Learning to Speak Kayak

You want to be a better paddler you say?? Many people seem to believe that paddling new and more difficult runs makes them better boaters. Certainly valid experience is helpful, but the best paddlers are always working on their Fundamental Skills, practicing their Form, and sharpening their Mental Focus. Without good basic techniques it can be very difficult to improve and without practice and proper focus there is no consistency.

This is where you can set up a program for yourself, or take part in some quality “tune-up” instruction. Either way you need to get together with someone who can put you through the paces on your technique, and adequately identify and assess your strengths and weaknesses. This will help you to identify your “Personal Focus Points”. Arming yourself with these uniquely individual “keys” allows you to then practice correct (and/or corrective) form and fundamentals, and continue to improve yourself long after your instructional “tune-up”.

A few quick tips to get you thinking about it and doing some self-assessing:

PADDLE STROKES:
When you paddle do you focus on your paddle, the force you are putting on it and visualize that you are pulling it through the water? OR, do you focus on getting your body into the correct position for your intended stroke, plant your paddle correctly in the water and then focus on communicating through your lower body what you want the kayak to do? Have you trained yourself to focus on moving the boat, not the paddle?? The paddle’s true purpose in most strokes is to “hold onto“ a piece of water, not to be pulled “through” the water. The more you can think of the paddle staying in one place while you move the boat, the better your fundamentals and all of your paddling will be.
Related to this is that your feet, knees and butt are your only connections to your boat, and they allow you to deliver “energy” and communicate your objectives to the kayak. You need to learn and practice focusing on how to express your objectives through your lower body. The paddle is seldom the focus point in an effective paddle stroke.

ROLLING:
Do you have an inconsistent or less than effortless roll? Do you know what your own “keys” are to performing a comfortable and consistent roll technique? It’s been said that rolling is 5% physical and 95% mental. In the 20 years I’ve been teaching rolling, it is more evident than ever to me that each individual’s personal mental focus points are by far the most important elements in developing a roll that will work for them whenever and wherever. Each person needs to find what works for them on their “best” or “purest” roll. If you have never experienced your “pure” roll---one that is so effortless that you’d swear someone else rolled you up, then you need to get with someone who can help you find that sweet spot. In my instructional sessions, I’ve found that is often a roll that students experience near the beginning of a lesson, and then everything after that is learning how to focus again on the simple and key elements that made it work so well for them, rather than all the other distractions your mind can latch onto. Somewhere in the set-up, relaxation and extension facets at the beginning of the roll are the keys that most folks need to focus on in order for the roll to be consistently effortless for them. Find those keys that you can return to and count on each time, and the exhilaration of simple and confident rolling is within your reach.
Once again, it comes back to Fundamentals, Form and above all Focus!

To learn more about speaking kayak, try one of Current Adventure's Quick Clinics.