The goal of kayaking is to stay in your boat, stay upright, and out of trouble. However, there are times where you blow your roll, or get 'worked' in a hole, and knowing how to exit your boat is as essential as learning how to keep it upright. Practice wet exits in the comfort of a pool, and get use to the boat you intend on using on the river.
Basic Posture
Having correct posture will enable the paddler to be much more affective in balance and power, especially when learning to paddle in a smaller freestyle boat. These boats have very precise balance points, and without correct posture, you will find that the boat will be uncomfortable, and will not perform the way it was intended to perform out on the river.
The Forward Stroke
The forward stroke is the most important stroke to learn as it is the main stroke used for you guessed it, 'forward propulsion'!
The Active Blade
Having an active blade is critical in maintaining control, and stability. It requires the paddler to in essence create a 'tripod', hence increasing stability.
Body Separation
Having flexibility in the hips will allow for the paddler to stay balanced, and will help keep the upper body in a neutral position while the river 'plays with the boat'.
Torso Rotation
This concept in paddling is directly related to the separation mentioned in the previous video. However, the separation instead of it being on a vertical axis, which allows for hip flexibility, it is now addressing the horizontal axis required to help your strokes.
The Forward Sweep
Another basic stroke to help turn your boat, which ends up being another very common correction stroke out in the whitewater.
The Reverse Sweep
The reverse sweep is the same as the forward sweep, but of course 'in reverse'! This will help you spin the boat on it's pivot point.
The Bow Draw
This stroke is routinely used to exit and enter into eddies as it provides a pivot point for the boat to turn from.
The Stern Draw
A small correction stroke to help keep your boat tracking where you want it to go.
Low and High Braces
Bracing is an essential component to kayaking as it is in essence a stabilizing manoeuvre to prevent
you from capsizing, and potentially swimming. Practicing these braces in the pool is very important as
it will help in your overall stability. Having an "active blade" that is, a blade in the water at all
times, either bracing or paddling greatly improves your stability, and feel for the whitewater. Practice
and enjoy.
The C to C Roll
This is the basic roll taught in most pools, and out in rivers. It is one of the easiest to learn
and with practice, even a first timer can get a roll on their first pool session. The key to this roll
is staying set up until you are completely upside down, a good hip flick, and ensuring your head comes
out of the water LAST! This skill should be taught in a one on one environment with a qualified
instructor, but once you have it, it's like riding a bike!
