Stroke instruction on shore PT1

Manutea Millón gives BB coaches technique instruction on basic stroke.

[namolokaman]

Thanks for this. The Shell Va'a stroke Manutea refers to, at 1:20, is a traditional Tahitian stroke called the huti pa'ari ( meaning 'hard pull' ), and is not taught in Hawaii. It is an _extra deep_ ( blade + another 4 or 10 inches, such that the hand touches the water ), and _really long, _ stroke: far in front + maximally far in back ( arm about 45° behind, slightly bent, top hand at or slightly below the gunnel ), sitting upright while keeping the lower arm straight _as it passes the seat, _ as though sweeping with a broom ( or tossing a load of snow, behind, with a shovel ). The tempo for the huti pa'ari is slow: one stroke cycle every 2 to 3 seconds ( = 20 to 30 strokes per minute ), the recovery lasting just as long as the aquatic phase. The huti pa'ari is physically taxing, because of the hard pull and depth of the blade, making the slow return crucial for recuperation. This stroke is used in calm-ish water, particularly when going against the current ( so-called 'hard water' ). Note: See YT video titled "Shell va'a vise le podium", for an example of the huti pa'ari used against a mild swell, wind, and current.

Besides the huti pa'ari, Tahitians have another long ( extending past the front edge of the seat, though not as far back as the huti pa'ari: arm about 30° behind, slightly bent ), slow-tempo stroke, called the huti roa ( meaning 'long pull' ), which is not _as deep and hard_ as the huti pa'ari, and used for cruising, whenever conditions allow, as well as for warm-up or sporadic recuperation. Both the huti pa'ari and huti roa are used in relatively calm water, when the canoe is already _at speed, _ to maximize glide, thus maintaining the acquired velocity. Note: long strokes — especially the huti pa'ari — _require_ a recovery by twisting the hips, the paddle swinging to the front in a wide arc ( as if it were an oar, as seen in Shell Va'a's aerial footage ), rather than picking it up by bending the elbow to carry it forward ( which gets too slow, and awkward, when the paddle is far in back ). With practice, swinging the paddle around via a twist of the hips is fastest _for long strokes_ ( 'long strokes' being defined as when the paddle exits anywhere past the front edge of the seat ), hence Manutea's recommendation to focus on that, at 6:35. Besides speed, the other advantage, is that returning the paddle via a twist of the hips sets up the paddler for so-called 'leg drive' — hip drive, really — in which the hips literally drive the stroke as they twist in the seat ( as opposed to faking it by merely twisting the chest and shoulders area ). Note: Shorter, front-powered strokes, such as the high-tempo Huti Pe'e, require a much more linear — as opposed to wide arcing — return of the paddle, however.

The stroke technique we are taught in Hawaii is called, in Tahitian, the huti pe'e ( meaning 'fast' or 'leaping' pull ). It is a high-speed stroke: one stroke cycle per second, or less ( = 60 strokes a minute or more ), but is not as deep as the huti pa'ari ( blade is typically submerged only up to the shaft, but not more ), and the paddle exits more or less at the front edge of the seat. The recovery, however, is ideally twice as fast as the aquatic phase, and the forward reach maximal ( hence 'the leap' ). The huti pe'e is used whenever the huti roa or huti pa'ari are no longer practical due to adverse, slowing conditions in rough water, like swell, current, or wind, as well as any time punctual acceleration is needed ( ex: sprint against another canoe, or to catch a wave ). See YT video titled "Team Tupuai Video 1" for a textbook example of the 'leaping' huti pe'e.

The thing to note is that the huti pe'e, huti roa, and huti pa'ari form a continuum, each able to blend into the other. On one end, with the huti pe'e, we have essentially a high-frequency ( 1 sec or less per cycle ), relatively low-intensity ( insofar as each pull is not particularly hard — _unless_ there is a temporary call to 'push', known as tura'i in Tahitian, to get an extra burst of acceleration ), half-length, front-powered stroke, and, on the other end, with the huti pa'ari, a low-frequency ( 2 to 3 seconds per cycle ), but high-intensity — very hard — full-length, aft-powered stroke. The huti roa being in the middle: neither fast, nor particularly slow ( 1.5 to 2 seconds per cycle ), with medium intensity, long-ish pulls. Whereas the huti pe'e requires good cardio, to maintain stroke rates often in excess of 60 strokes-per-minute, the huti pa'ari, being a slow weight-pulling movement, relies more on physical strength ( 'muscle' ). Besides benefiting from a nomenclature to designate these three distinct stroke types, Tahitians excel at seamlessly transitioning from one to the other, depending on water conditions, or situation ( _including_ the energy level of the crew, as Manutea points out, at 5:30 ): lengthen the pull past the seat, and the huti pe'e becomes the huti roa; sink the blade to the hand, and the huti roa naturally becomes the huti pa'ari.

P.S. Regarding stroke rate: I believe the optimum stroke rate is _as slow as the conditions, or situation ( e.g. sprint ), allow._ Slower stroke rates enable longer ( past the front edge of the seat ), deeper, harder, _more synchronized, _ pulls. Fast stroke rates ( 1 second or less per stroke cycle ) are for acceleration, or when encountering adverse conditions in rough water, such as swell, current and/or wind, that rob the canoe's momentum too quickly. But even then, there are limits to how fast one should stroke as, past a certain point, paddling faster makes the canoe _go slower_ — because the pull gets too short. In Hawaii, we have a tendency to paddle too fast ( huti pe'e all the way ), as if we were constantly pressing our foot down on the accelerator, and end up losing sight of the _art and feel of the glide, _ tiring our crews in the process. As Luke Evslin once put it ( see YT video: "Luke on stroke 2018" ), this might be fine for relatively short regatta-type races, but not so much for long-distance, where endurance is critical.

[namolokaman]

Update: Manutea Millon just won the IVF ( International Va'a Federation ) World Distance Championships, in the v1 open-men category, held in Samoa. Two and a half months earlier, he won the first leg ( Mo'orea ) of the Te Aito Tahiti 2023 race, and placed 3rd in the second leg ( Papeari ) — still in the v1 open-men category.