Wout enjoying the juicy levels at Plattling summer 2014 in this great edit. Shot with a GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition at 1080p-60fps. Continue reading
Tag: Freestyle Skills
Before you even attempt to cartwheel in a hole you will probably need a kayak that is fairly slicey and fits you well.
The set up on the wave is crucial and is a comprimise between being drawn upstream by the towback and falling off the back of the wave. The aim is to get yourself in a static postion at the point where the bow of the boat is about to drop into the seam in the wave, (the point where the green flowing water meets the foam pile). At this point the move becomes possible.
A double pump initiates the move. Put in a strong forward stroke as you edge your kayak and try to lift your feet off the water. As the forward stroke ends and the bow leaves the water, turn the paddle movement into a reverse stroke to slice the bow down. As the bow enters the water the downstream flow will catch the bow – keep your weight forward and keep the momentum going by rotating your shoulders to face the direction you are travelling in i.e. down stream. As your body winds-up and then releases the kayak will follow planting the stern of the boat into the foam pile. As you feel the bow lifting out of the water put in a forward stroke on the up-stream side. Just before the kayak stalls and the bow comes over your head quickly twist again (to your right) to plant another reverse stroke in the water and throw the bow back down. Continue reading
A blunt is a dynamic move using the corner or shoulder of a wave which involes a 180 degree rotation with the stern of your boat being elevated and is often characterised with a spray of water being created as the stern whips round. You’ll need to find a half decent wave that has a good amount of speed, the faster and steeper the wave the easier the move will be. As will the “carve ability” of your boat.
Firsly you’ll need to get established surfing on a wave. As you’re surfing position your self at the top of the wave and begin to carve/accelerate down the face – speed is key. As you feel your boat begin to carve aggressively you’ll need to “cut-back”, to do this shift all of your weight in the opposite direction and put in a heavy reverse stroke on the same side that you have just thrown your weight to. This should cause the boat to do a 180 rotation and lift the stern of the boat in the air . Timing and edge control are really the key to this move. The more you are on edge in the first carve the more air you will get off the face of the wave. If you manage to pull off the Blunt and continue to spin past 180 degrees you’ve just pulled a “Super Blunt”.
Flatwater cartwheeling is probably the most difficult kind of cartwheel to do because all the energy and rotational momentum, is provided solely by the paddler. You will need a kayak that is fairly slicey and fits you well.
A double pump initiates the move. The easiest way to do this is to paddle forwards at a steady pace, and then put in a strong forward stroke as you edge your kayak and try to lift your feet off the water. As the forward stroke ends and the bow leaves the water, turn the paddle movement into a reverse stroke to slice the bow down. As the bow enters the water keep your weight forward and keep the momentum going by rotating your shoulders to face the direction you are travelling in i.e. if you were edging your kayak on the right as you double pumped twist your shoulders to the right. As your body winds-up and then releases the kayak will follow. As you feel the bow lifting out of the water put in a forward stroke on the right hand side. Just before the kayak stalls and the bow comes over your head quickly twist again (to your right) to plant another reverse stroke in the water and throw the bow back down.
If your body rotation is good you can dispense with the forward strokes and depend solely on the reverse strokes. This will give the boat a 360 degree rotation on each and every paddle stroke making the cartwheel “clean”. This same technique can be used to throw cartwheels in the hole, spiltwheels, freewheels etc. etc.
North East Kayaks & Paddles
Pure Land Expeditions
Northshore Watersports
Recent Comments