Flow sculling

What is FLOW sculling?

(with acknowledgement to Jimmy Joy; see “Hanlan’s Spirit: Training for Flow” or “The Quantum Sculler”)

My approach to coaching single sculling has been heavily influenced by the work of Jimmy Joy (coach to the Canadian Olympic team in the 1980’s and annual coaching conference, “The Joy of Sculling”)

(More recently I think Mark Wilkinson’s approach to “Front-end Sculling” is also brilliant stuff)

As a friend of mine, having tried one of Jimmy’s books, commented “this is a bit Zen!”. Maybe it is, but there are several aspects of FLOW SCULLING that make perfect sense to me.

  • It is a philosophy and an approach to developing as a sculler.
  • It involves working on the parts of the stroke before attempting to integrate each part into the whole sculling cycle (drive; release; recovery; catch – itself; catch – timing)
  • It relies on the integration of the mental and the physical
  • Jimmy advocates ‘mindfulness’ (staying in the present; ‘the reality of the now’; knowing what you are doing as you are doing it) … developing a relaxed, ‘quiet’, and focused mind.
  • Learning to think independently and judge the pace of the boat.
  • Ultimately, achieving the ‘flow state’ …

In Jimmy’s words:

‘Flow’ is the integration of efficient bodywork combined with fluid blade-work throughout all phases of the stroke cycle.

Each stroke must form a unity and all strokes must be blended fluently and harmoniously

At best, it’s a sense of effortless speed and sustainable energy:-

  • Flow denotes the holistic sensation present when we act with a total involvement

And you need an open, creative mind … to explore, to fail, and to achieve.

Jimmy describes the need for a “systematic programme that provides a deeper mental consciousness to accelerate the development of physical qualities and skills” ..

Hanlan’s Spirit – Training for Flow – Jimmy Joy

The philosophy and approach – the 5 stages of FLOW

  1. Slow down and meditate and develop mindfulness
  2. Create a relaxed posture starting with the hands on the handles
  3. Establish a consistent stroke length
  4. Focus on the 3 major elements in the cycle: Trunk Swing; Leg Drive; Draw of the arms
  5. Practice and drill until the movements are reflexive, intuitive, and instinctive

WORKING ON TECHNIQUE

At times we work on the WHOLE, at other times, on THE PARTS, whilst recognising that sculling is not 5 mechanistic parts, welded together. We work on the parts to achieve a ‘rough feel’ for each part, and later striving for more subtle movements to perfect each part. Returning to the WHOLE, as each part affects the others, to integrate the sculler, the blade work, and the boat, contributing to flow and shell run

WHOLE        –         PARTS          –            WHOLE

ROUGH        –         SMOOTH       –           AUTOMATIC

In other words;

First – A rough feel for the movement – leg drive, trunk movement, arm draw

Later – Specific parts – strive for subtle and economical movements

Finally – Whole movements – integrate the body action with the blades and shell run

MENTAL APPROACH (‘Meditative’)

Develop a relaxed, quiet and focused mind

SLOW MOTION – and perfect – eventually move more quickly. (maximum run per stroke)

Absentee Coach – learn to think independently and judge the pace of the boat

Develop MINDFULNESS – the ability to stay in the present moment – ‘Reality of the NOW’ – Knowing what you are doing while you are doing it