High brace in current - yes or no?

[Melissa Meyer]

I like high bracing in current, whether breaking out, in, eddy hopping, etc, but notice that BCU seems to strongly discourage it, and is coaching lowbrace-based support strokes for all above. Justification is that the high brace is just too likely to result in a dislocated shoulder.

So, do folks find the high brace useful or shun it because it's likely to pop your shoulder. Or, as I expect, is it somewhere in between. Has there been a recent shift away from coaching the high brace for sea kayakers in moving water?

Edited October 21, 2015 by Mel

[rfolster]

My understanding is that there is an industry-wide shift away from the high brace as a whole, even for on-beam breaking waves! However, I have seen some pretty nasty looking low braces (and stern rudders, etc) that put joints in precarious positions. I think that if you utilize proper body mechanics to protect your shoulders (and other joints), then you should continue to use what works, but maybe consider experimenting with other techniques to see if they might offer you yet another option to utilize.

[John Martinsen]

I think a high brace with elbows tucked in is fine, use it quite a bit in the surf zone.

For punching through eddy lines I like just a powered up forward stroke and some edging, let the water spin the boat and the forward stroke propel you where you want to go while providing support.

[Phil Allen]

There is a trend away from the high brace, as its a short hop in position between functional and shoulder damage. As for using it when crossing eddy lines, I'd question whether that's the most productive stroke. As JohnyS says, speed position and angle are what get you across most eddy lines. If your goal is to ferry across big current, then something like a forward strokes & stern draw stroke will help keep the bow pointed upstream.

best

Phil

[prudenceb]

I have been repeatedly told by both John Carmody and Nige Robinson that a stronge forward stroke is the best support when breaking out into current - as much as I keep being tempted to rely on a low brace as the boat turns.

pru

[EEL]

Isn't it true that while people like to brace with the blade on top of wave/water (which seems one reason for the high brace) it really doesn't mater where you stick the blade? As in it can be half way down the wave and still work just fine. Only issue is releasing the bade fast when it is submerged, but as long as water is flowing over blade it will offer support whether it is on surface or submerged. One advantage of the high brace is how it is, in theory, a more natural transition from and to a forward stroke depending upon where you are in the stroke sequence when needed. Personally, my shoulders have had enough trauma over the years, and I avoid using a high brace.

I can visualize how a high brace would be useful in a WW boat when peeling as it would be a natural progression from the last stroke getting you across the line. Almost like a hesitation at the end blends into a brace or draw until things have settled down. Mainly due to the fact, at least for me, that things can happen really fast in a WW boat compared to a sea kayak. Especially in fast current.

Ed Lawson

[Inverseyourself]

I guess like everything else, it depends. Are you breaking into a fast current and need to turn the boat aggressively down current to reach a certain eddy or someone in trouble close to your side of the river? You'd use an aggressive edge and low brace probably wouldn't work. Leon Somme's Deep-diggety-dig is the extreme form of that. Are you turning the boat down current a little more leisurly? You could use a low brace just to get some support (which I do when I have not been in current for a while) or you could just use a forward stroke.

Breaking out, it again depends on how aggressive you want or have to do it which brace you'll use.

As Pru stated and as I also have been taught by John Carmody and Tom Bergh, the forward stroke is the most basic and - in my opinion - elegant solution for most maneuvers. I see myself going to braces, bow rudders, cross bow rudders and sometimes bow prys (pries?) and sliding draws (latter near rocks) way too happily, which is for me just an indication that I'm still very, very far away from mastering the art of maneuvering. All the fancy strokes, braces and rudders are very interesting to learn and analyze and I greatly enjoy them but it seems to me that the real masters use the most basic and yet most difficult stroke, the forward stroke, in most paddling situations. As Tom recently told me, there are 22 elements to the forward stroke. I didn't even dare ask.

[kate]

I learned and have always used a Duffek stroke for entering and exiting an eddy. The shoulder protection comes from always keeping the cross-body arm at forehead level - no higher! - so that if the paddle is jerked back, the head stops the arms from moving beyond the safe "box" zone. This is neither a high nor a low brace - it is a very dynamic move that turns into a forward stroke finish. I have not been able to find a video or even a photo of a Duffek, so I guess it has fallen out of fashion, but it has worked well for me. I guess that a cross-bow rudder is similar, but the blade angle and placement is different, as best I can tell.

