THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT “We shouldn’t see any dramatic changes of the speed of any motion or movement in the boat. We should move in a way that we don’t disturb the run of the boat. The boat is running, and each stroke we want to push boat a little bit further, push boat a little bit further, but we are doing everything very nicely, very smoothly. “We are going to show you some examples of this rowing very smoothly, good bladework without splashes, locking in, pushing boat, very relaxed. This crew [previous page] is 1984 Olympic Eight, and this film was taken in Hanover, New Hampshire during one of the workouts. They are rowing at 32, and you can notice that it doesn’t look like 32. It looks like 28 because it is so smooth. Motion is very good relation to the speed of the boat. “The second point of our rowing analysis should be individual technique, body work within boat. I know there are some opinions, ‘Oh, let’s not pay attention to body. It’s not important how they move,’5777 but correct body movement in boat, correct body swing, all eight people moving the same way, it is additional force. It is much more rhythm. It makes this movement much easier, and guys feel, ‘Oh, it’s so easy!’ “It’s so light, so easy because they move together. Sometimes people row many years together, and there’s no uniform body motion in boat. There’s no swing, and boat is not running. “Wherever we start to teach rowing technique, first of all I try to describe and define the stroke and create some kind of image of the stroke so that when we start to correct our athletes in some fine points, they know exactly what we are talking about. They know how it should look and why it’s not good right now. 5777 a reference to Harry Parker, at that time the U.S. Men’s Sculling Coach. See Chapter 100 ff. Body Preparation Position “First position, just after beginning slide, I call the Body Preparation Position, and in my opinion it is most important position, crucial point for me in analyzing individual technique. “Characteristics: arms stretched nicely forward past knees, and we are taking slide slowly. Oarsman is leaning forward. There is body angle, but not too much. If you have too much, then it’s very uncomfortable when you begin the slide. “Very relaxed shoulders, not hunched, very relaxed upper body, good flexibility, relaxed body position [with back shaped in a] slight letter ‘C’. Head is looking straight forward, and he has covered only probably quarter of slide. “That’s beginning of stroke cycle. “At beginning of recovery, [we get] body angle before we start slide. In my opinion, that’s the most important because if we have this good body preparation, we can “I will try to go very quickly through the stroke and concentrate just on crucial points and crucial positions during rowing cycle in our ‘Natural Power Style.’ Body Preparation Position 1597
