This new section of Cafad looks at advanced techniques used in both river running and freestyle paddling. Over the years I have seen a def. right & wrong way of approaching tasks on the river. It is better to learn the right techniques and then go onto develop your own personal style. As paddlers we all develop our own signature style that stems from our first time in a boat & the people we paddle with.

This first section looks on our general forward paddling stroke, this applies to all disciplines of the sport from freestyle to polo. Posture is a key in how we move our craft through the water. Im sure you have all heard of trunk rotation, a way to increase our reach and maximize our stroke efficiency. With the right posture and paddle placement we can add an element of fluidity, grace, power & accuracy to our paddling.

As you move through the water, what goes through your mind? Are you concentrating on your style? This is the key. Every time you paddle, think about how your boat is moving, how your paddles flow and how much power you are getting from each stroke. Sit up & slightly forward, start your stoke beyond your feet twisting your torso for extra reach. Keep your paddles as vertical as you can pushing & pulling using both grips and always keep your top wrist above your head when initiating your stokes. Try to keep the shaft away from your body, this will always keep you from tripping over your paddle and catching an edge.

Question: How many points of your body do you think are active whilst you are paddling?

Answer: As many as possible.

Before your technique can be improved, all the variables need to be tweaked to you. By variables I mean having the right paddle for you, the right boat and fittings. Make sure you spend time padding out you boat to fit you and your back & footrests are in the correct position. As you are paddling, your whole body from head to toe should be working together.

Shifting and throwing your weight around in more technical and advanced situations requires all the pressure points should be nice and snugg. A pressure point is any part of you body that is in contact with the boat. Eg, hips, thighs, knees & feet. All these points help manipulate the boat, along with a good paddling style, will improve the way you move through the water. Think of your boat as an extension of your body. The better you fit into it, the easier it will be to control.

Ok, now we get moving! We are not greyhounds, we don't need to go 100% from the off and waste valuable energy. The key is to apply the correct power when necessary. Even the most technical sections of water can be navigated with just a few well placed strokes. Another key point is set up. If you are in the wrong position when entering a wave or rapid, you will work ten times as hard as you need. If you are planning on paddling all day, the preservation of energy is vital. Another good tip is to try to paddle with more advanced boaters, this way you will naturally pick up good techniques. Since I retired from slalom and freestyle competition, paddling with people like Daz Clarkson King, Dave Thompson, Bleddyn Loyd, Nathan Eades, Rob Litherland, Tom Downs, Jim Shrimpton & many more has refined my style and experience to enable me to tackle more challenging rivers, creeks & expeditions. Figure out what you want out of your paddling and find the best paddlers in that field & muscle your way in.

Back to basic movement. The idea is fluidity, knowing where you are going and moving positively through the water, no hesitations. There are many exercises that will make your body stronger to hold a solid stroke together. Here are just a few to start.

Balance: - On flat water, place a rock about fist size on the deck of your boat then simply paddle around trying to keep the rock from falling.

- Lift one edge up to the point of nearly capsizing then hold it for as long as you can, its works all you pressure points, improves balance & makes you whole body work together. Further to this, paddle around in circles holding the edge keeping your paddles vertical.

- For the boat to go perfectly strait, the stroke would need to be flowing strait through the centre of the kayak from tip to tip. We can't realistically do this but you can try an exercise of paddling around placing the blade beyond your feet and tracing the blade through as far under the side of the boat as you can manage aiming for that centre line. This exercise will improve your efficiency from each stroke.

- Paddle forwards, placing the blade in as normal, apply minimum pressure as you pull for the first 3rd of the way then use a surge of power coming from your lower back and really get a good pull on the blade for the next 3rd bringing your arm close into your hips then you may need to add a tiny fluid pry in to keep the boat tracking smoothly.

School of Rock - lesson session 2.

Now you should have all the appropriate gear for you + a well established paddle stroke. Now for the warm up of this lesson I will talk briefly about the roll.