I use a high brace in surf. It's all about keeping the arms in the box, isn't it? (Box = forward of and up to 90-degrees from head and shoulders)

[Inverseyourself]

Here's something Duffek-ish:

[PeterB]

A high brace as I understand it, is a recovery stroke, so its hard to see it as a useful stroke when entering current or crossing eddy lines: as others have said, the forward stoke with some corrective strokes mixed in would be the most effective. Regarding high bracing in general , theres always the risk to shoulder joints if one does not have perfect or near perfect form, (elbows tucked close to body etc) so there's an inherent risk to practising or using the high brace. I can see the aversion to the high brace in coaching curriculums that others have mentioned , as the consequences of a poor executed high brace are greater than other strokes. It's also hard to practice. Most strokes -( forward, bow rudder hanging draw etc ), are easily practiced in calm water (lake sessions, etc) but with the high brace on flat water, boat needs to fall down to water's edge for the paddle to meet the water with shoulders in the right position , increasing the stress on joints. In real situations- a wave overhead, . or a boat on edge in bumpy seas , etc. the water you plant the paddle in is often already at shoulder height.

[Michael_Crouse]

I was definitely taught the duffek or bow rudder for crossing Eddie lines and peeling out in white water classes. The high brace seems like a half commitment to the duffek (I mean no offense) since if the brace is placed forward it puts the blade in a similar position. This does put your arms/shoulders in a vulnerable position. If you keep the blade in its proper position it will work buts it's probably less effective then the duffek.

[Inverseyourself]

If you go to youtube and type in kayak slalom, there's a lot of Duffeking going on (I think) when they catch the current out of the slalom gates. Man, I call that maneuvering!

[EEL]

I All the fancy strokes, braces and rudders are very interesting to learn and analyze and I greatly enjoy them but it seems to me that the real masters use the most basic and yet most difficult stroke, the forward stroke, in most paddling situations.

Andy:

My pontifical $.02

When you have the opportunity, watch the "masters" and I suspect you will find they actually do use the essence of all those fancy strokes. Its just that they don't perform them in isolation and according to the textbook. I assume there is no conscious decision about using x or y, its just an instinctive flow. As craftsmen, their technique is an assimilation of mastered skills not a demonstration of mastered skills. You master the strokes not to use them, but to empower your ability to use the blade to accomplish a goal.

As for use of braces just to stay on thread so to speak.

I don't see the high brace or any brace as being something to help getting across an eddyline. I always think of a brace as something to help get past a bit of "uncertainty" as opposed to helping do something. I was inartful as usual previously.

Ed Lawson

[Inverseyourself]

" they don't perform them in isolation and according to the textbook. I assume there is no conscious decision about using x or y, its just an instinctive flow. As craftsmen, their technique is an assimilation of mastered skills not a demonstration of mastered skills. You master the strokes not to use them, but to empower your ability to use the blade to accomplish a goal."

Well put, indeed!

[kate]

If you go to youtube and type in kayak slalom, there's a lot of Duffeking going on (I think) when they catch the current out of the slalom gates. Man, I call that maneuvering!

Bow draw is similar but not same as Duffek. Photo below is what I consider the classic position for beginning the Duffek - crossing arm at forehead to prevent shoulder blowout, blade out-turned and placed just inside eddy as kayak crosses eddy line, blade as anchor around which the kayak pivots (little or no draw involved), blade then in position for forward stroke to pull boat further into eddy:

Video to see this in action, starting to approach the gate at 2:40, executing duffek at 2:47. There's nothing there that looks like a brace.

Wow, slalom kayakers have amazing skills.

[ejwilliams]

Interesting discussion.

In my opinion, this video, demonstrating the Deep Diggity Dig:also demonstrates the challenges of using a Duffek in a sea kayak. Observe the position suggested to get the sea kayak to spin just like a whitewater kayak. A Duffek functions as a pivot point for the boat to spin around, with the advantage of maximum carve and spin without losing acceleration. Slalom racers combine it with a pivot turn (stern underwater) for maximum benefit. I must admit I have never successfully turned my 17' 8" sea kayak with a Duffek, even in current. Perhaps it is different with a more playful boat design?

Many whitewater paddlers just use forward strokes for peel-outs and eddy turns, with a bow draw or a few extra forward strokes on the inside of the turn as needed. Sometimes beginners are taught to use a high brace on the inside of the turns, for stability to encourage edging when hitting the opposing current. Using a low brace here seems like it would be awkward and would not help the progression.

Whitewater paddlers use high braces, the emphasis is on staying in your box as the way to prevent shoulder injuries.

Edited October 26, 2015 by E Williams

[Paul Sylvester]

I have played around with the duffek style stroke in surf. When surfed into the shore and your in that 1-2' deep water and trying to spin your boat around to head back out. When you have a wave coming on beam plant a duffek into the top of the wave and throw your weight forward to free the stern. If successful the boat will spin real nice. If not, you will not feel very steady.

Perhaps the paddle plant is more forward than some pictures depict. Just something I have played with that has worked.

As for high brace comments you will have to see me on the water and ask!