The Art of Sculling

Ships Quickly Satisfaction Guaranteed! Good shape with typical wear and a publisher overstock mark.

Ships Quickly Satisfaction Guaranteed! Good shape with typical wear and a publisher overstock mark.

Fine in Wraps: binding square and secure; text clean. Virtually 'As New'. NOT

Fine in Wraps: binding square and secure; text clean. Virtually 'As New'. NOT a Remainder, Book-Club, or Ex-Library. Royal 8vo. 149pp. Photography by Les Henig. First Ed thus, later printing. Trade Paperback. "Good sculling is made up of two very basic ideas; using your energy efficiently and allowing the boat to work for you." Nowhere does he say to just strap yourself in and pull like mad. And he's right! The scullers who invoke envy are pulling smoothly and gracefully and efficiently. The real value of this book is its' exactness. Everything he says is correct and detailed, and though the importance of a seemingly basic sentence like the one above may not sink it at first, with repeated attempts at learning to scull one does eventually relate, and 'get it'. The Art of Sculling covers buying and rigging a boat, but the real gold is in the Advanced Technique chapter. Paduda tells you not only what you should be doing, but the how and the why, and exactly how you should feel when you are doing it. He explains how memory works, and modeling and visualization in exacting detail. These are not things that most of us can absorb with one reading. I am finding it helpful to row, then read, then row, then read, and I suspect I will for a long time. If you are serious about sculling properly, this book is a huge help. -I would say indispensable. I also found that learning to erg properly let me get muscle memory for body movement that transferred to the boat, allowing me to concentrate on bladework, boat movement, etc. when I am in the boat. In that regard a Concept 2 erg, and their DVD on the subject, were extremely helpful. I also used the erg to build up the strength and stamina to row on the water with proper technique, to the extent that I am able, for an hour or so.