Jack Martin wrote: > > An interesting thread. We seem to be concerned --- justifiably --- that the > ACA or BCU or any other "accreditation" group will finally discover "the" > Greenlandic technique in paddling and patent it for sale. The real problem, > from my experience, is that there does not seem to *be* any one accepted, > standard Greenlandic technique --- at least not in Greenland. > > I remember first watching Maligiaq at the DelMarVa meeting last fall and > wondering how someone with so much recognition within the Greenland paddling > community could have such a terrible Greenland stroke! But "terrible" by > whose standards? My guess is that there is a continuum of paddling styles > in Greenland, and Maligiaq represents just one beautiful point on that > continuum; by inference, there may be lots of other styles of paddling > within the Greenland communities, nots superior or inferior to the style > Maligiaq showed us, which all fall within true Greenland strokes. Why > should we, as a worldwide paddling community, even attempt to stardardize, > package, wholesale and retail some self-styled "Greenland style" when it > appears that there is such a diversity of style and technique at the source? > > Jack Martin What Jack says would be true of any style of paddling. While "sea kayaking" is being taught without any particular style name attached to it, it too has a spectrum of styles and approaches. And some of it can be quite doctrinaire. Take assisted rescues involving 1 kayaker assisting a capsized kayaker to get back into his/her kayak. I know of about five different approaches to this. But, boy, trying doing one that the instructor doesn't favor and you get tongue-lashed and put down immediately. They all are good and often the best thing to do in a rescue is to do the one that you know or that presents itself immediately to you, i.e. the boats have wound up facing in a particular direction and so don't waste time getting them into another position...do the rescue that presents itself right than and there. Years ago, a double kayak went over in NY harbor right off the Battery on Fleet Week with hundreds of motorboats whizzing around. The group leader approached the situation and then started debating which method would work best. Should he do this one or that one, blah, blah, blah. While he debated with himself and others, a canoeist just paddled up, pulled the upside down boat over his forward section, emptied it, flipped it back over, hung on to the kayak's gunwale and helped the guys get in. Imagine that...a canoe rescuing a kayak, what will they think of next! No argument, the Nike approach from commercials "Just Do It." The same would go for Greenland style paddling teaching. There can't possibly be a single doctrinaire approach to it. Let individuals like Ray Killen, who I know and trust as a person of great kayaking skill, intelligence, good humor, sense of proportions and proven respect for Greenland traditions come up with a set of instructional goals and guidelines. I know John Heath well and respect his views. If it weren't for John's interest, scholarship and evangelism regarding Greenland kayaking, there would have been no Ray Killen and others who have picked up the mystique. I witnessed some of the very beginnings of this on the East Coast in 1991 when John showed up at the East Coast Symposium and began changing the landscape of paddling for a core of paddlers. John is an advocate purist. I have seen him in his zeal intimidate even George Dyson although certainly that was not the intent of this kindly Texan gentleman. John certainly has a stake and feeling for the Greenland culture. But cultures spread especially the stylized parts of them. In transition and translation they lose their purity. There really isn't any way to sanctify what results. What emerges from the ACA and BCU may actually be richer and more suited for their audiences than anything purist Greenland would ever be. Americans, Canadians and Brits are not Greenlanders in temperament, culture and body shape. Let 'em have something that suits 'em. ralph diaz -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Jul 07 1999 - 06:29:58 PDT
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