: How did the bastardization happen?? I fell for the wrong method for
: sure!!

A prominent midwest coach who was a relatively early adopter of GPs developed the "knuckle dragging" technique and popularized it before many US paddlers had been to Greenland and seen how they actually paddle.

: actually one of the kayak shops/Instructors near me explained GP as
: the knuckle dragging /Horizontal paddling method as you describe
: above, some of his customers use GP (hes a euro guy) he
: mentioned they are slow but can do neat rolling tricks. I wonder
: if they have the same problem I did??

These are all common misconceptions about GPs and they're quite common among people who don't use them.

: well if it was not for this board and QaJaq USA site Id probably be
: buying a euro stick this week.

Well, I guess we saved you from a life of paddling misery, didn't we? ;-)

: I think seeing photos of Dubside and others just sort of holding a
: GP (way down Low) and the few articals (GP vs Euro...) I read
: (not on Qajaq) GP was described as more of a horizontal
: technique "Oh thats where one paddles from " On the
: deck , NOT!!!

Please don't misunderstand, there are a lot of variations in GP technique and you'll often see any given paddler vary his/her stroke to suit the conditions. Sometimes low is appropriate, sometimes higher is better.

: again thank you all very much for shedding light on My embarassing
: / ill informed Technique.

There's no reason to be embarrassed, it's just part of the learning curve. You learned what you were taught or observed, which is perfectly natural. Hopefully, you're learning more here.

: "John"