The Forward Stroke

I agree that "torso" rotation is a misnomer, but I think hip rotation might also be misleading. I consider the rotation to start from the feet. With the foot braces positioned correctly the paddler should have the ability to nearly straighten one leg at a time. The straightened leg then forces the hips to rotate and that in turn rotates the lower back. One little simple excercise that demonstrates this clearly is to place paddle behind back with arms over the shaft.Try to paddle. Now try the same thing without contact with the foot braces. Usually a fairly concrete demonstration that needs little explanation.