Peter Treby said: "And the one piece of equipment that many people really don't spend enough time learning to use is the kayak paddle! And the body that operates it." So do you think any training course for kayakers should start by emphasising paddling fitness and paddle skills? My delayed reply: I was paddling in the Everglades for Spring break [with seven teenage girls and three other adults, an experience worthy of a story in itself!], so my apologies for the slow reply. I don't think any training course should ignore the body and the skills of paddle use, but I would guess that the meat of that training should be somewhere along the progression from intermediate to expert. Beginners need motivation and safety skills. Once they commit to more adventerous paddling, then the fitness, flexibility and higher skills should be empahsized. Higher skills being rolls on both sides, rudder strokes that work in many angles, braces in a lot of situations and directions, a quiver of forward strokes. The rescue and re-entry skills are critical, of course, but my balance and fitness make me less likely to need the back-up stuff. Not to dismiss the rescue/re-entry skills, but just to put fitness, flexibility and paddle skills above rescue in my daily paddles. I do things like paddle without a paddle while edging my boat in order to challenge my balance so that nature's challenges will not surprise me. I was a successful slalom racer living in Chicago (no whitewater within a hundred miles). I think the success was, in great measure, due to fooling around in my boat without a paddle while the boat is on edge. My slalom workouts in flatwater gates would include one run through the course using only the left blade, one using only the right blade, one using only my hands and one doing all the gates backwards. I have paddling obsessive-compulsive disorder. I know better than to expect everyone else to be as committed (disturbed, insane) but I think a little of that isn't so bad. When I teach "Balance and Felxibility in Your Boat" at symposiums the more advanced paddlers seem to learn a lot and like the class. I have attached it so you can see what I'm talking about. Jim Tibensky [demime 1.01e removed an attachment of type application/pdf which had a name of WeirdStrokesFullBest.pdf] *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On 4/2/07, James <jimtibensky_at_fastmail.fm> wrote: > I don't think any training course should ignore the body and the skills > of paddle use.... The television program "Me versus Me" had a segment last week featuring a young female w/w paddler with 19 years experience (she started young) but who needed some skill sharpening to move her into Class 4 water. They paired her with Eric Jackson who started with paddle strokes. This young lady was good enough to do a hand roll in the pool so her years on the water were not for nothing, but Eric Jackson's paddle strokes were nothing short of awesome. And her progress using his techniques was impressive. One clip in particular that showed him ferrying across a fast-moving stream with a series of forward strokes and draw strokes was incredible to watch He made it look so easy that when his student tried the same ferry she (with a lot of experience) looked like a beginner. One of Jackson's quotes was that most paddlers do not use their paddles as well as they should. I have to agree. I always thought I was pretty good with my paddles after so many years of canoing and kayaking but watching Jackson perform that ferry was an eye opening experience for me. So I have to agree with Jim. The techniques of paddling seem so simple until you see a virtuoso in action and realize just how much you don't understand. Craig Jungers Royal City, WA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Jim wrote: >>>>><Snip>I think the success was, in great measure, due to fooling around in my boat without a paddle while the boat is on edge. My slalom workouts in flatwater gates would include one run through the course using only the left blade, one using only the right blade, one using only my hands and one doing all the gates backwards.<snip><<<< Now that's my idea of a learning progression. Try everything, challenge yourself, and learn (by doing) what works best for different purposes and conditions. Good instruction can help speed things up at first but instruction can also get in your way later if you don't experiment well out of the bounds of the instructors "rules". Matt Broze www.marinerkayaks.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Matt wrote; >>Good instruction can help speed things up at first but instruction can also get in your way later if you don't experiment well out of the bounds of the instructors "rules". While this is certainly true in too many cases, I think a good instructor is someone who challenges the student both physically and mentally, and doesn't set any hard and fast "rules." I try to make people "think" in my classes, which at least in my opinion is the most important "skill" of all. Craig Junger wrote; >>I always thought I was pretty good with my paddles after so many years of canoing and kayaking but watching Jackson perform that ferry was an eye opening experience for me. I know the feeling. I had the privilege of spending a weekend training with Bob Foote and Karen Knight a while back - WOW! I guess I've still got a lot of work to do :-) Scott So.Cal. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Jim sent me a copy of his list of weird strokes. It's posted at http://www.savvypaddler.com/WeirdStrokesFullBest.pdf James wrote: > When I teach "Balance and Felxibility in > Your Boat" at symposiums the more advanced paddlers seem to learn a lot > and like the class. I have attached it so you can see what I'm talking > about. > > Jim Tibensky > > [demime 1.01e removed an attachment of type application/pdf which had a name of WeirdStrokesFullBest.pdf] -- Steve Cramer Athens, GA http://www.savvypaddler.com *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
on 4/4/07 01:40, Steve Cramer at cramersec_at_charter.net wrote: > Jim sent me a copy of his list of weird strokes. It's posted at > http://www.savvypaddler.com/WeirdStrokesFullBest.pdf > > James wrote: >> When I teach "Balance and Felxibility in >> Your Boat" at symposiums the more advanced paddlers seem to learn a lot >> and like the class. >> >> Jim Tibensky >> > At our national forum I run a session I call Silly Strokes. You know, all those daft things that get people stretching, twisting and using their blades to do more than just go forward. It is a very popular session and we all have a lot of fun. It is based, very closely, on a section from Alan Byde's original, "Living Canoeing" and an article in Sea Kayaker by Nigel Foster. Well, this year I was busted! Both Alan and Nigel were at the forum and I felt like a plagiarist. Both were gracious in their praise that their ideas were being carried on. Phew. Cheers JKA *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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