Self righteous maneuverability. There are many things out there on the river that can tip you over. If you can always position yourself & make the right decisions you should reduce these freak occurrences dramatically. You should at this stage already have an idea of how the roll process works, this technique is taught to us all at the very early stages of paddling. When you find yourself being worked in a hole or flipped on a ferocious eddyline then everything you know about the roll vanishes, its nowhere to be seen. White water has a way of disorientating us + constantly changing our perception of up & down, front & back, ares from elbow. Best thing to do in a situation where your uncertain of these elements is to adopt the roll position or medium protective brace & be patient, as hard as it may be. What I do is to think about something else until it settles down a bit, depends on the situation. If you know you are about to run a shallow rapid upside down, I would be inclined to be up asap but if I know I have time then I will wait it out until the water is less aerated + use all my energy on one solid roll. I have seen the best kayakers try to come up to quickly & fail repeatedly. If I knew it was really rocky, I would set up for a back deck roll + make sure the first attempt was successful even if it meant hesitating before my recovery. Best thing to learn is not to go over in the first place!

Ok, now your all warmed up are you ready to learn something? yeah, great! All of these techniques are experience based and are meant to help anyone wanting to improve their technique.

The five to three finger palm release

This is a great way to maximize efficiency. It works hand in hand with trunk rotation. Basically as you pull one blade through the water, you are clamping five fingers on the shaft with one hand ( don't be picky about the thumb ) pulling using power from your lower back. The other hand should be coming from behind your ear, still clamping five fingers down but as it moves forwards start to release the 5th & 4th fingers of your top hand allowing your wrist to stay in alignment with your arm as the top blade moves away. As you are releasing your fingers, push forward with your palm, at the same time as the palm push, you should be finishing up with your other hand low down by your hips, this last bit should be sharp + powerful.

This technique should help you move through the water with no jerky movements + bring power to your paddling from the intended place, lower back. I even imagine the power coming from there as I paddle. This technique will strengthen your back and reduce the risk of injury whilst paddling.

Visual Orientation

Knowing what is around you at all times is the only way to position yourself correctly on the river. Knowing where you are and what the water is doing beneath you. Using your head, look around & map out the movements that follow. eg, your in an eddy thinking about breaking out, use the river cross code. Look up and down the section of river looking for other users, the speed of the water and how much power you will need to join the flow whilst staying in control. Find the top of the eddy and focus on the piece of water you will first breach. A few accurate power strokes should set you up for leaving the eddy, your boat should be punching into the flow pointing upstream with the final stroke as you hit the current on the downstream side. As soon as the final paddle stroke goes in, lean back, the boat should still be pointing upstream but you now need to scan ahead downstream, turning your downstream paddle stroke into an open pivot rudder and apply it when you are in the right position to attack the next challenge. Naturally if you move your head + focus on a new point, the rest of the body will eventually follow, you can adjust that at will. Rapids are made easier if you have the correct approach. Try experimenting on small eddylines then use the same technique adjusting your power levels on bigger volume.

Launch control ( the boof )

Essentially as you paddle down the river you want to keep your head dry! The movement allows you to move fluidly over pour-overs, holes & waves staying fully in control. The process starts as your approaching the feature, winding up your stroke speed and visually spotting your landing. As you approach the lip of the drop lean slightly forward and place a stroke in at the bow on the upstream side pointing your boat slightly towards the side of your last stroke. As the boat goes over the drop, pull on the stroke & follow your blade with your body until your just back of centre. The boat will now propel forwards keeping the bow up & preventing submersion and a stall. As you are about to land, lean forwards & set the opposite blade up for a forward stroke for landing. Your landing will be smooth & you will accelerate away from the feature ready for the next.

School of Rock - lesson session III

By now after the first 2 additions you should be getting more comfortable out on the water and able to set yourself some more challenges. The challenge is switch. If you have a river runner or creeker, try jumping into a playboat and vice versa, lets try some of the more basic maneuvers. Practicing these will seriously improve your overall padding and confidence. You will start to find yourself doing things you never thought possible.

