In this short video, Tuperia King, both a long distance and sprint world champion who uses the Tahitian forward stoke technique, explains why your top arm should be bent on the recovery and catch rather than straight. A bent arm allows you to put more down pressure on the paddle with your slight abdominal crunch-twist during the power phase. This technique is not only useful for generating more forward stroke power for a racer, but allows for a more efficient and less tiring forward stroke for a cruising tripper.