The following is an excerpt from my new book The Wonder of Sculling. Copies of the book will be on sale at the upcoming Joy of Sculling Coaches’ Conference on December 13-15, 2019. Stop by [...]
In the early stages of his development the sculler focuses on the actual movements. He learns to feel the the precise path of each motion. The movements should be presented in a wholistic manner [...]
In our modern orthodox sculling/rowing works you can observe the consciousness/concentration on the process of the movement especially at the entry where the timing of the square up, entry and [...]
Modern Psychology approaches the problem from the standpoint of preparing the person from the standpoint of competition. This approach recognizes the old brain, the left and right brains, our [...]
The boat speed curve is a simple tool that opens the door for coaches to see the dimensions of time and distance and evaluate rowing technique based on boat acceleration. Purcerverance Boat Speed [...]
The more that I see of contemporary elite sculling with its usual squared blades above the water at the entry, the more I see the need for an alternative method of entry and the sculler’s entry [...]
“It is only when one reads what men wrote long ago that one realizes how absolutely modern the best of the old things are.” – Allan Jacobs, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of [...]
The nexus point in the stroke cycle is the entry. This is where the blade, the trunk, the arms, the legs and the seat come together. The body swing is so critical in making this occur. The blade [...]
The trunk swing is a deliberate coordinated movement between the long trunk action from the hips and the seat movement forward and backward. The shoulders should remain level for the most part. [...]
“At the Battle of Trafalgar, a British naval ship engages a French vessel at close quarters. A French sniper, hidden in the rigging, eventually pins down the British crew. John Franklin, [...]
Here is Vince Reynold’s latest video from Fair Haven, NY. He is certainly making the blade disappear at the entry, beautifully efficient and athletic. The nexus point is established by the trunk [...]
I take as my guideposts two little books by one prominent Japanese author, Shunryu Suzuki, and one European Eugen Herrigel. The title of Suzuki’s book is Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, and the title [...]
A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and [...]
Humans are complex systems and while coaching we tend to look at the pieces. Optimal development of an athlete can only occur when we realize that every system in the body affects every other [...]
On July 4 1962 60,000 rowing enthusiasts lined the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia to observe the strong, smooth strokes of the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Sculling Champion Vyacheslav [...]
Jim Joy recently posed the following question: “We do not have a good sense of history in rowing/sculling. I always thought that Boxing had a better sense. Sugar Ray was a terrific [...]
This state goes deep into the heart of our being. We feel the beauty of this exquisite movement. It is a movement that becomes more and more sublime. This refinement demands complete attention. [...]
Jim, After reading your pieces, especially the part on silence, I feel it necessary to share my experience on what I’ve learned from rowing. Being a combat vet of the Marine Corps I suffer [...]
The sculler enters the wonderful world of silence on stepping into the shell. It is complete with the creak and groans of the rig, the lapping of the water on the sides of the shell and the [...]
Do you see the positioning of the lower legs at the entry? They follow the splay of the feet to the armpit width. Do you see the rhythmic movement of the legs into and away from the midline on [...]
The Run between strokes or don’t disturb the run of the shell. Concentrate on the movement from the hips. This is the movement of the extended trunk. You are changing the angle of the trunk to [...]
The blade should be extremely flexible if you are going to make full use out of the finger hold on the handle. The fingers and blade are intimately connected. It only requires a very light touch [...]
The handwork is in reality the finger work. The wrists remain flat as the fingers go to work to manipulate the blades into position. Not only do the wrists remain in a flattened position but the [...]
High performance relates to the full spectrum of the rowing world from the novice to the elite athlete. For the athlete and the coach it is a clear state of mind that resides almost totally in [...]
So I drove down to the boathouse this morning thinking I might get out for a row, but strong northeast wind thought differently. I decided I’d like to at least get in a workout on the erg and I [...]
Where do you begin the instruction? Before you start on the water have the athlete hold the scull at the dock side emphasizing a finger hold of the handle. Have them place the scull in the water [...]
For three mornings a week I go to a movement class. The leader for the group is quite an athletic young lady. She has great fluidity to her movements at the hands, wrists, shoulders, hips, knees [...]
Much in the vein of studying the history of past conflicts to find answers for the present military tactics (this is standard practice at the military academies), we should be studying how they [...]
The question is, how to modify the Pocock stroke to make it more modern and to allow the crew to race at 38 strokes per minute? There are a few measures that you can do to increase the stroke [...]
A key point with respect to our practices and how they differ from other is that we open up our minds and begin to realize that as waterman we have a totally different set of expectations from [...]
“George Pocock said that the best oarsmen in the world had been the Thames professionals who rowed all day long, so he would meet us at the dock at 8:00 AM and return at 4:00 PM. George Pocock [...]
For me it goes back to the “little black book” that Fitzpatrick compiled for me before I left for the USA 55 years ago. He went through the whole stroke cycle so it could be referred to as the [...]
Today was a sunny day and I rowed the bay today for the first time in months. There was a great mix of ice and water. Now onto today’s observations from the shell. First up … I was [...]
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