Single hand sliding up paddle

Hello,

I'm just getting into paddling again and noticed something with my hand position on the paddle.

After several strokes, one of my hands will slowly start creeping up towards the center of the shaft. It will only be one of my hands, the other one stays where it is.

Is it an imbalance issue? Am I gripping correctly?

Easy way to stop it is use tape to set the limits of where you want your hands to move.
Get some electrical insulation tape and wrap around and around itself until it is a couple of mm thick.

It is not to put your hand over, but to create a raised section that you can feel with either your forefinger/thumb (innermost on paddle) or your little linger (outermost) to know you are not moving. Do this either side of where you want your hand to stay, then without looking you'll know your hands are in the right place and when bracing on downwinds this can also save your hand from slipping down the shaft.

Can tell you from experience that it could be to an asymmetric paddle stroke, doing something a little different with the “slippery” hand. Try a GoPro or Motionize, or have someone video/observe you.

The good news is that Ivan Lawler, in his excellent forward stroke masterclass ( ) says that hands slipping downwards is a sign of good technique. Hands slipping outwards, is not.

I sometimes have this issue as well, especially with my left hand, so I need to stay aware and correct as necessary.

As others have said, putting some tape on the shaft to "bracket" your hand position can help with awareness. If the shaft is too slippery you may need to wet-sand it, or find another solution.

Greg

I say careful with wet sanding. It is easy to sand a little to much or rough and end up with blisters (my experience). 1000 to 800 grit is probably enough. I often just grab a little sand and rough up the shaft.

That Ivan Lawler video helped me more than all the inperson instruction I have ever taken. It’s long, but worth it. I still maintain that if only one hand is creeping on the paddle there is something that is happening differently with the left and right stroke, and it might be extremely subtle. If that weren’t the case, both hands, or neither hand, would creep.

I also creep with my left hand. The tape, already mentioned, went a long way to help me keep my hands in a more balanced position.

I have also found different hands moving around somewhat.
Not that my stroke is perfect, but I find that in different directions relative to the wind different hands move, and my thought is that it is my body is trying to automatically compensate for more load on one side?
Regarding the tape, which I have used to limit the drift, I go twice around, and then twist enough of the tape into a to go a round that will get 90-100% of the way around the shaft, lay that down on the center of the double wrap, and then go over it twice. this gives a pronounced round, but with a gradual feel, that does not bother my fingers as much as the hard edge of multiple wraps.