[Paddlewise] Individual Responsibility/Being an Example

I know I already sided with the "I don't always wear a pfd" group.  But the 
example issue is an important one.

I taught whitewater paddling for a long time at a school in Ontario.  I 
would always have the most advanced students in my class.  I deliberately 
would use one weird stroke when playing around on my own just to see if any 
of the students would try it.  Something like a cross bow sculling draw or a 
foward stroke done to the side [both blades on the same side of the kayak].  
I never called attention to it, just did it.

Without fail the students would be trying the weird strokes within a half 
hour of my first doing them.  It proved to me that the other paddlers watch 
each other pretty carefully and are especially attentive to paddlers they 
regard as highly skilled.

The point is, one should always be a good example and wear a pfd when in a 
group. Class will tell.

Jim Tibensky

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