Paddle Articles

It is not often we can hear first hand from someone their thoughts on testing and owning two recent canoes designs. And usually when we do read such reviews, it is full of marketing jargon, from a company spokesman, or someone who is elite and doesn't have the same priorities the majority of us share. So when we had the chance to ask a very solid paddler, Brian Bender, his impressions and thoughts on the new Kai Wa'a Ares and Antares, and how they compared, we pounced. For Paddlers. By Paddlers. Enjoy! -CP

 

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If you have a canoe, surf-ski, paddleboard or any watercraft for that matter, chances are you have come to realize taking care of the craft is important. Not only to pro-long its life, but also for your psyche as you realize on race day that every advantage is needed to be your best. Recently we took the dirtiest outrigger canoe we had ever seen, a vintage John Martin OC2 from the 90s that paddles great but had been left in the rafters for far too long without some TLC. It was dirty, neglected, and hosing it down with water just didn't seem to help restore its sheen anymore. We have a race coming up in a couple weeks with it...what oh what is a paddler to do? So we thought we would try out some Blue Goo from OnIt Pro and share our results.

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Cali Paddler is stoked to have had the chance to try out some really cool water shoes. That look like normal shoes, but dry super fast and are comfortable. The shoes are from Zhik and called the ZKG Amphibious Shoes. And like their name are designed to work in the water and on land. Check out what we did to test them recently! You would be hard pressed to give a tougher test.

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[ Cali Paddler is always impressed at the dedication and drive shown by our young paddlers. Not to mention their coaches and parents who support their paddle lifestyle. We are so proud at this upcoming endeavor, the MBX race from Santa Cruz to Monterey. If you haven't heard about this epic race check out some previous articles here. Thank you Jocelyn Wilson for this great intro of the dedicated paddlers! ]

Two years later and I’m back writing about my experience with MBX, except this time it’s about our keiki. Now, I’ve only been coaching these kids for about 2 years. By coaching, I mean I’m basically their den mom and assist Mike Smith, Head Keiki Coach for He’e Nalu. It’s pretty much it’s own insanely quirky family, including our amazing, supportive parents! So, when we had a crew of 9 keiki come up to us, explaining how they wanted to participate in MBX (Monterey Bay Crossing), there was no second guessing if these kids could accomplish it or not. They’ve proven enough times that if they set their minds to it, they can surpass any obstacles in their way. I’ve been privileged enough to be a part of this amazing adventure and now I share it
with you.

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[ CP Fitness welcomes again Shanimal Fitness to help us find solutions for shoulder pain caused by impingement. Enjoy! -CP ]

Paddlers and athletes who have shoulder impingement a lot of times will have surgery to unhinge or release the shoulder. Shoulder impingement is when a paddler lifts the arm and the humerus bone impinges or pinches the rotator cuff muscles under the coracoarcromial arch. This can cause tears in the rotator cuff. Usually if you go to a surgeon they want to do surgery, that is their job. Basically, the surgeon destabilizes the shoulder by removing very important structures at the top of the shoulder. So you have a shoulder that no longer impinges, but is now unstable as this ligament holds the top of the shoulder bones together. This then sets up a new problem that also beats up the rotator cuff.

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