FOSTER CITY - Last Saturday 40 members of BAD attended a paddling clinic from a world class dragon boat extraordinaire Dominic Shew. Excitement was in the air as BAD's members gathered in anxious anticipation of receiving some one on one tutoring from their new mentor. By the time the clinic was over, BAD members didn't really receive any one on one mentoring, but instead learned a few new drills, one "crazy start," and the importance of timing. Yes, all this was acquired in a clinic that clocked in at a whopping six and a half hours.
"I'm glad I brought my ass pad," exclaimed a very exhausted Ed Iovino once the grueling day had come to an end. The importance of the butt pad did not go unnoticed after an entire day's worth of paddling with a new stroke that emphasized the importance of hip movement which forces one's rear end to slide back and forth on the seat. "You're definitely going to have a lot of movement on the seat if you're doing the stroke correctly," explained Shew when South African born BAD member Marco Gabbiani asked Shew about how much one's butt should slide on the seat. "In fact, sometimes your butt will even lift out of the seat," Shew further explained. This was not good news for those of us who blister very easily where the sun doesn't shine; however, the news was welcomed with great enthusiasm by IKEA, who reported a 200% increase in sales of butt pads in the two hours following the clinic.
On a more serious note, Shew also taught a few new drills that will be coming soon to a practice near you. Amongst some of the favorites was one drill where paddlers have to paddle through the air for ten strokes followed by five strokes in the water. "That was a good drill," said Justin Lien, my paddling partner for the day, who then proceeded to drain a gallon of Gatorade. All right, maybe it wasn't a gallon, but after six and a half hours, liquid refreshments were in high demand. Jose, the cashier at the nearby Valero gas station food mart which sells Gatorade, Powerade, bottled water, and a veritable smorgasbord of other liquid refreshment, reported a 200% increase in sales during the 90 minute lunch break between paddling sessions. Hey, who says BAD isn't good for the Foster City economy?
Shew thought that BAD had a lot to work on in order to get better. When coach Steve Yan asked him for the top three things BAD can improve upon, Shew responded with four, including the exit, reach, drop, and pull: all four parts of the stroke! However, Shew was impressed with BAD's power. "There's a lot of beef cakes on this boat!" exclaimed Shew when he watched the blue boat pull way ahead of the green boat after calling a front half only blend drill which featured the likes of BAD strong men Kurt Berger, Alvin Wang, Justin Lien, Dan Folk, Sidney Tao, and yours truly.
This year's clinic will be one that no one will forget. The new drills will certainly be featured in many practices to come, and the new racing philosophy just might yield gold medals in our upcoming races. Overall, BAD came away with a new racing knowledge, and a new appreciation for the most underrated piece of dragon boat equipment, the butt pad.
Photos by Justin Lien
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