Way more than just paddling

How dragon boating changed my life and what it has taught me.

Laurice Manaligod
Aug 27, 2017 · 4 min read

Dragon boat racing is a water sport with twenty paddlers on a boat, plus a caller to relay commands and a steers-person at the back. The sport relies heavily on synchrony and teamwork. And it just so happens there’s huge community here in Vancouver, BC.

When I first started dragon boating, I didn’t expect how much of a positive impact it was going to make in my life. Through paddling, I got stronger physically and mentally. And gained lifelong friendships.

After four years, five seasons, twenty plus festivals, and over seventy races, spanning six cities and two countries, I’ve decided to take a break from paddling and shift my focus on other activities. It’s been two months since my last festival, and dang it, I miss it!

At the peak of stressfulness at my previous job, it was my outlet to unload all of the bad vibes I’ve picked up from the day, sometimes even the week. I miss the feeling being on the water with my teammates.

With dragon boating being a huge part of my life, year in and year out, I’ve learned a few lessons that I’m able to apply in my daily life.

Define your limits, then push past it. Three quarters through a race, just when you thought you’ve given your 100 percent, there’s a quarter more remaining to carry the boat forward to the finish line. Never give up. There’s always something more to give. I never knew where it comes from but when needed for the final push to get an edge over the other boats on the water, we’re able to muster up the strength to give just a little bit more.

The faces of relief and fatigue.

Trust your teammates. You are one team. Twenty-two humans with one goal. Timing, technique and trust are the key ingredients when it comes to dragon boating. Having synchronicity, and paddling efficiently moves the boat forward. Timing and technique are what counts when one isn’t able to put more power into each stroke. As our coach says, each on of us has a role and not a rank on the boat. The caller at the front relays the commands. The pacers, set the rate of the strokes. Paddlers in the middle maintains the rate. The ones at the back pushes for power. Lastly, the steers, keeps the boat straight for a smooth race. After all, The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Each and every single body contributes to move the boat forward.

“If plan A doesn’t work, the alphabet has 25 more letters — 204 if you’re in Japan.” — Claire Cook

Adjust and adapt. Throughout the course of a race, there may be waves that’ll rock the boat, wake from adjacent boats that may throw us off. In extreme cases, collision. We can only plan for so much. During a race it’s continuous adjustment. For those who can see outside the boat, mainly the caller at the front and the steers at the back, it requires constant assessment of the race and relaying the commands accordingly. It’s up to the paddlers to react to the commands to adjust and adapt the rate of the strokes.

It doesn’t get easier. You get stronger. You don’t have to be the fittest to start paddling. I never went to the gym before I first started. Once you join the team, you train to become a strong paddler. Whenever I get asked by my friends who want to try the sport, some of the common concerns that come up are, “I’m not strong enough.” or “Is it tough? It looks tough.”. To which I reply, don’t worry, we’ll train you. And, yes it’s tough, and it’ll be difficult in the beginning, but practice makes progress.

No doubt. All out. Months of practice and training, twice a week, on the water. Two minutes to give it your all.

There’s so much more, like, staying calm when moments get chaotic, but I believe these are the top ones, and I’ve been able to take these lessons I’ve learned on the boat and bring it to different aspects of my life, which lends to the beauty of it.

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Laurice Manaligod

Written by

Finding romance in the simplest moments. Musings from a designer and a new mom. http://laurice.manaligod.ca

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