Freestyle

the surf

Surfing a wave teaches us how to cope with our edges. By edges I mean sides of your kayak and the hull. A kayak surfing on a wave is similar to a plane flying through the air. The aerodynamics are the same. If you wish to carve to the left from a front surf you first place the back side of your left blade in behind you, slightly bending both elbows. Moving your head, look to the left. Keeping your posture strong but relaxed, raise up your right knee and put some pressure on that reverse stroke. Remember to lean back slightly and to the right . As you reach the left side of the wave look back to the right side and switch the right knee for the left now and start leaning the other way to the left. Repeat this carving left to right creating a nice rhythm, a sense of fluidity and fighter jet reactions. This technique will familiarize you with the wave and prepare you for the next challenge.

the spin

Easier said than done. This move is more about positioning than forcing. The water should be doing 90% of the work. Only initiate a spin if your boat is traveling down the face of the wave. Whilst learning, try not to spin whilst moving from left to right as this might throw you off the wave as you are rotating. Best plan is to get comfortable in a front / side surf and feel how the water naturally tries to rotate you around. Remember what I said about moving your head? moving your head to look downstream whilst in a front surf will automatically force the backside of your kayak upstream starting the spin sequence, if this happens with only a slight push on the reverse stroke then you are in the right position to spin. Remember to edge the boat slightly towards the direction of spin. Before the bow points directly downstream it is time to switch your edge to the opposite side, switch from a reverse stroke to a forwards sweep on the other side looking directly back down the face of the wave. Naturally the bow will align with your head to complete the move back into a front surf. Different pressures on the paddle strokes will depend on the nature of the wave. The spin should be done as much on the spot as poss. The more you move around the more likely you will flush. Release, Rotate, Relocate.

the bow / tail stall / cartwheel

The best places to practice these maneuvers is on the flat. If, like me your not too keen on the flat stuff then practice in any big eddy you see whilst out on the river. To get the nose or the tail up in the air you have to understand the dynamics of the movement. Try to think of it as a hand attempting to chop a piece of wood. The move takes a few seconds to set up. Winding the body up for the movement. Raising the arm / nose or tail finishing with the execution. To chop the wood the hand most be on its edge and the body must be well weighted. To get the boat vertical, again the boat must be on its edge and the body must be well weighted. With this in mind first try rock the boat on its edge from the front to the back trying to raise the nose & tail higher each time. Next exercise: from sitting still, wind up some speed and try applying an edge and raising the nose up using a side sweep and a weight shit to the back. As soon as the nose raises, start the next phase which is to switch the pressure from the front of your blade to the back and get ready to shift your weight to the front to help the nose to go down. The more you use your weight in this sequence the easier it will eventually become. All the moves require minimal paddle strokes. 90% of the effort should be between the water + your body. Apply the same principles to the tail stall. Once you can get the boat consistently vertical, try to hold it there by getting both blades under the water line then sensitively pushing and pulling in the water against the blades. When the boat is vertical it will naturally want to either fall back or forwards. To prevent this you will need to shift your weight around very carefully whilst pushing and pulling on your blades. With the tail stall you should be lying right back in the water with your head just above the water line. If the boat tries to level out do a sit up then back into the laid back position. The cartwheel is linking the two together. If you really want to do these moves, I strongly recommend you get hold of a boat that will do them easily. e.g. Liquid Logic session, Riot Astro / air. Basically boats with slicey ends + low volume. A swimming pool is the best place to have a go for the first time.

the loop

Looping is en extremely dynamic & advanced move for any paddler. It will take you a long time to get it right, have no misconceptions about that. It will be a frustrating task if rushed. Don't even attempt it unless you are comfortable in nose / tail stalls as these are the basic foundations for the loop. You should really be at the stage where you can happily sit in a bow stall for over 20 seconds and understand how to bob up and down using both your blades. See how high you can get the tail up out of the water whilst bobbing, the higher you can do that the better. When your ready to attempt the loop, get bobbing & as you reach the lowest point, your waist should be just under the water line. From here you should reach high up into the sky with your paddle & head, this will all happen quite fast and the boat will rocket up into the air. Use this motion to then reach up and forwards as if you are trying to flip over a bar set a meter above the water line like performing a forward summersault over a high jump pole. As soon as the boat has rotated towards the horizontal axis you now need to shift your weight to the back deck and place a paddle stroke as far back behind you as possible for landing stability.

