Crew – Eyes closed rowing

Practice:

Close your eyes while rowing.

Type:

Classic exercise. Can be transformed into a Motor exercise by introducing disturbances and letting the other rowers use their sensory system to notice what is happening. Also see:

Sensory training and the different options under variation.

Purpose:

Exclude visual stimuli. Learn to listen to the sounds of the boat (auditory feedback) and hear rhythm, cadence and similarity. Learn to feel balance and sliding speed instead of seeing (tactile feedback).

Focus:

Listen for the similarity of the catch and the squaring. Feel the extent to which the handles pull on the fingers and if you give as much force as the crew does. Feel the similarity of sliding to the degree to which your feet press foot stretcher. Feel the balance in the boat on your seat.

Variation:

Bring in disturbances by:

1.	Ask one rower to slide extra fast or slow and ask the other rowers what they feel while sliding towards the catch.
2.	Have the crew row strong pressure and ask one rower to row light pressure. Ask this rower what difference he feels with his fingers.
3.	Ask one rower or coxswain to lean the trunk to one side. Ask the rowers what they feel.
4.	Ask one of the rowers other than the stroke to act as the stroke and introduce variations in stroke rate. Have the other rowers follow this stroke and ask how they know they are following correctly.

	Crew – Drifting stroke
	Crew – Stroke against crew

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