I often get asked about the J stroke that is used by some kayak and canoe paddlers to help prevent yawing.

I've heard some say they use it for SUP and it works.. I say it's crap for SUP and doesn't work at all.

Here's a small gif that shows just what the J stroke is and how it works on a SUP.

Anyone doing it? .. What do others think?

DJ

Agree DJ, no need to over complicate things - as the saying goes: KISS

DavidJohn said...

I say it's crap for SUP and doesn't work at all.

I reckon your full of crap DJ.

Greenroom said...

DavidJohn said...

I say it's crap for SUP and doesn't work at all.

I reckon your full of crap DJ.

I love you to Greenie.. btw we're talking about the j stroke.. not the g spot.. .. and I still think j stands for joke when used on a sup board..

Lacey I don't see how what you do can compare with a stroke that turns mid stroke and then pushes away from the board before exiting the water.

DJ

DavidJohn said...

Greenroom said...

DavidJohn said...

I say it's crap for SUP and doesn't work at all.

I reckon your full of crap DJ.

I love you to Greenie.. btw we're talking about the j stroke.. not the g spot.. .. and I still think j stands for joke when used on a sup board..

Lacey I don't see how what you do can compare with a stroke that turns mid stroke and then pushes away from the board before exiting the water.

DJ

well, i think a j stroke starts out wide from the board and comes back to the board then away. the more important part is the the wide and in. a j stroke with the last bit pushed away is more of a corrective or steering/stroke. the straight slightly angled blade does the same thing- pulls the board straighter and is a bit more effective. instead of pushing away, it gets flicked away/out

a j stroke pushing away at the last part is going to do jack for general paddling as you said
cheers

BWDave said...

I also have tried the J stroke without success. From listening to the great paddlers I think the idea is to get the blade out sooner rather than later.ie. at about level with your feet so that squashes the idea of a J
dave

and thats why good paddlers flick the paddle out.check out any video of a top paddler it's useless having the paddle come out way behind. you will not be classed as a good paddler with the thing coming way out behind your self , never mind trying to j stroke it back there
cheers

Hey Guy's, interesting to hear what you all have to say about the J stroke. I had to give it a go for a couple of reasons 1. I know how effective it is in canoeing to keep forward movement and turn the bow in the same direction as the paddling side and 2. People have spoken about trying it on SUPs before and i thought it may allow for straighter paddle.

The major differences for why it works in a canoe and not on a SUP are that the paddle on a canoe has no elbow joint, hence why when you pull the blade of your canoe paddle along the gunwhale and then point the thumb down to the water whilst pushing away creating the J stroke the blade acts as a rudder at the end of a power stroke. To get the same effect out of a SUP paddle you would have to get the paddle shaft out to a 90deg angle so the blade would start acting the way it should. The other thing is that a canoe has no fin on the tail and as we all know fins are designed to make the board track straighter so this counter reacts the effects of the J stroke.

I'd say thats my 2 cents worth but its more like 5 bucks worth.

thx's for the vids. boy, those guys can paddle. much easier on a vid to see than yaping away
cheers
ps oci paddling is insanely fun.stiil dw sup good too

The J stroke works well on the outrigger canoes and normal canoes as a steering stroke.

The idea is to push the rear end of the canoe away from you.There is also a slight delay before you notice the change in direction at the front.

I don't see it being of any use on a SUP, as we tend to pull the nose around to catch waves more quickly. Using more of a sweep stroke, would be more suitable for changing direction.

The draw stroke works well from leaning out and pulling water under the board at an angle of say 45 degrees from your hips to the nose of the board.

I suppose that is why we are called "sweepers".

Thats my 5 cents worth.

The j stroke is used in kneeling class C1 as there is no option for switching sides, but in the sitting class the stoke is the same as a paddle board. The paddles also vary as the blade in a kneeling C1 is much larger with no bend in the paddle where as the sitting class is smaller with a similar bend to a SUP paddle.

CamRon said...

The j stroke is used in kneeling class C1 as there is no option for switching sides, but in the sitting class the stoke is the same as a paddle board. The paddles also vary as the blade in a kneeling C1 is much larger with no bend in the paddle where as the sitting class is smaller with a similar bend to a SUP paddle.

hi, i'm wonder how these paddlers go with muscle imbalance. is it an issue or problem at all? do the top guys do remedial type stuff inthe gym to even themselfs up?or do some opposite side paddling
cheers

CamRon said...

The j stroke is used in kneeling class C1 as there is no option for switching sides, but in the sitting class the stoke is the same as a paddle board. The paddles also vary as the blade in a kneeling C1 is much larger with no bend in the paddle where as the sitting class is smaller with a similar bend to a SUP paddle.

There is also Slalom CI, where you kneel and use the 'J' stroke. Having done this for about 10 years (27 years ago) it was weird taking up a sport with a C1 paddle but not being able to J stroke. As has been said you need to leverage off the edge of the 'boat' slightly.

No changing sides in Slalom C1s either, lots of 'cross bow' and 'bow rudder' strokes however, which are really handy on a short SUP.

You guys ought to see video of CamRon j-stroking while kneeling on his SUP. You can mail order the vid from Canberra.

Any one that has sat no 1 or steered an OC6 uses that technique to help the craft around the corner/can or to correct the direction of the craft, been using a sub for 2=3 years never used it or seen a use for it. so yeh its crap.