Creekin

one stroke reverse ferry ( higher flows )

This technique will improve your maneuverability when entering a rapid and give you a very useful tool to have any time whilst in fast flowing waters. The idea is to smoothly reposition yourself with minimum effort & maximum efficiency. It reduces a potential 10 stroke maneuver to just one. Using the hydrodynamics under your kayak or canoe, keep you eyes on the obstacles ahead and using a reverse sweep, sharply force the tail of the boat in the direction you wish to travel, the water now pushing down on the face of the boat will naturally move it to one side. Depending on how far you wish to move depends on how long you hold that reverse stroke for. When you are in your desired position, your blade should still be in the water from the reverse initiation but now the blade should be up by your feet ready to pull a solid power stroke through to complete the maneuver on your new course.

one stroke breakout

Close your eyes and imagine yourself making an regular size eddy in reasonable flows up to class 4. Now do it again and count how many strokes you are using between crossing the eddy lines ( in and out of the eddy ). If your number is more than 3, you can now work to dramatically reduce that number and maybe even end up cruising in and out of an eddy with just one paddle stroke sequence. The idea behind this comes from slalom, manipulating one stroke to perform more than one action. The paddle will be doing lots of jobs but never actually surfacing. If you have any gates to use, use the red upstream gates to practice. On approach to an eddy try focusing on a point in the water as high up the eddy as poss. We are now going to try to use a pendulum technique positioning our boats for the set up then an anchor followed by the pendulum and the slingshot exit strategy. All this can be done on one stroke. Confused yet? Its all about using the river to do all your work for you. I will go through it briefly then show you in a photo sequence. Paddle into the eddy on a wide, downward angle pointing the boat strait towards the bank, find that focus point and as you cross the eddy line, thrust the boat directly towards the bank with an upstream power sweep stroke at the same angle as the entry and let your head turn upstream focusing on that spot mentioned earlier at the top of the eddy. As you torso passes over the eddy line, turn the power sweep into an open bow rudder. The boat should now be arcing around to meet the paddle blade that is planted deep in the top of the eddy. When the boat meets the blade, turn the stoke into a forward power stroke pointing the bow 45 degrees up stream into the flow. You should now be fully in control in the flow ready for the next move.

snake turn

Again, an old school slalom maneuver that is a great tool to have in your box. It is essentially a break out but instead of breaking back into the flow back the way you came, its going out the other side, this technique can be completed with one main stroke followed by an exit stroke to pull yourself out on the downstream side. The snake or 'S' turn starts off the same as the one stroke breakout but requires a weave of the blade from an open bow rudder to a sweep on the same upstream side. Remember to ALWAYS lead with the head as you enter and exit the eddy. The best place to practice this move is behind a rock in the centre of the river in class 2 or 3 or have sufficient room either side of the rock to break in and out the other side of the rock. Once perfected, this move will help you navigate down more technical sections of class 4 + 5.

taking one for the team

The chances are if your a regular boater and pushing more challenging sections, you will end up in a sticky situation at some point. You should try to avoid these situations by never paddling water beyond your ability but inevitably you will get surfed or pinned at some point. If you never practice these outcomes you will no doubt panic when or if it does happen. Im not saying find a really nasty tree or hole to paddle into coz that would be irresponsible of me, what I will suggest is to paddle into smaller holes, maybe holes you would not usually go into like the ski slope on the tryweryn. Places like that will improve your confidence and make you a stronger paddler, it will also make you more relaxed when you do get stuck somewhere your not familiar with. Any time you are practicing, always make sure the river is clear upstream and your buddy has a line handy just incase. Just go out and try something new every time you go out on the water.

Matt's Final Thought

Summer is here and it is a great time to look at some more rivers in North Wales. I have been out more in the last month than over the whole Winter and its looking good for August. There is a pattern emerging now, after it rains, the sun comes out. It feels like you could be anywhere in the World. This is my favorite time of the year in North Wales, everyone is here and the conditions are almost perfect. I hope you all are enjoying your kayaking and are being safe on the river and learning new stuff. Have a great Summer and feel free to come out with us if thats what you fancy! The surf is coming in too, a great place to kayak surf, all good experience.

