Re: [Paddlewise] sculling brace

This does not refer to the position of paddle, but the key that
unlocked the door for me with a sculling brace was when I really learned to
arch my back.  With a good arch I can keep the paddle still and have a
balanced brace,   The result?   All that trouble I had with the diving blade
disappeared.  The friend who taught me to roll and to scull kept mentioning
arching the back, and I really didn't pick up on it -- and all that time I
was either under water or madly thrashing the paddle around and barely
staying afloat.  When I started to relax and really concentrate on arching
my back, both my scull and my roll became much easier and reliable.  A
byproduct of the back arch was that it really drove my knee up -- which
lifted the boat.  I think I spent too much time thinking about paddle
position, and not enough thinking about body position, and when the latter
fell into place, the former was far less important.

All the best to you too!

Dee

on 1/8/03 3:42 PM, PeterO at rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au wrote:


> I'm practicing bracing at the moment - particularly the sculling brace. My
> ambition is to get to a more or less horizontal position in or under the
> water while maintaining the scull. Its one of those techniques, which looks
> effortless in skilled hands and is a complete "dogs breakfast" when I try it
> lying horizontal in the water.
>
> One of my problems is that the blade tends to dive when using the power face
> down on the water as the text books advocate.
>
> All the best, PeterO
>
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