This video from the REI Outdoor School demonstrates basic kayak paddle strokes in this video: the forward stroke, turning strokes, and boat-control strokes. For the forward stroke, think about placing your blade in the water and moving past it, rather than pulling the blade through the water. This increases your efficiency. The forward stroke is made up of 3 elements: the windup, the catch, and the unwind. Rotate your torso (the windup), place the blade in the water by your foot (the catch), rotate your torso (the unwind) to move your boat forward, and then take the blade out of the water when your hand reaches your hip. Now your already wound up for the next catch. It's a push with the upper hand and a pull with the lower hand while rotating the torso. In kayaking, technique is much more important than upper body strength. Now for turning strokes. The sweep stroke is a forward stroke that allows you to keep your momentum. It begins far forward in the front of the boat, sweeps way wide, and continues all the way back till the paddle touches the stern. Draw strokes help you move your kayak sideways, like to pull up next to a dock. The first draw stroke is a simple reach out and pull toward you. The other draw stroke is the sculling draw stroke: It's a sustained back and forth motion, kind of like spreading peanut butter. The final stroke we'll learn is how to stop a moving kayak—it's back paddling, the reverse of the forward stroke.