The short version
A handful of strokes cover most of what you need on flat water. The forward stroke moves you ahead, the reverse stroke slows and backs you up, the sweep stroke turns the boat, and the draw stroke moves it sideways. Brace strokes help you stay upright. Across all of them, power comes mainly from rotating your torso, not from pulling with your arms.
Before working on strokes, make sure you are holding the paddle correctly. See the proper way to hold a kayak paddle.
Forward stroke
The forward stroke is the one you will use most.
- Sit tall and rotate your torso so the paddle blade reaches forward near your feet.
- Place the blade fully in the water, then pull it back alongside the boat by unwinding your torso.
- Take the blade out of the water around your hip, before it drifts behind you.
- Repeat on the other side, letting your torso rotate the other way.
Tips:
- Keep your arms fairly relaxed and let your core drive the stroke.
- Push with the foot on the same side as the blade; many paddlers find this helps rotation.
- Keep your top hand around eye or shoulder height for a lower-angle, relaxed stroke, or higher for a more vertical, high-angle stroke.
Reverse stroke
The reverse stroke is essentially the forward stroke in reverse. Rotate your torso, place the blade near your hip, and push it forward and away from you. Use it to stop, slow down or back away from an obstacle. Look over your shoulder when moving backward.
Sweep stroke
The sweep turns the kayak. Reach forward and place the blade near your toes, then sweep it in a wide arc out and around toward the stern. A sweep on your right side turns the boat to the left, and the reverse sweep, done from the back toward the front, turns it the opposite way. A few sweeps on alternating sides turn the boat while it is stationary or moving slowly.
Keep your eyes up and rotate your torso through the whole arc, rather than just reaching with your arms.
Draw stroke
The draw moves the kayak sideways, which is useful when you are coming alongside a dock or another boat.
- Rotate your torso to face the side you want to move toward.
- Reach out and place the blade in the water roughly parallel to the kayak, with the power face toward the boat.
- Pull the blade toward you until it is a short distance from the hull.
- Rotate the blade so its edge slices out, or use it to start another draw.
A common caution is not to pull the blade all the way into the hull or hold it near your hands, since that can cause pinching or loss of balance. Keep your upper body steady and the movement small.
Brace strokes
A low brace uses the back of the blade to press lightly on the water surface for support, and a high brace uses the power face. They help you recover when the boat starts to tip. They are worth learning with an instructor, in warm shallow water, because the timing and hip movement take practice. If a brace fails, see kayak capsizing.
Other strokes you may meet
- Bow rudder: a way to steer the boat while moving by holding the blade near the bow.
- Stern rudder or J-stroke style corrections: used to keep the boat tracking straight. (The canoe J-stroke solves a similar problem with a single blade.)
- Sculling: a repeating figure-eight motion that supports you or moves the boat sideways.
These are usually taught after the basic four. Many skills courses cover them step by step (and whitewater paddlers add more, as in how to learn whitewater kayaking), as described in kayak lessons for beginners.
Common mistakes
- Pulling with the arms alone instead of rotating the torso
- Gripping the paddle too tightly
- Reaching too far behind the hip before lifting the blade
- Holding the blade the wrong way round
- Hunching or leaning back
Practicing
Choose calm water and spend a short time on each stroke. Practice moving in a straight line, then turning in a circle, then moving sideways. For a broader view of what to learn alongside strokes, see essential kayaking skills.