Lesson Sessions 4 - School of Rock - mattcookekayak.com

Summary

Ok, here is a brief overview of what we have covered this year! We have learned about basic outfitting and proper selection of our boats and equipment. This is essential for further development & comfort. Do spent time padding out your boat covering all contact points between your body and the boat / seat. Make sure all surfaces are clean and you use good impact adhesive and allow good time to dry before getting wet. You will not believe the difference it makes! You could even make a little foamie kayak whilst you are doing it and have some fun with them! Also take a look at your paddle. If it is too long or too short it will hinder your performance. Everyone is different. Try as many different paddles as you can but the general rule is that the paddle should be shorter for freestyle, average for river running and slightly longer again for slalom and extreme racing. The more you paddle with straight shafts, your wrists may start to ache. If this starts to happen try some crank shaft paddles. The idea was developed by Mike Dalton from Nomad Kayaks in Llangollen. The crank allows your wrist to stay in alignment with your forearm preventing tendentious ( sore forearms deep beneath the muscles ). You only really need cranks if your paddling regularly.

Warming up and down. The amount of times I have myself and seen others with sore points on their bodies after a paddling session is staggering. It is sooooo important to increase the blood flow in your body and stretch out the core muscles BEFORE paddling. This will prevent damaging muscles and allow you to paddle for longer and harder. Warming up exercises vary depending on the nature of the session. The more aggressive your session, the longer your warm up should be. The warm down is also extremely important. Take some time to warm down before you get changed.

Basic paddling. I have covered the basic skills required to paddle forwards and some other basic strokes. What I will reiterate is practice forward paddling. I still do 10 mins of this EVERY time I go boating. It can be 10 mins spread out over the whole session. Just take time to really focus on your rhythm and posture. Over time, your stroke will become second nature. For good technique, check out the top slalom and white water paddlers.

Basic freestyle & white water techniques. Now you should have a basic understanding of the movements that will allow you to maneuver yourself down the river or play on river features. It all requires practice. Some good examples are the boys who always paddle at the tryweryn. Louis & Elliott Mcgee & Bren Orton. These boys have really listened, gone away and practiced hard in both freestyle sessions & river play. Well done to you boys. You have all come on so much this past year and it has been down to your hard work and dedication, ones to watch in 2010!!!

If there are any copies of Cufad that you are missing, contact Vicky at ........( can u add your contact details here please vicky!! ) ............ and she will send you out additional copies for reference or alternatively email me at catmooke@hotmail.com and I can send out copies of the articles themselves. Ok, here are a few more new points that will add to your bag of tricks for the Winter season of creeking + freezing cold hands.

Dynamic support strokes for white water

When out on the rivers, conventional support strokes may catch you out and make you momentarily loose control. The faster the water is moving, the more likely your stroke will be ineffective if kept stationary in the aerated water, this is when you may loose control. As we have been trying to link strokes together, whenever you initiate your stroke, keep it moving from middle to front then to the back. From this posture you will be in a good position to turn your stroke into something else like a bow rudder, bow draw, forward power stroke or from a low to a high brace. This technique will most certainly improve your break-outs and general maneuverability. The more you can blend your strokes, the more dynamic you will be whilst your paddling and you will be more comfortable in your surroundings. Remember, work with the water, holding your position in the river using powerful accurate key strokes.

Positive mental attitude + mental rehearsal

The more positive you are when on the river, the more you will be likely to achieve. Don't confuse this with your actual ability. You should always paddle to your own ability level, setting yourself new challenges in that environment and only pushing yourself to new degrees of difficulty when your skill level has improved. Here is a technique I picked up from slalom kayaking. When looking at a new section of water or even an existing one you know, look at the rapid and visage yourself paddling down from the top eddy. Look at the water and try to imagine how fast it is flowing and how that will affect your boat, how much effort you will need and which strokes you will use to navigate down the rapid. After practicing this technique over time you should be able to accurately predict your decent and know if the line you have visaged is possible. When starting this exercise, use rapids well below your ability level to practice then build up the difficulty level of the water. I use this technique every time im looking at a new section and I only paddle it if I have successfully completed the run in my head with no mistakes. Always have a few back up plans as sometimes you will find yourself off line from where you first thought you should be. With all these elements, you should have a better understanding and respect for harder more technical sections. If you are ever not sure about a section then the best policy is to walk around or watch some people through first. There is no shame in walking.

