Sliding stroke

The sliding stroke is used with a Greenland-style paddle.

One hand grips the paddle at the root of the submerged blade while the other holds the opposite blade a comfortable distance from the first hand. At the end of the stroke, the upper hand slides down to the root of the blade it's on and the lower hand then slides out on the other blade - a mirror of the position of the previous stroke. At the end of that stroke, the hands slide back to their first position. It takes a bit of practice, but once learned, a sliding stroke can be done smoothly and effortlessly.

A sliding stroke is essential with a storm paddle. A sliding stroke can also be used with a longer "cruising" paddle, and is sometimes employed for sprinting. A video of a sliding stroke with a full-length paddle can be viewed at http://www.qajaqusa.org/Movies/movies.html.