Taster Lesson: Stern Rudder Exercises – Putting Control into Practice

In this taster lesson from our “Strokes Course”, we walk through a series of simple but powerful exercises designed to sharpen your blade awareness, improve boat control, and build confidence steering from the back of the kayak.

We cover:

✅ Target Practice

✅ Snaking turns

✅ Using a rudder on a small wave

These drills help you understand how pushing, pulling and twisting your paddle combine with body rotation to help guide your boat.

Important note: The stern rudder is rarely used in isolation on the river, but mastering it is key to blending strokes smoothly it really important.

This lesson is just a small taste of what we cover in our Strokes Course, where we break down core paddle strokes and show you how to blend them seamlessly for real-world river paddling.

To get instant access to this course, and all of the other amazing content on OWW, the subscribe today with our 7-day FREE trial.