As the Dragon Boat season is winding down, I'm looking forward a bit to prepare myself for the next season. Since this is now my second full year, there is still so much to learn. I'm in no way a pro paddler, but I feel my body mechanics for the Dragon Boat stroke has improved, but I still have a ton more to learn. As with everything in life, preparation is the key and I have a better idea now on what and how I should work out to prepare for next year.

I've had some experience now paddling on the different areas of the dragon boat (back, middle, front) and alternating from right (my natural side) to left. Things that I'll be working on during the wind down and the off-season:

BACK TO BASICS of the Stroke

The Catch
To do this lean forward then turn your body slightly toward your partner and plunged your paddle in the water. Be sure that the full blade catches the water.

The Pull
In this phase, you have to lean back to pull the water. The water resistance that you feel is based on countering the propulsion of the boat so that the boat will experience its maximum propulsion as the full blades of the 20 paddlers catch and pull at the same time.

The Finish
It signals the completion of your first stroke and preparation for the next stroke as you pull the blade out of the water.

The Reach
In this phase, you have to lean forward again to get ready for the catch phase of your next stroke.

In order for me to practice this, I'll look into off season pool paddling. I'd really like to nail that 'pause' part of The Reach of the stroke. I'll also train using both sides to balance out my body and be more useful in race situations. My over-all strategy will help me move into other paddling disciplines.

A couple of things I can do to prepare myself physically for the stroke, is strength training. Shoulders, back, arms, legs and ABs. That whole core training thing is not a myth. I'll re-draw up a new training regimen post it up and track my progress. One major thing I will work on during the off-season is endurance training. I want to bring my anaerobic capacity to peak performance with better strength added. My plan is to go to a hi-performance level and I'd like to be able to put in a consistent 65 stroke at 500 and 2000 meters with no problems. And the only way to achieve this is not by typing it on here or going crazy and leave my current life to train...but in small steady doses. I'm no spring chicken but I do love competition. I'll post my endurance training regimen and track my progress here too.

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