People assume dragon boating is an arms sport. Your arms are the last thing it trains. The stroke starts in your legs and core. A good paddle stroke is about rotation: you drive off the footrest, rotate the torso, plant the blade at the front and pull the boat past the paddle. Your lats, obliques and glutes do the work; your arms mostly transmit it. That's why paddlers develop such strong backs and cores, and why the sport is unusually kind to people who find running hard on

The hardest part of dragon boating isn't the paddling — it's booking the first session. Here's exactly what happens when you turn up: no kit, no experience, nothing to bring but a water bottle. Your first sessions are free.