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Come to Jesus Moments

Most of us have had at least one “Come to Jesus” sea kayaking experience. That watershed moment where your paddling life is “re-born”. Perhaps you were at death’s door either figuratively (sucking in aerated water while your boat is mercilessly “windowshaded” in a big wave) or literally (on a swim in the rough waters of Portes de Morts Passage on Lake Michigan), or both. Or more simply, you paddled outside of your club, or circle of kayaking mates and found out it was a big sea and you were a smaller fish than you realized.

These moments are crucial in every paddler’s progression. The awareness that you don’t know anything close to what you should know.

My “Come to Jesus” experience was as an instructor attending an update. There were no harrowing tales of high seas or epic rescues, but simply a trainer who was a better paddler and more knowledgeable than I’d known before. I had become gotten my paper three years prior to this update, admittedly undeserving of the level of the award earned. I had athleticism, leadership experience from other outdoor activities, ability to perform skills recently learned, common sense and rough water survival skills from a whitewater background (all good things to have). This allowed me to get a pass. Armed with a Level 4 certification, I had the false impression that I was truly at that level. Uninspired to learn further, I took my certification and put it to good use, leading trips on Lake Superior, in the Florida Everglades and even Alaska. I picked up new skills (self-taught) along the way, taught and lead quality trips/courses without incident. However, exposure to new thoughts and new ways of teaching created the awareness that my knowledge and level of skill as a paddler and teacher was not satisfactory (to me). This one experience has spurred what many paddlers could consider a lifetime of learning and betterment over the course of the past 6 years.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen paddlers come to this crossroad and go down the path of least resistance…satisfied to stay the same or even letting their seemed “failures” drive them away from the sport. Although regrettable, I don’t see this as the current trend in our sport. I see other paddlers who have achieved certification searching out opportunities to better themselves. This past year’s Gales Storm Gathering was the highest level of participant skill that I’ve ever witnessed at an event. Coaches from the west coast remarked that the Great Lakes were on par with level of coaching and skill as they witness back on their home turf.

Have you had a “Come to Jesus” moment? If, so… ”what was your watershed experience?” and “what have you done since that time?”

Ryan Rushton
Geneva Kayak

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Rolling. That oft mystified kayaking skill that eludes, amazes and delights. People want to learn it. But how many sessions should it take?

Working on your own? This is fine for some folks. Some can watch a video and nail it on their first try.

For most people, a bit of instruction is needed to guide their attempts, provide concepts, and a critical eye on where things went wrong, or what is working.

There is no completely right or wrong answer, but I will say that the basic concepts can be broken down into a few simple components.

• setup (wind up)
• leg drive (hip flick)
• brace (unwind and paddle support)
• timing (putting it all together)

Focusing on breaking down these components into multiple sessions eases the burden on the poor students head, and let’s them progress once they have demonstrated the mechanics of one core piece. This is of course not prohibitive, and many students will “get” it pretty quickly. But my observation has been that it takes an average of three sessions to get “a” roll in the pool.

My own experience was somewhat longer.

I had a roll in the pool when I learned 12 years ago. But it took me another six months to really “get” it. I still practice rolling to this day.

I would encourage students, considering a lesson to actually consider threethe average.

Our package for three lessons for $100.00 is still available.

We still have plenty of lessons to get you on your way to success come spring.

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This Sunday we will start our first of the Go Kayak Now outdoor lessons at Ramona Park at Long Lake in Portage Michigan. Cost is $15.00. If you need any equipment please contact me ahead of time so we can get it arranged with Lee’s.

Lesson Starts at 1PM and ends at 3:00PM.

I decided to start at the beginning and to do a forward stroke clinic. We all spend most of our time going forward either with the wind, against it or across it, so this is the place to begin looking at diagnosing your forward stroke.

We can do some quick video analysis to allow everyone to see what how their stroke looks.

There is a free DNR Launch off of South Long Lake Dr which is to your right off of Sprinkle road as you drive south.

