: They both seem to be holding the paddles with the blades vertical. Am i
: missing something here? I thought Greenland paddle technique kept the
: blade much flatter.

What the Greenlanders actually do and what has been taught as Greenland-style paddling in the US and Canada, can be quite different, but the rift is slowly closing. In Greenland the height of the paddle is varied, like gears on a bicycle, depending on how much power you need to exert. For normal touring the paddle is often held at 45 degrees to the horizon and for sprinting the paddle is held as vertically as possible. An article on the differences between what was taught in the US in the late 90's versus the Greenland champion Maligiaq Padilla's style is at http://www.qajaqusa.org/Technique/Greenland_technique_from_the_source.html. Also take a look at the video clips of Greenlanders paddling, on the Qajaq USA site at http://www.qajaqusa.org/Movies/movies.html, for some examples of technique variation.

The picture below of Kaleraq Bech, former president of Qaannat Kattuffiat (Greenland Kayaking Association) shows a wealth of technique details. In addition to the height of the paddle, notice how all fingers are not held on the paddle shaft. Only the thumbs and forefingers encircle the shaft with the remaining fingers draped over the roots of the blades. This makes the canted blade technique (top edge of the paddle tipped forward while paddling), so popular in West Greenland, very natural to perform.

Greg Stamer