The muscles being emphasized in that style are not effectively pre-loaded with a strong leg drive. Application to Training The style in which you row has profound and very specific effects on your physiological makeup. I have one study which demonstrated this difference brilliantly by examining the bowmen and the strokes in a group of pair sweep rowers. Because of the positions of the oars relative to the boat, the rowers employed different force time curves in order to keep the boat moving straight. They had different muscular enzyme characteristics and lactate profiles as a result.
Physiological adaptation is THAT specific.
If you are a rower who has been rowing ineffectively for years, then two things are going to conspire against you if you try to change your technique. They can be overcome, but you need to understand them in order to overcome them. While the way you row may not be optimal in the big scheme of things, your body has adapted specifically to it. So, it will feel optimal even when it isn't. If you try to row differently, it will feel worse initially.