Ever had one of those experiences where you feel something new and you think "Wow...how did I not do this before?"
Well, thanks to this forum, I tried the occy strap (bungy cord) around my ski to add resistance and it just feels SO effective...great use of time and you can feel this non-stop CRUUUUNNNCH through your abs that must be doing you good.

I am expecting my new paddle to be delivered any day...so using a bungy to sloooowwww the stroke down so I can really concentrate on the feel of the blade will be perfect.

If you havent tried it...have a go...all the best ideas seem the simplest.
Chao
Janita K
Hervey Bay
Australia

Thanks for the ideas...all copied down for use this week.
Warm up off water beforehand is easy coz I walk my ski (250m) to the beach on a trolley and usually do a set of push ups to start and finish.
In paddling 6 man outrigger canoes, we would often do resistance training by dragging a storage crate on a line behind the canoe. Great way to add intensity to a session.
In the ski world, is the same ever done? Adding something to create drag?
My advantage is I train in water that is flat as a table, with the tidal sweep up and down the beach tugging me.
I would not want to attach anything to my craft with rope (thats way too dangerous) but we used to hang a car tyre off the nose of an OC6 to create drag....so anyone ever done anything similar with a single ski???
In moving swell and chop I cant see how it would work coz the item creating drag would cause instability, but in my locale, just a tiny kids bike inflated inner tube slipped over my skis nose might give me enough drag to increase resistance.
Surely someone out there has tried to do the same thing for the same reason?
Any ideas?

At least in the Sth Hemisphere, approaching winter is squeeeeeezing the daylight out of my before work training session.
Theres no time for a 1hr paddle, just a 30-40 minute paddle after sunup and before its time to be at work....so...
Can someone give me an idea of how to use a 30-40 minute time slot effectively?
I usually paddle solo and 90% of the time on the flatest of water, sheltered from the wind.
Thanks in advance
Janita K

I am researching ahead of forking out approx $500 for a new blade. I used the paddle wizard thingy on the Epic website (which was very helpful), but in all the reading I have done on this forum (which is where 95% of my research is being done...thank you all  ), I have read a few times of a blade face with a hard v. soft catch? Can someone explain what this means?
I have paddled someone elses blade recently, and found the catch to be completely different, to the point where if I dont get the entry and exit angle right, it has the effect of almost pulling me off my ski!!! Grrrr!! 
Obviously I am doing something wrong!
When I finally put in my order, I am getting close to understanding what I need.
e.g. Shaft = med flex
      Length = approx 208cm
      Blade type = mid wing
But this soft and hard catch? whats that?
Over to you forum, and thanks in advance 
Janita K
Qld
Australia

Yes...I did the same thing and glued some high high density foam into the footwells. Stroke improved out of sight after that. Didnt realize that not being able to push off the front foot effectively made such a difference.

It has occured to me and I have been told that some people would say adding foam to a footwell may present a safety issue, coz your foot may not as easily slip out if you were pushed/fell off in rough water. Might be like a horseback rider coming off with their foot stuck in the stirrup.

OK...went out this morning to put all the above advice into action. The result?

Conditions were a light wind driven chop so I headed straight into and out of it.
Tried the paddling on one side, with the intention of concentrating on the entry, entry, entry!!
Pulling it out at my hip and go again and again and again.
Felt really dorky  to start with, coz without the momentum of a normal 'follow through' in the recovery phase, it felt first of all like I was just jabbing the water in a really ineffectual way....however...
after a while I got the feel of it in the sense that if I concentrated on almost locking my arms and crunching the abs when you are at maximum rotation before the entry, it felt really good.

The other drill that I was taught by Rod Taylor at Mooloolaba was to basically pause mid-air for a second or 2 when you have both hands at eye height and are half way through the recovery on one side and entry on the other...so from the paused position, you concentrate on a nice clean entry.
So the one sided paddling and this drill kinda were linked. The effect?
By the end of the session, I felt like something was clicking (in my head...not my joints!) and my stroke felt smoother with a more emphasised rotation and you can feel your abs crunch on entry.(which I am hoping is what you are meant to feel....am I right?)
So...
...a good session, and although you feel like a dill doing drills, by the end of it, you've learnt something.
Is it just me or do most people seem to hit a nice smooth groove in the last 15 minutes of your training session and then you've got to rush off the water and get to work?
Thanks for all the suggestions made on this thread...and keep them coming if anyone else has some ideas,
Janita 
Qld
Australia

Thanks to everyone for such great and prompt feedback.
I am reading it all thoughtfully, will print it out and re-read at night so I'll know what to do when the alarm goes off in the morning.
Keep this thread going please if anyone else has some ideas...and I will give you some feedback once I have a chance to put it into practice and hopefully notice the results.
Thanks again and I'm still listening...
Janita K

OK...here's my first question to this forum...can anyone recommend some back to basics drills for perfecting sound technique? All sports have drills, so what about ski paddling?

I have been paddling my Hayden ski for about 6 years after coming from an outrigging background.
Unfortunately, my technique still suffers from lack of fundamental stroke correction in the early stages.
I have been told by some damn good paddlers that I pull the stroke back too far (which I can feel and it sounds horrible...that wooshing sound behind you) and I know that my stroke rate is way lower than other paddlers because I can feel myself 'muscling through' the stroke (which is the outrigging way of approaching things).
Gradually, I am fixing the late exit by repeating to myself the mantra "let it go, let it go"...the water that is. I spent 90 minutes recently with Rod Taylor at Mooloolaba in a one-on-one coaching session which was absolutely fantastic. He did teach me one drill, but I am wondering if there are other drills that I can use to 'de-construct' the stroke and take it back to the elementals.

Another question is....when you DO get the technique right (even fleetingly) isnt it true that it feels unmistakedly RIGHT....what I mean is, I feel fairly confident that I know when my technique is hitting the spot and I've hit the right groove, coz straight away it feels so damn good? That smooooothness and stability and ease? So without an expert over my shoulder saying "You've got it girl!", that it is safe to rely on the feel coz when good technique kicks in....you can almost hear the hummmmm? The goal now is to extend that feeling from 5 seconds to at least 5 minutes then maybe 50 minutes!!

I train on flat water usually (there's no surf in Hervey Bay) so I have water that would be suitable to hold World Sprints...kms and kms of it!

Thanks in advance and thank you to the forum and website
Janita K
Hervey Bay
QLD
Australia