In my opinion there are 5 fundamentals for a canoeist to follow when they are learning to paddle.

1. Posture - Your posture defines how long and how well you can paddle. Most importantly, sit up straight. The name of the paddling game is balance. By maintaining a solid equilibrium you will find that your paddling endurance will far surpass anything that pure muscle alone would provide.

2. Body Positioning - Your position in the boat directly affects your ability to stay in the boat... I know, it's not that difficult to comprehend but as novices to the activity of canoeing we can tend to lean away from obstacles or into turns. In both cases the the right thing to do is keep centered, maybe take a knee, and use the paddle (by pushing water not the trees, bank, other canoe's, etc) to take move you away from obstacles.

3. The Paddle is Set - It is easy to visualize the paddle sliding through the water and propelling the boat but that is not the case. Think of the paddle as being set in concrete once it is set in the water. It does not cut the water so much as it propels the boat over the top of the water. This is sometimes considered as being the most important concept with canoeing.

4. Body/Paddle Synchronization - As you reach forward to plant the paddle in the water, bring the opposite side shoulder across the front of your body by rotating at your waist. As you draw the paddle towards the aft of the canoe with your arms your body should also twist at the hips to keep the paddle blade at a good angle in the water.

5. Vision - Personally, this is the most important fundamental of canoeing once you get used to putting the paddle in the water and keeping your body low and centered. Your vision while in the canoe is what will keep your canoe (and you...) out of harms way. The farther you look down stream the better paddler you will become. Much like chess, the more moves you plan in advance, the better able you will be to have a complete idea of the moves it will take to get you downriver.

 There are many opinions and ideas about what makes a fundamentally strong paddler. These are the five that I felt would impact a novice paddler the most. If anyone has ideas to expand upon or modify any items on this list please let us know.