John Puakea Teaches the Tahitian Paddle Technique with Video Analysis

Canoe designer and championship coach, John Puakea teaches us the Tahitian paddling technique that Shell Va'a is using to dominate the canoe races. In this video, John breaks down the Tahitian paddling stroke taught to him by Gerard Teva by using videos of champion paddlers from California and Tahiti.
About John Puakea (from www.puakeadesigns.com/johnny-p...
John Puakea is the founder of Puakea Designs, an innovative paddlesport design company that delivers products and services to elite-level as well as recreation paddlers. Puakea Designs team riders include world-champion paddlers Danny Ching, Jimmy Austin, and Lauren Spalding.
John is an internationally sought after canoe builder as well as a championship- winning paddling coach, whose career as a canoeing innovator and promoter has evolved with the expanding paddling sports market.
Over years of coaching, John’s own experience as an elite paddler, combined with his talent for refining technique and efficiency, have nurtured the best assets of other paddlers at the highest level of competition. After coaching the US National Kayak Team at various Olympic training centers, homesick, John moved back to Hawaii to coach various top outrigger canoe teams, including both the men’s and the women’s team for the winning Outrigger Canoe Club in Waikiki for six years.
As an exceptional technical coach, John has helped push world-class paddlers to the next level in international competition. His ability to improve the performance of already-elite paddlers also led Team Bradley to consecutive first-place finishes in the Molokai-to-Oahu Na Wahine O Ke Kai, and to the fastest crossing time by any women’s team in the history of the race.
John’s knowledge of body mechanics complements his strengths in canoe building. His top-performing designs include the Kaimana, the Kainalu, the Pueo 1-and the new superstar, the Ehukai-OC1 canoes. New in production is his very fast unlimited-class OC6 canoe, owned by various West Coast mainland and international teams in anticipation of top times in this new ultralight division. Top Tahitian team Shell Va’a chose John’s OC6 for the grueling Olamau Race 2013, and won in all three stages.
John’s inherent craftsmanship and design finesse come from an early indoctrination into canoe culture by his father, Bobby Puakea, beloved coach, renowned wooden- canoe builder, and Puakea Foundation of Hawaii founder. While traditional sensibilities and a duty to cultural stewardship inspire John’s designs, speed considerations drive the end product. John’s elegantly styled canoes are among the fastest and race-proven on the water anywhere in the world.
For the wider paddling community, John is continuing to advance paddling performance with this new line of products, including outrigger and SUP paddles, applying the same technical and aesthetic standards used in his OC1s and OC6s. Additionally, John is available for coaches’ clinics, team clinics, as well as for private coaching.
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[@mulus2008]

Iv paddled for 30 years andI am in my 50 and have a buddy I race. anyway this weekend and with no practice time just tried it in a race it worked great I moved on my buddy. I have change and some material to work on Thank you so much John.....

[@ScottGB]

This guy is a true analyst of paddling

[@valerienarube8241]

Thank you so much for this teaching video on technicalities and techniques. I'm very new to this sport. Learned so much. Please keep them coming. Vinaka vakalevu ( Thanks very much in in the Itaukei language - Fiji).

[@Lehmann108]

If you have an opportunity to take a clinic with Johnny absolutely do it! Most coaches over-complicate the stroke and you end up with five or six elements of the stroke ringing in your head as you paddle. Johnny will just give you one or two things to work on for 6 months and then you see him again!

[@tomwalter7948]

So insightful John - thanks for posting

[@blueplanetsurf]

Good stuff, thank you Evan!

[@StandUpPaddleSurfnet]

+blueplanetsurf Thanks. More to come.

[@tonyfajardo3003]

More great stuff! Thanks for sharing!

[@StandUpPaddleSurfnet]

+Tony Fajardo Thanks

[@AshleyArvidsson]

I'm pretty sure I saw him at Magic Island. He looks very familiar. Not sure, but I see paddlers there all the time.

[@StandUpPaddleSurfnet]

Canoe designer and championship coach, John Puakea teaches us the Tahitian paddling technique that Shell Va'a is using to dominate the canoe races. In this video, John breaks down the Tahitian paddling stroke taught to him by Gerard Teva by using videos of champion paddlers from California and Tahiti.

[@pbagoye]

Culture in decline

[@dgarvin53]

awesome technique, I just join the makaha canoe team

[@lnpau-tusi1164]

Thanks

[@leonardc1303]

Keep running the video please

[@andrewalligood3121]

I no like paddle one side all-staggered mo bettah!But this guy prettry akamai!It work for them guys.Papa ete' was beautiful when we went in 85.But some of us got conjunctivitis from the fresh water,somehow.That was the only glitch in a great trip.Wish I knew French.....

[@Differentmedia]

Hey guys! thanks for sharing this great video, I just filmed a video interviewing the creater of world paddle for the planet day, feel free to check it out!

[@michelangeloreyes6669]

24:34 MY BRO HARRISON 👍🏽

[@StandUpPaddleSurfnet]

+Michelangelo Reyes cool

[@johnrobinson3852]

It's a hula dance

[@ualesipuni2396]

It was so painful listening to the interviewer. He was basically interviewing himself...