If you can, make a little video of your paddling technique.  Don't worry too much about getting it 'right', more about demonstrating your usual technique.

Post it to (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)

You'll get huge responses.  Some instructors & competitors on that site who love the nitty gritty.

I am no expert, at anything!

But in my relatively short life:

I have found that a paddle is not a water shovel but a bladed lever with the wet hand being the pull and the upper hand being the push.

Reaching for the keel line with the blade will get you closer to nirvana within the world of the j and c.

Feathering really does matter.

Water is more solid than it looks.

A kayak is not a canoe.

I like the canoe not futbol; so hut is not in my vocabulary, unless you are tired and starting to get misty.

Big blade surfaces stick better, and flutter is about the shape.

Kneeling has a lot of benefits when the going gets tough.

I tried a kayak paddle in my solo years ago and never went back. Part of it was an old injury that bothered me with a single blade. I find it best to train with a heavier paddle than I may use on a long trip. Many have trouble with getting wet while using a double paddle. My cure for that has been using a longer paddle with the blades in straight alignment. The long length allows keeping the paddle as level as possible so less water runs down the shaft and ends up in your lap. The blades in straight alignment allows water to flow to the bottom lip of the blade which becomes the drip point. This puts the drips back in the lake and not in your lap. A kayaking friend showed me how to use my torso and not my arms to power the paddle. This made long days enjoyable. On narrow streams the double paddle is pushed off the bank when things get too narrow. Since these narrow streams are seldom straight it works great for fighting the wind and current in the switchbacks. For regular lake and river travel I find I have no trouble maintaining my course. It is very easy to alter the strokes in power or number to keep on course in high waves and wind.

Ideally, and you can get the idea paddling up a shallow streams, is that the paddle gets planted and the canoe is what moves. IMHO, the farther you get from the ideal - the less efficient your strokes are.

This is a helpful thread, thanks to everyone for their input.  A couple years ago my sister rented a Bell solo with a lot of rocker (I forget the model name). I tried doing the Minnesota Switch but could not get tracking at all.  The C worked best for me, but it was still a learning curve (as it were).

Paddling a tandem is so intuitive for me, getting used to the solo without the offsetting stroke of a bowman on the other side is a challenge, but a fun one.  Double blades wear me out, so I'm going to stick with working on mastering the single blade in the solo.  Besides, to me it feels "right" to have a single blade in a canoe.