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C-1
Insights for the Kayaker
When I was in training for whitewater slalom competitions, I learned a great deal by
observing and imitating other paddlers. I always tried to train with more advanced
paddlers because they were positive role models and I believed that a paddler can become
as good as the people he or she paddles with.
However, I often found it difficult to imitate male kayakers whose manoeuvres were often
products of sheer strength - something my skinny arms and 125-pound frame didn't contain
in quite the same measure. Frustrated by this, my attention shifted to learning from my
immediate paddling buddies, the USA's hot C-1ers: John Lugbill, Bob Robinson, Kent Ford
and Davey Hearn. These paddlers were extremely fit and strong, but compared to kayakers,
they had the disadvantage of paddling only one side of the boat and with a single blade.
They needed to use the water more to their advantage and they had to be more precise when
placing their boats. These were areas I needed to concentrate on as well, to make up for
my strength handicap.
With practice, I learned their C-1 tricks and my paddling improved immensely. In this
issue and the next, I share two techniques that had the greatest impact on my paddling:
body movement and underwater turning strokes.
By body movement I am referring to the action of throwing your torso weight into a stroke
manoeuvre. A good place to employ active body movement is in a common river situation:
leaving an eddy to begin a forward ferry, especially if you are faced with a strong eddy
fence (the wall of water in the main current substantially higher than the water level of
the eddy itself).
To initiate a precise and efficient ferry, your boat speed and angle as you exit the eddy
are important, but here is an additional trick: As soon as the kayak's nose is about to
hit the current, stroke (on the current side) with your body leaning forward with the
stroke. Complete this stroke with full power and abruptly force your torso to the back of
the boat. This action lifts the bow of your boat out of the water and lets it glide across
the surface of the current. Put in a few strong forward strokes on both sides of the kayak
and lean your torso forward, in an aggressive position. This will confirm your control of
the boat in the main current.
The initial stroke is the most important, and the more abrupt the change in the body
position, the higher the bow will jump. If there is a smooth wave to surf across, which is
often the case, then the first stroke may be the only one you need. I call this efficient
paddling!
Another river situation where body movement is useful is in surfing a wave.
Muscle-paddlers who can power their way onto a wave may have an edge, but power paddling
defeats the beauty of surfing, which is in the relaxing motion and the excitement of using
the water's force to your full advantage.
It takes practice to find the "A sweet spot" - the prime surfing point in the
wave - but a back and forth body motion will help. To get the most out of a wave, lean
your body forward as you paddle and slide into the wave trough to start surfing. This will
keep the boat in the trough instead of getting swept downstream with the current. When the
bow looks as though it is about to submerge, lean back so that your head is almost
touching the back deck. Maintain a forward stroke and, if necessary, lean and put in a few
forward paddling strokes to regain your position. Try leaning back. You will have to lean
back on very steep waves, but the more moderate waves offer the opportunity to move back
and forth. It's also fun to move the boat up and down the wave trough without any paddling
strokes, by using only your body movement. Soon, you'll be showing off as you twirl your
paddle in the air to prove that you have mastered this technique. In the next issue, I'll
describe how the C-1 paddler's underwater turning strokes can be used by kayakers.
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