Dragon Boat Development Course

WORDS

BY CHUCK SIU

dragonboat@rhkyc.org.hk

After the 4-week Dragon Boat introduction course where paddlers learnt the basic necessary skills to participate in competitive Dragon Boat racing, a follow up invitation was extended to take part in the Dragon Boat Adult Development Course. This was where the official training and integration to the Royal X Dragon Boat team begins. Avid Dragon Boaters start training with the veteran Royal X paddlers with a ‘moneyback guarantee’ that after one session one would start discovering sore muscles in areas where they never knew existed.

As the Dragon Boat season is quite compressed between January to July, the development course emphasizes the importance of routine training to ensure we would outlast our competition and reach peak performance prior to the races. A typical training week involves one day of inland training, and two days of water training. The course pays close attention to our team’s rhythm, paddling technique, strength, muscle memory, endurance, and stamina.

On Monday evenings, we conduct land training with Pinnacle Performance, who led us on a one hour high-intensity interval training (HIIT) session. Although Dragon Boat races are won in water, it is stressed that land training is just as important to ensure all parts of our body are being worked on as the best paddling is achieved with the entire body being at top shape. On Friday and Saturday mornings, the Royal X team heads to the water, where all paddlers come physically and mentally ready for an intense workout involving paddling drills, technique drills, and endurance training. Most importantly, the water training allows us the opportunity to gel and work together as ‘one team’ as races are won together, lost together.

We’ve all heard of the term ‘work hard, play hard’. With Royal X they ‘work harder and play even harder’. This is all thanks to a wonderful social committee always organizing fun events for us to bond closer as a group. A very welcoming bunch that ensures that our newcomers are well blended in with the veteran paddlers. The most recent event involved an afternoon happy hour with one of our Royal X paddlers inventing a lovely cocktail which made some of us dance like we’ve never danced before.

Summarising the development course, I would like to use a quote from one of the greatest boxers who’s ever lived, Muhammad Ali:

“I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. That is when I start counting, because then it really counts. That’s what makes you a champion.” – Muhammad Ali

The Dragon Boat adult development course is not for the faint, but for those who want to strive to become the best versions of themselves, through teamwork, dedication, hard work, and sheer will. With commitment, one will discover new limits they never thought they could reach, playing alongside an amazing supportive team who are rooting for each other’s success.