How to Paddle a Canoe: "J" Stroke vs. Canadian Strok

Hi, I'm Kevin. Today I thought I'd talk to you about the difference between a J-stroke and a Canadian stroke. The first stroke I want to show you is affectionately known as the goon stroke. With this stroke you paddle forward, but at the end of every stroke you rudder with the paddle. It's a very stop-and-go action. It's not very efficient at all. Unfortunately, it's what a lot of people use. The J-stroke is a much more efficient paddle stroke. With this stroke, you twist the blade at the end of each stroke and pry out to keep the canoe straight. Notice how my thumb is down at the end of every stroke, and how I'm using the gunnel of the boat to pry against. This is a much more efficient stroke. With this stroke, you're actually correcting the canoe's trajectory with the same part of the blade that you're pushing forward with. This way you get a little push at the end of every stroke. It's much more efficient. Here you can see the twisting of the blade and the prying out action. With the J-stroke, you eliminate all that stop-and-go action. The boat glides better and moves faster. But on a very long trip, there's going to be a lot of stresses on your wrist and forearms as you do this hour after hour. So the Canadian stroke has a lot of similarities with the J-stroke. You're still making the correction of the canoe's trajectory with the power face of the blade, but all we're doing here is leaving the paddle in the water a lot longer, and the corrections made on the recovery of the stroke. Once you get the hang of it, you'll find this to be a lot more comfortable and relaxing on a long trip. And you know what? It's just good to be Canadian. You can take the concept of the Canadian stroke one step further by never removing the paddle from the water. This is known as the Indian stroke. The trajectory of the canoe is corrected the same way as the Canadian stroke, but the paddle never lifts out of the water. You rotate the paddle with the top hand each stroke to accomplish this, and it's a very quiet stroke. This would be great for sneaking up on wild game. With just a little practice, you'll be able to use either the J-stroke or the Canadian stroke to keep your canoe traveling straight and efficiently.