Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing are functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically attached with the boat, and the rower drives the oar like a lever, exerting forces in the same direction of the boat's travel; while paddles are completely hand-held and have no attachment to the boat, and are driven like a cantilever, exerting forces opposite to the intended direction of the boat. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)