Re: [Paddlewise] Under The Waves-Hand Holders

At 06:43 PM 11/23/99 EST, Duane couldn't contain himself and wrote:
>Hand Holders,
>
>Whatever happened to just giving a few pointers on the beach and then
sending 
>the kayakers into the surf? 

I got a lot of private e-mails on my post, all supportive and agreeable.
One PW'er even asked permission to forward my post to what I assume were
his instructor friends. I gave permission and was also _very_ careful to
point out that the type and style of surf course being put on was
specifically earmarked as "atypical". It was designed to meet the needs and
requirements of those who normally *avoid* surf with their *sea kayaks*.
The type of situation you mention as normal teaching is much more typical
here and commonplace in most localities where surf is present. I made that
fairly apparent in my first post, I thought, but obviously it didn't sink
in with you, or perhaps you philosophically want to rule out certain
individuals from a learning environment that would further facilitate the
goals and objectives of our local paddling club. (Gee, I'd hate to let you
"have at it" at a meeting of one of the disabled-paddler's clubs).
  
>Nothing beats learning by trial and error, and 
>just plain spending time on the water.

I TOTALLY agree. And now the folks who "got their feet wet" can progress
and find out what level of activity they wish to pursue, but do so with a
basic primer. At the very least, they will not be such a liability on
longer, exposed coast trips. Their confidence levels have gone way up.
Their growth as paddlers in terms of knowledge and abilities have been
given a good spring-board jump. I teach avocational woodworking, and I am
very zealous about breaking down initial skills into learnable segments and
having them learn the basics thoroughly. I became unabashed about this
after one of my students lost three fingers to the dado blade (surgical
restoration impossible) and I was sued up the ying-yang. There is a
balance. For teaching kayak surfing, you could sit everyone down on the
beach and spend hours doing silly things with the paddle in the sand. That
is too much. Pointing their bows into the waves and saying bye-bye is too
little. BTW, I learned to surf (and woodwork) on my own, no instruction.   

>But I guess you have some who want to 
>be held by the hand, and then you have some who just want get out there and 
>do it.  Those who want to be held by the hand will never become skilled 
>kayakers, because they don't have the guts it takes to learn this sport.

Hello Duane, anyone home? This is the late nineties lad. You can't say what
"this sport" is anymore. It is whatever people want it to be. Lake
paddling, estuary paddling. Sheltered trips once a year, augmented by a
"mother ship". Or it can be
full-on exposed coast paddling on multi day trips. It can also be just
weekend surf-kayaking. Perhaps you have the "guts" and are a fully capable
TOKM (trained ocean kayaking machine), or maybe you were just plain tok'n
too much weed when you posted your reply. If this is truly your attitude
(that people should be pushed in over their heads and let loose) perhaps it
is you who are a bit sheltered given the day and age we live in.
 
> It 
>is amazing how anal, methodical, and even sterile sea kayak instruction has 
>become.  Has it gone too far?  I can't help but think that the real purpose 
>of this kind of instruction is to show the students how experienced and 
>knowledgeable the instructor is rather than to help the students gain 
>experience and knowledge.

Well yes. You do have a point, and I have seen it. It is also really big
business now, all codified and regulated in many countries, once
"grandfathering" is completed and everyone buys into it. However, you don't
know Dave or myself, so incorrectly contextualizing us in your comments by
assumption is rather fallacious. Funny. For once I thought we had finally
put on a real good course for a select group of friendly paddlers wanting
to better their skills in a non-threatening way. Dave and I planned the
course out way ahead of time. We sat down for coffee, went over all the
things we needed to do to put on a safe, enjoyable course, and now we are
anal and sterile by your implication. Just great. Dave usually just sends
students out into the middle distance, leaves them alone, and no one wants
to ever go on a course with him again. In the past, we have gone out in our
own boats and put on a show of skill and mastery to suitably impress one
and all. This time we froze our balls to stay in the frigid water and wind
and breaking seas - not to show StarKist our good taste, but to maximize
facilitation with the finer points, one-on-one, while ensuring the safety
of our charges. Man, you just can't win!

>Come on, after talking on the beach for a few 
>minutes, it is time to just get in the water and do it! 
>

Been there, done that. Will do it again too - when and where appropriate.
Why are you on this list Duane? Do you have an excess of testosterone and
can't wait to kick sand in the face of someone that espouses a more
sensitive, end-to-end methodology were they felt that was the correct
approach for a given situation? Aren't you the same guy who posted a
"What's wrong with being macho?" post last week or so?  Perhaps you are a
true testosterone-addled surfer dude who just can't countenance our
enlightened approach (student concurrence on that point). Fine. You have a
right to that view. Many will appreciate the "guts n' glory" attribution
you subscribe to, but other than during my solo pursuits, I run with a
mixed crowd of both men and women of varying competencies and learning
styles. In my opinion, your implicit he-man attitudinizing can be a
turn-off, if not out-and-out dangerous for certain situations. 

Dave and I almost lost a friend last April on a "macho" trip. Yeap, our
lack of sensitivity, our male inability to effectively communicate fears
and concerns, and our "just do it" burliness also almost got us *all*
killed - not to mention costing the air force and coast guard a fortune.
The three of us came away from that experience deeply changed men and
devoted to being more sensitive, both at home and in the club environment.
It was a break-through for us. The comment at our post-mortem meeting (done
once some of the emotions had evaporated) was, "Well guys, I think the days
of the macho kayaker are over". 

And as far as relating the above incident to surfing, the third member of
our team complicated matters tremendously - in my mind - because he didn't
want to go near surf, which was part of the reason we pushed for the
dangerous crossing. I wish he had taken a "hand holders" surf course prior
to our trip. 

BC'in Ya
Doug Lloyd (Happily holding hands when needed, letting go when not)
   

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