The Four Strengths involved in paddling.
Dragon boating, whether you are joining for social, fitness and/or competitive reasons, is a team sport.
These strengths improve your ability to become a good Rainbow paddler.
1. Physical Strength
2. Mental Strength
3. Attitudinal Strength
4. Behavioural Strength
Everyone is different and these are great starting points to improving your health, having fun and getting
fitter whilst becoming a positive team member.
Most people are naturals at one or two of these strengths, so read through & see which ones are most familiar to you. Start with 2.
Physical strength
This is about value adding, building your physical strength beyond simply moving yourself + the boat (lots of technical words exist for this).
Size does not count, it’s about you value-adding by developing your strength
Mental Strength
This is the ability to make your body act the way you want it too.
It is what will keep you focused on doing your best during training and on your paddling skills.
There are thresholds of this endurance, such as shallow breathing and burning muscles and these thresholds are different for everybody, so you knowing and/or building these thresholds benefits the team and you.
Attitudinal Strength
Put your ego aside and be willing to learn. No matter how disappointing or exciting your training and racing experiences are, always find positives in them.
On the water:
* Not challenging the coach. You have to trust they have the entire team’s interests as priority.
* Apply coach’s feedback. It may feel awkward but learning something new always has that element of awkwardness.
Off the water:
* Review what you have learnt + let the rest go.
* Respect teammates + coaches when you do need to express a concern.
Behavioural Strength
Remaining positively focused on the team’s common goal, such as good training sessions or winning at a regatta.
On the water:
* Minimise boat chatter to focus on the training.
* Resist coaching other team members, that’s the coach’s job.
Off the water:
* Volunteer your skills to the club. Every little bit counts towards the health of the club.
* Resist gossip about fellow paddlers.
Choose healthy lifestyle options such as healthy meals instead of junk food and/or another form of exercise that supports your paddling.
Remember, everyone has different strengths to bring to Rainbows therefore cultivating + sharing yours is about health, fun + fitness for everyone!
*this strengths list is drawn from paddlechica.com website which is a valuable resource for explaining dragon boating + being a part of a positive team culture.
