i came up with a new sculling drill today!

i was having a bit of trouble with bobble at the catch and ticking the water with one blade or the other as my hands rolled into the catch. it felt like my hands were moving around a little more than they should -- like they were trying to balance the boat instead of grab the water.

so i stopped and switched the handles in my hands. left oar in right hand (on top) and right oar in left hand (underneath). it was weeeeeird. my hands were shaking up and down like they were trying to maintain balance but didn't know quite what to do. my knees were shifting around the same way. after a minute, my hands quit moving around so much and my knees were able to do their job and hold the boat on keel. after another few strokes, i switched back to regular rowing and the diving hands at the catch problem was gone.

i've been altering my style significantly from the canadian-esque stroke i learned at marietta to a smoother NED style.

the changes i'm looking for are making sense at the lower rates in ways they never did before. i think less is changing about my racing stroke because it was necessary to row smoothly all along. now there's just a technical basis for it. the catch is no longer a moment of touch-and-go, but the process of shifting weight to my feet and building building building it to full while the blades grip the water at the proper time in the middle of the build. likewise, the finish of the stroke is marked by releasing pressure on the hands and rocking the shoulders out of the bow while simultaneiously relaxing the blades out of the water with a smooth silent motion of the hands, almost independent of the motion of the shoulders. hands and shoulders catch back up with each other by the body-angle pivot. they style makes sense. seperating the motion of the blades from the motion of the body is almost like doing two different things at once. the body is able to control its own weight and check, while the blades have time to lock properly at the catch and support the drive. the whole thing is visually beautiful to boot. when i saw the dutch eights on tv at the olympics, my first thought was "omg, they don't even look like they're touching the water." and so it was. my goal is to row without feeling the water. it resists me, but as if it were molassas and i'm able to grip it perfectly and accelerate myself past it without any disturbance.

we'll see if it does any good.

andy