Re: [Paddlewise] Dinkless In Victoria

Doug Lloyd wrote:
> 
> Please help me. I don't understand the apparently American prejudice > toward flicking one's head up as one completes the C to C roll or 
> finishes up from a low brace. The ACA seem to teach it. Roger Shuman 
> writes articles extolling the virtues of the "head dink" maneuver.
> Derek Hutchinson is ranting and raving against it in the latest SK 
> Magazine (letter to editor).
> 
> I simply bring my head up last, keeping it well back. I can't see 
> the need to use a head dink movement. I generally tell newbies to 
> avoid a lot of unsafe head flopping, but now I see it actually being 
> promoted and entrenched. Given geometric expansion of numbers, it 
> won't be long before everyone in North America is head dinking.

Well, FWIW, I have had classes with several different ACA certified
instructors who taught us to simply bring the head up last as well. In
order to help accomplish this we were told to drop our head to our
shoulder (or put more simply, to look down at the water/paddle) in order
to make it easier to pull the boat back under the body. This is what was
described to me as a "head dink." There was no flicking of one's head UP
involved.

I think those of us who have tried to flick the head UP when
completing a roll can attest that this is a good way to end up back
upside down. :-)

There may be some "Americans" out there teaching something else
(flicking up?) and calling it a head dink but this hasn't been true for
any of the American instructors I've had at the Nantahala Outdoor
Center, H2Outfitters, or Roger Schumann's Eskape Sea Kayaking (all of
whom I believe are active in ACA instructor certification and had
excellent instructors). So in my experience, anyway, there is no unsafe
head flopping being taught by the ACA. 

I also have not noticed anything close to what you are describing as a
head dink being mentioned in any of the books or videos recommended by
the ACA instructors I've had. In fact, the teaching videos and demos
I've seen used in ACA classes show the head and torso down in the water
until the boat is pulled under one's body and almost completely upright.
The finish position still has the head down, demonstrating that it comes
up last, and then the head finally is raised slowly upright (with no
flicking involved).

I think we can all rest easier now, knowing that the United States is
not running rampant with any violent flicking of one's head. Well not
yet, anyway.  
JUST KIDDING!  :-)

Frank
(Really, I'm not on the ACA payroll - I guess you just struck a
patriotic nerve :-)
***************************************************************************
PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not
to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission
Submissions:     paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net
Subscriptions:   paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net
Website:         http://www.paddlewise.net/
***************************************************************************