On Learning to Paddle

The movie The Karate Kid taught that to get skills you have to break it down. No one goes straight to the Crane Technique. First comes wax on, wax off, painting the fence, careful concentration, and getting the crap knocked out you a few times. Mr. Miyagi’s lessons hold true for kayaking too. Polish the pieces, then put the puzzle together.

Smart people don’t try run waterfalls their first day in a kayak. They put their skirt on, try to paddle in a straight line, and have a shot at rolling. And even these basics can also be broken down into parts. Only cruel instructors teach the roll by handing the student a paddle and saying “ok, roll.” First they teach the hip snap and the paddle set up. Everybody has different gifts and handicaps. The hip snap might come easily, but the set up cause trouble, or vise versa. Either way, learning requires isolating and improving the elements separately.

It may seem obvious that you have to learn the basics before moving on. Yet as good as one may get at paddling, there is always honing that can be done. In fact, the more you learn, the more you find to polish. The first-time paddler doesn’t know that it is important where he keeps his eyes while cartwheeling. And he is too busy clearing river water out of his sinuses to worry about timing a boof stroke just right to clear a nasty pour over. Socrates said “I know nothing but the fact of my own ignorance.” He would have dug kayaking.

The best paddlers in the world are the ones who find something they aren't good at and work at it. They risk failure. They flail and look stupid sometimes. Eventually, they manage to chase out the little demons that stand in the way of good paddling.

It is all about experimentation. Can't roll on one side? Try adjusting your grip on you paddle. If that doesn't work, practice your hip snap. Keep getting back endered going down rapids? Work on your posture, or move your seat a little forward, or imagine your feet weigh 20 pound each. The point is to work all the angles, and when something works, perfect it. And if nothing gives, and your all out of ideas...blame it on your equipment.