I am Kevin Sham from Hong Kong. I started paddling in 2017 more competitively, with Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (Royal X DragonBoat) for about 3 seasons until 2020 when covid hits. Prior to that I was on/off paddling with my Dad who introduced me to dragonboating when I was spending time at the gym mostly. 2024 I have joined Buzz Dragonboat Society as a steer, as a paddler, and more importantly as a role model to the younger paddlers. This is a team with enriching history, properly the only team mixed with expatriates that are invited to all sorts of local fisherman races. I highly recommend to any of you to pay us a visit next time when you’re in HK! In 2020 when COVID hits us, I purchased my Ares OC1 and that’s how I started my solo paddling journey. From not being too comfortable in open ocean by myself, to being more competitive in various big races around Hong Kong and recently the Gorge 2024. 2025 will be a year to further challenge myself by setting foot into the national HK dragonboat team for Germany World Champs. Let’s bring it on! 🔥

Which of the three strategies speak to you the most? Share it in the comment below and give a like/support to each other. I’ve been paddling for over 15 years. I've spent over 10 years helping develop paddlers and grow a team organically. Now I’m boiling all that experience into a blueprint to speed up your training and learning. There's many reasons why someone joins a paddling team, whether dragon boat or outrigger. There are many reasons why someone joins any hobby-based team. I started TLC with the mission of developing community-focused paddlers and leaders. I hope to inspire people who start off as paddlers to then use what they've learned to become leaders in their communities, because that's exactly how I got to where I am today. I started paddling in high school in 2006, so it's been close to 20 years of paddling now. I started off as a paddler my first year and soon became the captain and eventually the coach of my university team and then later my adult team. I have made many mistakes along the way, as well as successes. Today I wanted to briefly share strategies that I have for people to develop as new or intermediate paddlers. 1 - Figure out your why Why are you paddling? What is the reason why you come out to paddle and train? What do you enjoy the most about the paddling? This will help us anchor why we show up time and time again. In order for you to develop as a paddler, you need to look within and figure out why you do it. Note that this can change over time, but it's still important to dial down and figure out what drives you. 2 - Figure out your short term and long term goals I think it's safe to say that everyone wants to make improvements and want to get better. That should be the general direction that you are heading in. However, often times the biggest challenge is actually focusing. When we have a goal that is generally well-intentioned but no actual steps, we don't end up going anywhere. Depending on what is most salient to you at this time, write down 1-2 short terms goals and write down 1-2 long term goals. At this time, they don't need to necessarily connect but do write them down. It will help you focus on how you want to improve and take the next step.

Annoying when rain and thunder don’t stop…

The last 5 mins kinda tiring after the 30 mins and 20 mins pieces, as well as 2 consecutive dragonboating

3x 20 mins. Nothing too crazy in the 20 mins holding at a relatively comfortable HR @ 135-145