside of dragon boating. In the ”catch” phase, your abdominals and shoulders matter most. Regular crunches and shoulder lifts using dumbbells will condition these body parts.

Practicing Reach
It is a good idea to sit in front of someone taller than you as you train on water. The reason being your taller teammate behind you naturally has a longer reach than you do, thus forcing you to lean forward more. Be careful-do this only if you have sufficiently conditioned your abdominals and back muscles. Otherwise, you will likely suffer endless swearing from behind.

Resistance Training
Sitting in the back of the boat will give you more effective resistance training overall. The reason is that you are “eating” the wakes created by everyone in front of you. If you are sitting in the front, a good way to practice resistance is asking your teammates behind you to create a drag by putting their paddles in water but not paddling. This will require coordination by your coach.

Training on One Side-versus-Switching Sides
Some dragon boat teams finish a practice round without allowing paddlers to switch sides or some dragon boaters prefer to train only on their stronger side. Prolonged training on only one side of your body is not healthy for your spine, posture and overall balance. A healthier way of training is switching sides midway through the round, one row at a time. The drawback, of course, is slowing down during switching. Another method is keeping track of which side you paddle each week and making sure you switch every week. Finally, if you really prefer to paddle on one side in order to say, become a “left side expert” for racing, compensate by doing more conditioning exercises for muscles on the other side.

Verticality
Keeping your paddle vertical against the side of the dragon boat (i.e. the gunwale), enhances speed of the “recovery” phase and hence the stroke rate. Verticality also makes full submission of the blades easier and thus enhances the propulsion of the boat. However, the biggest drawback of keeping the paddle vertical is its impact on your shoulders as your stroke, particularly if you stroke fast. If you use this technique, it is crucial to perform shoulder conditioning exercises to build up your shoulder muscles and protect your shoulder joints. Leaning out of the gunwale will make it easier for you to accomplish verticality, however that will require strong oblique abdominals as well as switching sides to protect your spine.

Tilting
If you team’s paddling style is tilting the paddles, you might protect your shoulders and spine more but the drawback is a slower “recovery” phase. To enhance the “recovery” phase, you will need to reduce the air drag (air resistance) by turning the paddle so that the blade is horizontal to the water and “slicing” the air as you reach forward. This requires frequent wrist turning, particularly if you stroke fast. If you use this technique, you need to build up your wrist strength to prevent injuries. When you do the conditioning exercises, include wrist curls and using light weight dumbbells. You will find it convenient to incorporate wrist curls in between sets as you do bicep curls.

Conditioning Exercises to Get Ready for Races
How much endurance and strength you and your teammates have is a key factor determining whether your team can sustain multiple heats and beat a close rival at the right moment ..the final race. This is where physical conditioning plays a role in addition to on-water practice.

The best conditioning exercises are tailored to your team’s stroke strategy. Carefully designed, conditioning exercises not only build your strength and cardiovascular capacity but also stimulate the muscle movements, breathing pattern and heart rates during a race.

The technique that will be discussed is based on flat water sprint canoe style used by the two time
International Dragon Boat Champions – The Canadian Men’s Dragon Boat Team. There are six key parts to the dragon boat stroke. When done properly, a boat flies; executed improperly, the boat will feel sluggish and heavy. The first three components set up the stroke, while the last three are considered to be the work-phase part of the stroke. The six components are called: rotation, reach/extension, catch, pull, exit, and recovery.

Rotation
The image some coaches use to help paddlers picture rotation is that a pole is inserted through the head, along the spine, and then anchored to the dragon boat seat. Another way of achieving full rotation is to present your back to the shore or have your chest facing your partner. Full rotation, or twist as it is sometimes called, allows for maximum reach/extension.

Reach/Extension
This position in the stroke is crucial in maximising the length of the stroke. The position of the outside paddling arm is equivalent to pulling a bow and arrow. The outside shoulder should be dropped slightly and also extended forward. The torso leans forward for additional extension.

A proper reach position is the foundation of a proper dragon boat stroke. The reach position is the extended position with the paddle a few inches above the water before the driving it into the water. This reach position determines the length of a stroke and a long stroke means more water is pulled. The reach position is the end point of the Recovery phase, but is the beginning of a new stroke cycle.

The reach position determines the rotation of the torso. If the torso is “rotated” forward upon the paddle entering the water, the torso will naturally want to “de-rotate” back to the normal seated upright seated position.

As mentioned previously, the lower arm position is similar to drawing a bow and arrow. The bottom arm is extended straight forward parallel to the water. The lower shoulder is dropped and is extended forward and therefore the shoulder on the top hand side comes back and up. In the Reach position, these four points on the body should be lined up in a vertical plane: (a) top hand , (b) head, (c) lower shoulder and (d) lower hand.

From the side view there should a straight line from the top hand, head and hip. The torso rotation, extension of both arms and the forward lean are important aspects of the stroke. The upper arm coming over the head. The lower arm is fully extended and is almost locked at the elbow. The lower hand grip should be relaxed and not grip the paddle too hard. The paddle flips forward into the reach position where it is at its highest potential energy level. From this position, the potential energy will be used to submerge the paddles as the stroke progress.

Catch
The catch phase is the most critical to the speed of the boat. The catch is the moment the paddle blade first bites into the water. The top hand is held over the water, then drives down on the paddle with the outside arm relaxed and fully extended.

Pull
Once the paddle is fully submerged or “buried”, the next component of the stroke is the pull phase. The paddles should pull back directly parallel with the boat. The top hand stabilises the paddle as the bottom arm and back muscles pull back. To use the back muscles effectively, the paddler sits up while pulling and continues to drive the paddle downward with the top hand. Maximum power and endurance will come from using the larger muscles of the back, shoulder and trunk rather than relying on the smaller arm muscles.

Exit
At the end of the stroke the paddle should exit the water at the hip. Allowing the stroke to go past the hip results in the paddling blade being at an angle that would slow down the boat. The phrase “out at the hip” is often used to correct a stroke that is too long. The outside arm blends slightly to allow the paddler to clear the water and then it is pushed or snapped forward.

Recovery
This part of the stroke is the rest phase when the muscles are not working as hard; recovery speed plays a large role in determining the stroke rate. During recovery, the torso starts rotating and leaning forward to setup for another cycle of the stroke.

These six components are basic in nature but go a long way in achieving great results. There are more advanced techniques that can be used, but as far as building a strong foundation for a team, these are what I recommend focusing on doing best for each individual.