[Paddlewise] New certification concept

George wrote;

--Large SNIP)


>i am curious as to how bcu training came to be seen by some of you as
skill
>training for hot-shots devoid of sense, as that is contrary to my
experience
>of several different bcu folk in several different settings.

I am not sure if that opinion has any universality. On the other hand, the
image of the hair shirt BCU coach sits firmly in the back of my mind. I
suspect the image comes from impressions given by both instructors and
writers that the British model of boat and the skills associated with it
constitute "real" kayaking.

My perception on this gets coloured by my role as a designer of boats. To
me the job priority of fitting boats to paddlers outranks fitting paddlers
to boats. Folding boats, hard-shells, SOT's, and all the other
configurations have validity and if they require some special skills or do
not require others then instruction should (I believe) cater to that rather
than insist upon a rigid hierarchy of paddling skills.

The idea that rolling skills might be essential to developing a good brace
could be considered a case in point. Many canoeists develop a rather
competent brace without ever learning how to roll. Some learn without ever
even capsizing. Nevertheless, many sea kayaking instructors insist on
teaching rolling first and then bracing. A lady in my club who can roll
quite nicely admitted that, not only could she not brace instinctively but
she had never been taught to brace at all. I do not think her experience
either unique or universal but significant nonetheless. The amount of time
and space spent on rolling in courses and books appears to dominate the
time spent on other more frequently used or needed techniques. Indeed, some
certifications cannot be obtained without being able to roll even though it
may be impossible to do in the boat chosen.

There may be a message in the emphasis on rolling (perhaps unintentional).
If rolling is an essential skill, then what of boats that cannot be rolled?
Are those boats unsuitable? The evidence suggests otherwise. Nevertheless,
kayak buyers frequently ask me. "How easy is it to roll that boat?" as if
rolling were an essential part of kayaking.  I wonder how many people have
been discouraged from buying boats that were more suited to their needs
just because the boat could not be easily rolled. Certainly instructors who
insist that a certain type of boat be used in their courses make a
statement about boats.

All of this disturbs me because I sense that people are being forced to fit
a mold rather than instruction and boats being forced to fit people. No
doubt many instructors and courses exist with a focus centred upon the
person and that person's individual goals but I suspect that that may be
the exception rather than the rule.

Sorry for being so long winded on this.

Cheers,
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Specialists in Human Powered Watercraft
http://home.ican.net/~735769/








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