I’ve talked a lot about mastering your grip in rowing. Click any of those hyperlinks and you can read some of my thoughts on why it’s so important to have a proper, comfortable grip on your handles. I talk a lot about hand and thumb positioning, tactility, oar handles, and creating a general understanding of your equipment. I even go so far as to say your hands are the soul to your rowing. I still believe all of that.
But recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the emotional/psychological aspects of rowing grip and what could potentially be getting in the way of better rowing. As a coach and someone who overcame death grip myself I can’t be so simplistic as to say “just make the change.” There’s much more to this change than that. So let’s say for the purposes of this post that you don’t have some sort of legitimate physical blocker like extremely small hands, or a missing finger, or rheumatoid arthritis. Let’s say you’re just f-ing scared.
That’s totally ok. Rowing is a disorienting, bizarre sport. It’s not like basketball or soccer where you’ve basically spent your entire life building the skills of walking, running, and jumping on a completely stable platform (the Earth). You’re sitting in a boat going backwards with nine and a half foot oars as your means of propulsion. Add to that a winding, busy waterway and you’re suddenly in disorientation station. If I asked a professional soccer play like Megan Rapinoe to start playing every game on stilts on an ice rink she’d probably struggle a bit. (But would eventually figure it out. Because she’s a badass.)
So with rowing I think there is a lot of fear that dictates how you hold the handles. What does one have to fear you might ask?
– flipping
– hitting something/someone
– dying
Those are some legitimate fears. But I also think there’s a fear of failure, a fear of letting go, and a fear of change. Psychological blockers like these and real life worries of being harmed or killed are legitimate and can make a huge, often negative impact on how you row. And if you’re out there on a cold day without a safety launch, well, who wouldn’t death grip a little?
For some, addressing this side of the sport is the only way to get to the other side where you can focus on the physical aspects of good grip and technique. This is an oft overlooked side of rowing. And I think it takes some work on land before even setting foot in your boat to start building your mental grip.
I think identifying what you’re afraid of is a good first step. Then working with your coach to come up with strategies for making incremental changes to both mindset and grip. And ultimately and most importantly deciding what you want to get out of the sport.
I believe that everyone who rows should experience the joy of making the boat run. And that everyone is capable of that. It’s a combination of good grip and emotional capacity. And that takes a lot of work both on and off the water.
Thanks for reading. And remember, you are the master of your boat.
