Wanewman_at_uswest.net wrote the rather well-balanced response regarding the ACA and BCU "requirements" that certified instructors paddle feathered. > ... as an instructor you need to be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of both and teach both feathered and unfeathered paddle technique. > I feel you need to teach the format of a given BCU or ACA course, but you owe the students your personal experiences and the methods and techniques that you have learned from other programs and other paddlers. You have every right to teach them what you prefer and why, but try not limit them with your own preferences or prejudices. What works well for one person may not work for another - make sure the student gets to know all of their options. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, As a member of the ACA's national instruction committee working to establish safety and skills standards, as an Instructor Trainer Educator (currently the ACA's highest level of certification, an ITE certifies Instructor Trainers to go on to certify Instructors), as well as a long-time paddler, I was of course appalled by this sort of response. After all, isn't it tradition for sea kayakers to be firmly rooted on one side or the other of the feathered-vs.-unfeathered issue, and then to defend that position to the death? I mean, if the truth gets out that we certified instructors have minds of our own and prefer to demonstrate both techniques, then what will happen to our reputation as "kayak nazis." What will happen if the general public ever gets the idea that the ACA and BCU are actually more interested in furthering safety and skills training than in blade angle? What will paddlers argue about if we admit that the feathered/unfeathered thing is not that big of a deal? We could end up having to move on to other issues that are actually important. What a can of worms that might be. Better to stick with the conservative, well-worn arguments, so no one gets hurt. Personally, I do "require" that the instructor candidates I'm certifying show the ability to demonstrate strokes using a feathered blade. My reasoning is that anyone who can paddle feathered will also be able to do it the normal way, the easy way, the right way. But for those misguided students who may want to experiment with paddling on "the dark side" and twist their blades at weird angles, an "ambi-featherous" instructor will be able to accommodate. To set the record straight, at the level of Instructor Trainer Educator, I of course tow the ACA party line and paddle feathered: my whitewater and surfing paddle is twisted all the way to 45 degrees, and my touring stick I paddle feathered to a full 0 degrees. Roger Schumann *************************************************************************** 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/ *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue May 02 2000 - 09:14:28 PDT
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