Kayak

General Ideas To Keep In Mind Click to see content: Key Points: Look where you want to go Can’t see? Ferry to other side or scout, find eddy. Arms should stay pretty rectangular to upper body to protect shoulders (the “Box”) Attempt moves first in simple, low-risk situations It is better to go to a familiar run and make it difficult rather than stepping up to a harder river. it is a much better learning environment to push yourself on easier whitewater (catching all the eddies, surfing, boofing, etc.), basically making a class II or III run have class IV or V moves. You are building up a safety net of error-correction skills. This takes times and lots of pushing yourself in varied scenarios. Visualize where water / reactionaries will send you and account for it in your strokes and direction You need momentum (forward / lateral / spin) for every move. Forward speed can be easily turned to lateral speed in river through draws / edging. Choosing between strokes - choose the one that pushes you towards your goal (i.e. reverse sweep or forward sweep - choose the forward sweep if you will then need to go in that direction / whatever brings your torso in the direction it needs to go). Edge Control - “show bottom” to powerful water Keep bottom of boat flat when paddling - at least when not turning Paddle Dexterity - feathering / sculling - are great to practice and can save you Keep weight over the boat until it is clear you will tip - then drop head and outside knee Separation of activity (head / torso ) Keeping active paddle in water (for maintaining tracking ) Backward awareness - build up backward awareness for better reactions when things go sideways, so you feel more comfortable ferrying above can’t miss moves, etc. Surf backwards, force yourself to paddle backwards in low risk situations. -Back Surfing -And All Other Moves Backwards -Back Ferry Keep Bow Dry - Get over holes, waves, etc with lock-in, boof, etc. Running into rock sideways and cant prevent it? The rock is “normally” your friend. Lean into the rock (unless there is a pillow of water to deflect off of) - otherwise you might be pinned against it. Learn some freestyle in a freestyle boat - it is one of the fastest ways to learn Scouting: Look at speeds / time of water flowing between obstacles Get used to following verbal instructions Practice memorizing sections Following is a skill - get used to following, noticing moves, but staying aware if leader goes off track Think about: HEAD BODY BOAT - EDGING PADDLE SPEED ANGLE ARC SPIN - determined by last strokes / vectors / falling off bow wake Turning: Head Looks At Target (if continuing turn - head keeps looking to turn ) Body leads turn (NOT NECESSARILY THE HEAD) Control every turn on the inside of the turn Control every turn with draw stroke River Directions: Upstream / Downstream River Right / River Left Surfers Left / Surfers Right ...