Paddling tips, tricks, news and gear reviews from an Unsponsored point of view

Category: Skills (Page 15 of 15)

Double Pump

If you don’t know, double pumping is the forward – backward stroke on one side that initiates most cartwheels (you can also plough the nose down to get up on end, but that’s just brute force, no technique.)

What you need:

A boat that’s designed to do what you want it to. Try a boat that has low volume, slicey ends – not a big ass creeker. Stay away from long, fat boats.

Short paddles make a big difference, so see if you can borrow someome’s playboating blades. Ask though, and treat them with care.

And a good set of stomach muscles. They’re gonna hurt. Continue reading

Flatwater Loop – “Floop”

The “Floop” is a Flat water Loop. The first thing you’ll have to do is get yourself into a bow stall. If you can’t pull off a bow stall you’ll need to get it cracked before continuing. Once your bow stall has been initiated and then stabilised, start to bounce your boat up and down. Use your paddle and hips to really drive the nose under as much as you can.

Once you have reached what feels like that highest bounce you now pull down really hard once more with your paddle leaning the boat just over vertical to get the boats nose is at maximum depth under the water and the boat is just over vertical if you don’t commit to the next step you’ll just end up planting on your face.

As the boat pushes it self-back up out of the water take your paddle out of the water and reach with your paddle and your whole body to the ceiling giving the boat an extra boost higher. When you feel you’re at the maximum height throw all your body weight and paddle down under the boat just like you would if you were doing a forward somersault. This should release the boat from the water sending it flying over your head. Getting this move down will make a loop in a hole feel quite easy and you’ll find yourself flying a lot higher then you ever did before.

That Time Mike Almost Drowned

Lots to think about from this one.

Flush drowning – have you heard about it?

Flush drowning is where the victim is not held in place, but is rather denied air by rough water or being held underwater by the force of water itself.

More info here.

R.I.P – A Waterlust film about Rip Currents

Stern Dip/Stern Squirt Ver 2

First off, this will be next to impossible without the right boat (next to impossible, a friend of mine can squirt a polo boat right up). Get yourself a squirt boat, or small newish playboat.

A squirt is a very quick complete 180 degree or more turn on the long axis of your boat, front to back. In simple terms, what happens is when you complete a stern squirt textbook fashion, your stern will sink down, the boat will go completely or near enough to vertical, and you can spin on the long axis. Try to keep it spinning, or then if you start falling down, smash the bow down to go cartwheeling.

Once you get it going, it can be nice and slow and graceful, involving hardly any effort. Starting off though, it’ll probably involve a lot of splashing, capsizing, and swearing. Continue reading

Freewheel

A freewheel is basically a variation of a cartwheel – the biggest additional ingredient to the move is the waterfall!

Sweep the bow up as you approach the lip of the fall – as you would for a flatwater cartwheel, and right as you go over the edge, throw the bow down like you’re in a hole. If you just want a 180 and land stern first, you can simply spot your landing now. If you want to 360 the drop, look over the opposite shoulder, and with the other blade, reach into the falls and sweep the stern under. Continue reading

Skills Section

The skills section is now back on the site. I am working on the old content, bringing it up to date with photos I have collected over the years. I also have a number of videos that will also be added to the collection.

If would like to contribute please let me know.

Loop

A loop is one of these re-discovered moves that has caught the imagination of paddlers and kayak designers the world over. If you imagine a cartwheel in in hole but with no edging of the kayak involved. The kayak cartwheels (loops) end over end with the bow ploughing under the water and throwning the paddler upside down. As this happens the stern of the now upside down boat gets caught by the on coming water resulting in the paddler ending up right on the wave!!

Small boats with plenty of volume help, as does the addition of an overthruster. This prevents volume being lost due to the spraydeck being pushed inside of the kayak. In addition it also prevents the deck imploding which would probably result in a “technical swim”!

Pick a hole that is deep enough to pull the move in. The last thing you need is finding yourself being driven into the river bed. If the stopper has a high pile then this will also make the move easier to initiate. Continue reading

Bow Stall

The bow stall is one of these great new moves that has captured the imagination of paddlers the world over. It’s not a dynamic move, no “air” is gained but it shows the paddlers skill and control of the boat. Essentially the bow stall involves balancing the boat on its bow and keeping it in that position using body weight and small paddle adjustments.

Continue reading

Blast

A blast is simply a forward or backward surf in a hole or on a wave where the stern or bow of the boat is lifted clear of the water.

Back Blast

To start this move get fairly high up on the pile. This will help you build up some upstream momentum to do the move. Start to slide down the pile and put in a reverse stroke on your downstream side. As the boat spins to face down stream get you weight forward to pull the stern clear of the water and force your bow under the pile. You should be able to steady the boat with small hip movements or with small adjustments with your paddle, which should be in front of you in the water. Continue reading

Air Force 1

Air Force 1 is Corran Addison’s third playboating instructional video. Searching for the G spot” and “Reaching the pro state” focused on both wave and flatwater moves, but this time Air Force 1 focuses purely on getting air! This includes the basics right through to the most advanced moves currently being pulled. Continue reading

Improve Your Showboating

Note: This will make you better than Corran Addison or Jay Kincaid, or your money back. Just follow the instructions.

1: Don’t stick just to moving water

If you can’t master the move in the hole, move back to the canal, grab a squirt boat, and practice your technique on the flat. You won’t be as distracted by the noise, spray, and possibility of a swim down to the basin. You’ll find that you’re suddenly much more aware of how slight movements in your body position can really affect the trim of the boat. Build up a sequence of moves, bring it back to the white water, and you’ll be amazed at the difference!

Improve Your Showboating

Continue reading

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