High Brace -- Sea Kayaker article

[djlewis]

Have a look on page 46 of the latest Sea Kayaker (Feb 05) for a great article on high bracing. At least, it looks great -- won't really know until I get out on some water to try it. But it appears to diagnose and suggest cures for the main reason I, for one, have trouble with a high brace, especially a deep one, despite having a pretty solid roll.

Not to spoil the article, but the mistake is to push the paddle toward the water on the side of the capsize and pull the head to the other side. That just dives the paddle and prevents a proper hip snap. It's the equivalent of pulling the head up first in a roll.

The cure is to keep the paddle high on the capsize side, so it falls parallel to the water and hits the water flat. To do that when practicing a setup high brace, start with your opposite hand almost in the water by the gunwhale and your capsize-side hand high. That makes it look remarkably like the extension just prior to the snap of a C-to-C roll, including wrapping the outboard arm around the hull. The difference is that you are upright, not upside down. The other thing is to make your head hit the water before the paddle blade does, that is "keep your head down".

Pictures are worth many words. Somebody go look and tell me if it makes sense. If so, then tell me why none of my (generally terrific) instructors over the years have diagnosed this and prescribed the cure. Or, maybe I just wasn't listening. ;-)))

--David.

[Jed]

>Pictures are worth many words. Somebody go look and tell me

>if it makes sense. If so, then tell me why none of my

>(generally terrific) instructors over the years have

>diagnosed this and prescribed the cure. Or, maybe I just

>wasn't listening. ;-)))

Hmmmmm, . . ouch . . well, . . . .ouchth!

It would theem . . OUCHTH! DAMBIT! thah you . . OUCHTHHHH!

oh nebermind. . . mahbe lathher.

jed

whersthedamnadbil?

[Jed]

one ov the beautiful things abou paddling is that the hardeh you work to acquirhe thskills, the more quickly you come to realiths that iths all the thame thing.

In my exthperience there ith no sthubthanthive differenths between an extweem high braths and a thse-to-thse rol, other than the stharting poisthun.

chearths.

jedh

[djlewis]

OK, I deserved that. Yes, it was an unkind thing for me to say, and I apologize to all hard-working instructors everywhere. Hey, I used to be in that clan myself.

IAC, my inability to do a consistent deep high brace is probably my own fault -- too much work on rolling and not enough on bracing; not listening; not seeing; etc.

--David

PS: Jed, you can spit out the marbles now.

[eneumeier]

Like you, David, I have not really worked on my high brace. Also like you, when I read the Sea Kayaker article I thought, Huh, I don't recall anyone ever trying to teach it that way - particularly the setup position. For those who don't have access to the magazine and photos, the idea of the training exercise is to hold the paddle nearly vertical on the non-capsize side. So, as you capsize the paddle is already in position to land FLAT on the water. (The way I was taught was to hold the paddle shoulder height, elbows tight to protect the shoulders, which means the paddle is horizontal to the water. As I capsize, the paddle then has a tendency to dive.)

I'll try the article's method in the Chinatown pool, Jan. 8.

Liz N.

[sings_evil_twin]

folks don't assimilate new stuff until they're ready, regardless of photos, videos, books and instructors. There are variable physical and mental characteristics that affect the learning style between individuals. Some folks learn quicker. Some learn slower. But generally none learns a second sooner than when they are ready, even if s/he has (had) the "best" instructor in the world.

sing

[sings_evil_twin]

was doing this quite a bit several summers ago at lake C. I was focusing on working the head dink. I didn't want to impart any paddle action and decided to hold a paddle in the static near vertical position, fall over and simply head dink. Jay Weiss (non NSPN but Lake C regular) also used this method and greatly improved his rolling as a result.

sing

[Jed]

David,

I didn't think your comments unkind at all. I thought them genuine, insightful and clearly described. I'm also not being particularly sensitive, although you and I did some work together you have seen and worked with a bunch of different instructors. I did not think you were talking any one instructor personally.

Sing's point that people learn when they are ready to learn and not a moment before is "spot on"!. This is a lesson that you were ready to learn. I'm just pleased as punch that you have learned it and more so that you have pretty much sorted this out on your own. My post was just an attempt at levity, maybe I should leave the jokes to others. ;-)

As an educator you can appreciate the challenges faced by those that seek to instruct physical skills. It's an interesting problem working with people's perceptions relative to what they are trying to accomplish vs what they "see" vs the "ideal" vs their physical awareness. It's that challenge and those complexities that keeps me interested in teaching. Ultimately the water is the best teacher. As you learn to listen to your body, paddle and boat you'll find that everything comes around and back to simplicity.

cheers and congratulations for a lesson learned!

jed

ps my tongue is healing up nicely. ;-)

>OK, I deserved that. Yes, it was an unkind thing for me to

>say, and I apologize to all hard-working instructors

>everywhere. Hey, I used to be in that clan myself.

>

>IAC, my inability to do a consistent deep high brace is

>probably my own fault -- too much work on rolling and not

>enough on bracing; not listening; not seeing; etc.

>

>--David

>

>PS: Jed, you can spit out the marbles now.