the dragon are considered to be male (yang) forces and are most powerful at this time of the year.7 Once the dragon was awakened in the ceremony, it had to be treated with respect and protected from anything that might diminish its yang character, such as contact with women. As a result, dragon boat racing was a ritual celebration that excluded women.
Of all the customs associated with the Dragon Boat Festival, none rival that of the preparation and eating of zongzi, sticky rice dumplings wrapped in leaves. The story behind these rice delicacies is linked to Qu Yuan. After the villagers arrived too late in their boats to save Qu Yuan from drowning, some say that they threw rice into the water, which the fish or the River Dragon, by other accounts, would eat instead of Qu Yuan’s body. Others say that the rice was to feed the spirit of Qu Yuan in his afterlife. While the real reason remains obscured, the custom of eating zongzi has endured until today. Zongzi can be purchased year round at Chinese restaurants, stores, and bakeries. And, Chinese families continue making these delicacies during the Dragon Boat Festival, their own special recipes handed down through generations.
Zongzi from Beijing are filled with sweet ingredients, like bean paste, walnuts, and dates. In southern China, they are made with salty fillings, like roast duck, chicken, peanuts or salted duck eggs. The third type is preserved in a strong alkaline solution.
We wear kilts and have lucky Chinese coins on our team jersey. We eat Asian foods and Scottish haggis — sometimes combined. It’s become more than just being social…. It’s become a family.
— Todd Wong, Vancouver, British Columbia
Dragon boat races, rooted in the ancient past of gods, ghosts, and superstitions, treaded unfamiliar waters in Western communities for thousands of years. Only recently have they become sporting events that promise fanfare, drums, and excitement. Traditions and rituals are re-enacted in ceremonies to awaken and dot the eye of the dragon, and in dragon boat racing itself. The Dragon Boat Festival, the most international of all festivals from China, is the only one embraced by Chinese and non-Chinese alike. The lure of dragon boating arouses deep passion in the hearts of men and women, young and old.
NOTES
1. Carol Stephanchuk and Charles Wong, Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals of China (San Francisco: China Books, 1992).
2. Bian Yi, China Daily, November 29, 1999.
3. With the fall of the last independent state of Chu, the Qin kingdom unified all other states into the first Chinese empire to be ruled by Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. The English word for China is considered to be derived from Qin (pronounced “Cheen”).
4. International Dragon Boat Federation Handbook, 4th edition (IDBF, 2004).
5. Ibid.
6. Henning Wiekhorst, Hong Kong: Mother of Dragons (Hong Kong: Creative-Dragon-Works, 2006).
7. Another translation of “Duan Wu” is “maximum sun” or “upright sun.” On the fifth day of the fifth month, the male forces (yang) are at maximum intensity and the sun reaches it highest position in the sky.
SOURCES
Barker, Pat. Dragon Boats: A Celebration. Vancouver:
Raincoast Books, 1996.
Bodde, Derk. Festivals in Classical China. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1975.
Chan, Arlene. Awakening the Dragon: The Dragon Boat Festival. Toronto: Tundra Books, 2004.
Eberhard, Wolfram. Chinese Festivals. New York:
Abelard-Schuman, 1958.
Huxley, Francis. The Dragon: Nature of Spirit, Spirit of Nature. London: Thames and Hudson, 1989.
Jones, Meg. Chinese New Year and the Dragon Boat Festival. London: Scholastic, 2004.
Law, Joan, and Barbara Ward. Chinese Festivals in Hong Kong. Hong Kong: South China Morning Post, 1982.
Vasu, Suchitthra. Dragon Boat Festival. Singapore:
National Library of Singapore, 1997.
Stepanchuk, Carol. Red Eggs and Dragon Boats.
Berkeley, CA: Pacific View Press, 1994.
Stepanchuk, Carol, and Charles Wong. Mooncakes and Hungry Ghosts: Festivals in China. San Francisco:
China Books, 1992.
Wiekhorst, Henning. Hong Kong: Mother of Dragons.
Hong Kong: Creative-Dragon-Works, 2006.
Albert McDonald
and
Suzanne McKenzie
Efficient paddling technique, which engages the body’s core muscle groups, promotes the following: first, maximum “glide” or boat run; second, reduced stress on smaller muscle groups, thereby reducing the chance of sport injury; third, the burning of more calories by engaging and utilizing large, versus small, muscle groups; fourth, the contribution to increased boat speed.
Though some crews may not be interested in boat speed, most crews are. Often, coaches will offer increased boat speed as the sole reason to make technical changes and to paddle efficiently; however, boat speed is not the sole reason to paddle efficiently.
Several key elements of the proper paddling technique are listed and described below. Many different styles and perspectives on technique are prevalent. In general, style refers to sequencing of body movements and movement of the paddle when the paddle is out of the water. Dragon boat attracts many experienced, world-class paddlers from other paddling disciplines, such as flatwater, marathon, outrigger, et cetera. These paddlers have developed different stroke aspects, even bad habits, but can maintain extremely powerful connection with the water. Their high fitness level, built over many years and combined with their water connection, enables them to paddle extremely effectively in dragon boat. Through a different “style” they are still able to achieve boat efficiency — when the paddle is in the water, the blade angle is optimal and they are engaging core muscles. Therefore, there are different ways to be successful and achieve boat efficiency, particularly when the paddle is out of the water.
DRAGON BOAT STROKE FOR BASIC
BEGINNER TO MID-COMPETITIVE
LEVEL PADDLERS
Establishing stability and proper positioning in the boat is the key to transferring power to the water to create boat glide and therefore speed.
Basic Preparation
Before describing the elements of the proper stroke technique, we will outline the proper base of support (seated position in the dragon boat) and how to choose a paddle and hold the paddle correctly. If you do not have a proper base of support or if you hold the paddle incorrectly, you will not be able to achieve an efficient technique.
Base of Support
The seated position involves