If you google “swing thought” you’ll get a bunch of hits related to golf swings. A swing thought is just a mental image that helps you perform better, whether it’s golf, tennis, or whatever. I played a bit of tennis in college, so I’m familiar with it’s usage in that context. I’ve found that swing thoughts can sometimes make all of the difference when it comes to boosting your confidence and getting closer to feeling in the “zone”.
Not too long ago, on jacksonkayak.com Stephen Wright posted a story on How to Clean Cartwheel. It contains some great “jedi mind tricks” (just another form of swing thought). For me, the key was this:
Angle your boat slightly to the left (11:00 o’clock) as you reach back for your reverse sweep on the right and lift your left knee.
In particular, the bit about 11:00 o’clock really gave me an image to work with. Not long after I read the article I went down near the weir, just above the I-5 rapids (Willamette River, Eugene, OR), to practice. I was consistently able to throw the bow followed by the stern, just like in the article. Way cool. Afterwards, I went down to Cotton Candy (just above Knickerbocker Bridge) to practice some ballerina spins. What a great way to end the day!
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