Continued from Part One / Part Three
While there are a variety of paddle strokes you can employ on your next float trip, the forward stroke, J-stroke and draw stroke are the most commonly used. Here are some guidelines for using these three strokes.
The forward stroke is the primary stroke used by the person sitting at the bow of a canoe. While the forward stroke is viewed by many as the simplest and most straight forward of strokes, proper form is essential and it’s not always as easy as it looks. Proper form includes sitting up straight and proper torso rotation. 
Seated at the bow of your canoe, raise the paddle out of the water and bring your top hand up high. Depending on your height, the top of your paddle should be at or above your head. The canoe paddle’s shaft should be vertical to the water. Next, push your lower hand forward as you reach the paddle blade as far as you can toward the front of the canoe while continuing to sit up straight. Place the paddle’s blade into the water ahead of your body with the blade’s face perpendicular to the direction of the stroke. This is the catch phase of the forward stroke.
For the power phase of the forward stroke, pull the paddle alongside the canoe in a straight line, allowing the top hand to push forward and down as your bottom hand pulls the paddle back and through the water. The power phase of the forward stroke requires you to use your torso and rotate your upper body as a means of giving maximum power to support your stroke. You should use the rotation of your body more than you should use your arms for this phase of the stroke. Once your paddle’s blade is past your body, bring the paddle’s blade out of the water (recovery phase) and go back to the first step.
As you are paddling it’s a good idea to switch sides frequently to prevent putting too much stress on one arm. If you are right-handed and executing the forward stroke, you’ll have your right hand as the top hand when you are paddling on the canoe’s left side whereas your left hand will be the top hand when you are paddling the canoe on the right side. Switching sides gives your body an even workout.
Now you’re ready to learn the J-stroke. The J-stroke is used by the person sitting in the stern of the canoe as a way to correct or compensate for the direction of the canoe. The more you paddle on one side at the front of the canoe, the more the canoe turns to the opposite side. The J-stroke corrects this turning while keeping the canoe moving forward.
To execute the J-stroke, make sure you up sitting up straight. Raise the paddle with your top hand at head level, keeping the shaft of the paddle vertical and out to the side. Push your lower hand forward and reach the paddle’s blade toward the front of the canoe as far as you can while maintaining good upright posture. During the J-stroke’s catch phase you’ll place the paddle’s blade into the water ahead of your body with the face of the blade perpendicular to the direction of the stroke. During the J-stroke’s power phase you’ll pull the paddle alongside the canoe in a straight line with your top hand pushing forward and down while your bottom hand pulls back. Just as you would with a forward stroke, use your torso and upper body rotation to power the stroke.
What distinguishes a forward stroke from the J-stroke is what happens at the end of the stroke. At the end of the stroke you’ll rotate your paddle’s blade into a ruddering position by twisting your top hand down so your thumb on your top hand is facing downward. At this point your bottom hand should be pushing the paddle out from the canoe. If you were watching this stroke from above, it would look like a “J.” Remove the paddle from the water and repeat another J-stroke from the beginning until your canoe is headed in the right direction. The “J” portion of this stroke may need to be pushed out from the canoe more or less in order to keep your canoe moving straight. The person sitting in the canoe’s stern should use the J-stroke on the opposite side of the canoe from the one the person in the bow of the canoe is paddling on.
