row2k Features
The Grip
March 16, 2016
Charlotte Hollings, Calm Waters Rowing

Hopefully by now all the snow has melted and dreams of getting back on the water are becoming a reality. After erging all winter, the body knows the rowing motion, but blade control can be a little rusty.

As you get back in the boat, it will help to focus on your grip. How you hold on to the oar when you’re on the drive is most important, so I encourage everyone to establish their grip with the blade in the squared position, as this should be your default position. Here are distinct approaches to getting this right for both scullers and sweep rowers

Scullers
At the catch with blades squared, wrists should be flat, with the outside of the palm just below the pinky in contact with the oar. Allow the fingers to loosely hook the oar. There should be a straight line from the pinky to the elbow, and the forearm should be at about a 40 - 45 degree angle to the shaft of the oar.

At the catch
At the catch

By the middle of the drive, forearms are now perpendicular to the shaft.

Mid-drive
Mid-drive

Look for the same position at the finish with the forearms parallel to the water and elbow pointing out from the body.

Now shift your focus to the thumbs. They should be just below the very end of the oar handle, often just below the hole in the grip. You'll want to use the thumbs to help you feather, pushing the handles with the thumbs as the fingers roll the handles away from the body.

The wrists only need to be used slightly. Don’t let the elbows drop or the wrists to contort to 90 degrees. If you have a tight grip, you will find you have to use more of your wrist to feather. Loosen the grip and the thumb and fingers can do most of the work.

At the finish
At the finish

On the recovery, keep the hands loose, allowing the forearms to pivot from 90 degrees in relation to the shaft to more like 40 - 45 degrees as you approach the catch. Keeping the elbows loose and not locking them out will make this possible. With the outside palm of the hand in contact with the oar, it’s easier to roll the blade for the catch. The pinky, ring finger and middle finger squeeze the oar against the outside of the palm and as you roll the wrist bone up to square the oar, you drop it in at the catch.

To prevent scratching up the knuckles while also keeping the handles as horizontal as possible, slightly offset the hands bow to stern, with your left hand slightly more to stern than your right hand. Let the knuckles of the right hand brush against the heel or palm of the left hand every drive and every recovery.

On the recovery
On the recovery

Sweep rowers
Again, starting at the catch with blades squared, the outside arm should be loosely extended with the fingers hooked around the oar, very similar to the sculling grip, except that the little finger is very close to the end of the oar and the thumbs are loosely wrapped underneath the oar handle.

The grip should be firm but relaxed, akin to holding on to a suitcase handle. The inside arm should be bent and loose with the shoulder slightly lower than the outside shoulder. The spacing between the hands should be approximately two hand widths apart.

You want to slightly twist your body so you are moving with the arc of the oar. By the middle of the drive, the body is directly behind the oar, wrists are flat, elbows low, fingers hooked around the handle, minimal contact with the palm of the hand on the oar and both forearms now at a 90 degree angle to the shaft.

At the finish, the inside arm stays at 90 degrees, drawing the elbow around an arc ahead of the oar. The elbow of the outside arm should initially come towards the body but then point out away from the body, allowing the hand to pivot and preventing the elbow from passing the plane of the body. You should be in a position such that you could point your pointer finger straight down the oar towards the blade.

Only the inside hand should be feathering while the oar rotates inside of the outside hand. As with sculling, try not to allow the elbow to get involved, use minimal wrist with the fingers doing most of the work, rolling the oar handle away from the body. The outside hand carries the oar around the turn while the inside hand feathers the blade.

The same thing happens at the catch with the outside hand carrying the blade to the water after the inside hand has squared the blade, again using the outside palm of the hand for rolling the wrist bone up. The elbows are never locked. The outboard arm is loosely extended through the lat muscle and the inside elbow is bent to keep the forearm parallel with the water.

Work on the basics early in the season and build it into your muscle memory so that when racing begins, the little things are automatic.

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Comments

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rutholsen
03/30/2016  6:00:39 PM
Found this to be a useful article and the photos are helpful, especially the "mid-drive" photo that shows the hand position. Describing this position to new rowers as "left-over-right" leads many to have space between the hands, rather than have the hands touching with the left hand over, but behind the right. Since we are continually "training" new people to row, having a good article to describe a more relaxed grip and proper hand position will be nice to have around...I'm going to print this so that we have another visual to show people. Thanks for the article!


admorrow
03/19/2016  10:09:18 AM
The bigger problem is that the feature doesn't distinguish between grips used for power and those used for a Sunday picnic row. Since this is row2K, I normally assume everyone is focused on speed, but this feature appears to be more geared to the picnic set.

Regarding sweep grip, I agree "At the finish, the inside arm stays at 90 degrees, drawing the elbow around an arc ahead of the oar." However, I disagree with the outside hand orientation: "You should be in a position such that you could point your pointer finger straight down the oar towards the blade."

This outside hand finish position ignores all opportunities to apply power, so I'd never teach it to someone wanting to pull hard or go fast, though it'd probably suffice for a Sunday picnic row.


Ozren
03/19/2016  5:37:50 AM
Agree with tdekoekkoek: flat wrists can cause tendon injuries and are more difficult for blade control. The outdated technique pictured in here is very often linked, in the mind of the rowers, as an aid to being relaxed. One needs to be relaxed with the core strongly engaged.


tdekoekkoek
03/18/2016  2:55:17 PM
Have to disagree about the grip for scullers. Actually the grip in the first picture (with green sleeves) is correct. The wrists should be slightly raised and the grip should be closer to the palm as in the first picture. Rowing with flat wrists or under-flat as in the other pictures places too much strain on the forearms and doesn't transfer the power as well to the lats and the core. It also makes the finish more difficult. Also some of the descriptions are hard to understand, such as " with the outside of the palm just below the pinky in contact with the oar."

I know flat wrists and rowing with the fingers has been taught for some time. I believe it is a myth that has been perpetuated and you will rarely see that grip amongst top scullers these days.



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