Matt's final thought

I hope you are all having fun with your paddling & learning heaps of new stuff. Winter is here and there will be ample opportunity to go out paddling. Remember air bags, dress appropriately for the conditions, the water will be cold so wrap up warm. If your paddling white water in groups, carry the relevant rescue gear make sure your all well practiced. Enjoy the Winter, it is cold but lets try not to let that dampen our spirits, the rivers & surf will be going off!!!
 
Stay safe. Peace :-)

Lesson session 5 - school of rock - mattcookekayak.com

Positioning, Grace & fluidity

After reading a piece written by Emily Wall on this subject in Canoe Kayak it inspired me to add a different perspective. Men & Women have very different styles & assertion levels wether it be paddling for recreation or competition. Women generally argue that Men use too much aggression to achieve their goals and that Women need more skill, grace & assertion. In many cases, this may be true but why cant we learn lessons from each other and come up with a graceful yet powerful alternative. Remember, guys tend to show off more than girls so their genetic makeup forces them to go bigger than everyone else, just do what makes YOU happy and always come home safe afterwards.

Freestyle

Its true that guys generally use their testosterone and bruit force to achieve the more advanced moves and to a certain degree they need to. To get the boat airborne in a hole requires accurate positioning, a positive drive & knowing how to manipulate your boat around your body. For some, requires an explosive burst of energy but is it necessary? NO!. You can do a loop in a hole without breaking a sweat by allowing the water to provide the power and your positioning to release the boat when needed. If you are looking to go sky high then all these aspects need to be personified. Unfortunately for female paddlers, you will need a certain degree of power to get as high as the guys. Paddlers such as Tanya Faux, Deb Pinniger & Linsey Evans can all go BIG, this is solely down to high levels of fitness, strength & accuracy and of course a great passion for the sport.

On a wave, their are many factors that will contribute to big air or completion of technical rotations. As Mr Fisher would say "just because your on a wave, doesn't mean your surfing it". To a certain degree, he's right. Anyone who can paddle can surf on a big wave but it takes years of personal development & understanding to pull off consistent, accurate big air sequences. Some folks are just happy to front surf and stay alive! this is cool to if thats where your at. What I am getting at is the more advanced control levels and moves don't necessarily require massive amounts of power but a greater understanding of the movements and hydro-dynamics of the wave. I believe, whatever you want out life is yours for the taking. If your heart is not in what you do you will never achieve the top level you may be aspiring for. I always loved what I was doing but only gave 95% so that is all I got out of it. The top top paddlers are the ones who go the full 100% and beyond pushing themselves way beyond what they thought possible. We are capable of anything, male or female, it is all about how much you want it and how much you are prepared to sacrifice to achieve your goals.

River running

With an efficient stroke and a thorough understanding of rivers flows you don't necessarily need to be full of testosterone and aggression to get the boat down a difficult section of white water. It looks and feels amazing to paddle with accuracy and poise. Minimizing your strokes and improving your positioning in rapids will give you much more control and accuracy. Every now and again, you will have to supply a burst of power to change you course or initiate a boof, if your strokes are solid you don't necessarily need massive amounts of strength, just well placed manipulation of weight & technique working together with the water.

Matt's Final Thought

Our choices follow a natural course, a direction given strait from the source. when you find yours, you will know, it'll hit you like an almighty blow. A connection like this can never be torn, its been there since the day we were born. It all makes sence now, its all so clear, there is no big mystery, its all right here.

What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours. Your answers lie within you. The answers to life's questions lie within you. All you need to do is look, listen, and trust. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiments that ultimately "work." Happy boating people, stay safe and good luck with your technique.
 
Peace, Cookie :-)