View Larger Map

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Lee’s Adventure Sports will be sponsoring Kayak Lessons and Pool Sessions throughout winter and into early spring.

Go Kayak Now! will be leading the ACA instructional program in the pool.

Please refer to the Go Kayak Now! Lessons Page for the calendar and details.

In short,

Every other Sunday starting Dec 13th 2009 between 1-3 at the Gable Natatorium Pool under Lawson Ice Arena on WMU Campus. Sessions will likely run until open water returns.

Open Pool time is $10.00
Lessons, either intro, Rolling, or Rolling and Bracing, Rescues, etc $20.00.

Lee’s will be renting equipment if you need anything for $10.00 for the session.

Email me, Facebook me, direct Tweet me, call me, or smoke signal me with any questions.

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Mentally Preparing to Roll a Kayak

At a very basic level rolling is an entry level skill that allows a margin of safety for paddlers looking to paddle in textured water. Having an unplanned swim can be life-threatening under the wrong conditions. Cold water is the number one reason for a kayaker to learn to roll. Having a nasty swim in cold water can be the end of you. Hypothermia even when dressed for immersion can debilitate a paddler within a few minutes enough that they cannot perform basic motor functions. In addition to this, there are other obstacles to be wary of when dropped in the drink, breakwalls, rocks. In whitewater add strainers, drops, retentive holes, and so on. In the ocean tide races, or rip currents can really move you into places you do not want to go as well.

Learning to roll a kayak can be very easy. Some can learn in one or two sessions with a gifted instructor. Others may take longer. I learned the physical part of rolling in three or four sessions, but it was over a year before I could mentally hang on underneath the kayak when knocked over in surf and then reliably roll up.

For paddlers interested in moving water rolling is a foregone conclusion. If you head out to paddle on the river, or in the surf, you will have to roll sooner or later on any given day.

When learning to roll, these types of paddlers are preparing for immediate application, where as Sea Kayakers, or flat water paddlers seem to be preparing for an unlikely and unwanted event. This is also true in the case of some traditional style paddlers who may over-prepare flat water practice routines, but fail when in conditions.

What this difference ultimately describes is a delineation in mindset of the two types of paddling. Before anyone brands me as anti sea kayaking I will say one is not better than the other. But what we find is a lack of ability to roll from those that do not mentally prepare for it.

A rather heated post got started by Brian Schultz over at the Qajaq USA forum. Brian has some interesting ideas that he expressed at the forum. What Brian tried to outline that we as coaches might be able to train paddlers to roll mentally as well as physically.The gist of the idea is that learning to roll a kayak is one step in a long process towards being a competent paddler in conditions.

Some at the forum jokingly pointed out that paddlers are not trying out for the Navy SEALS. Well that’s true, but taking a page out of their book for mental toughness couldn’t hurt. How can you prepare for your regulator ceasing to function and your mask filling with water on a dive if you’ve never practiced for it? Kayaking has certain inherent risks involved. Teaching someone to roll on flat water and teaching someone to roll because they will get knocked over really are two different things.

An example of this: In Justine Curgenven’s This is the Sea III, Freya’s Hoffmeister’s swim in the Falls of Lora (a Scottish Tidal Race). Freya who is a Greenland Champion roller swam in a nasty tidal race. She can roll every which way AND Sunday, but failed her roll. Question is why? Broken paddle, no? Ejected from cockpit, no? She was most likely not mentally prepared for the event of a nasty, awkward capsize. I’ve been there, we’ve all been there. I am certainly not picking on Freya, it does happens to all of us.

So the question is what can we do about it as paddlers and coaches? Brian suggested a few interesting drills to practice on flat water at the forum. Keep in mind these are best practiced in the pool where it is warm and well lit.

1. Play Games in the pool, such as polo. Pushing the limits of your balance and your reach for a polo ball or an opponent will most likely cause a few capsizes and rolling up will seem easier than having to dump and swim. I learned a lot about my ability to hang on from polo.
2. Capsize in an awkward position with your paddle tucked under your arm or decklines
3. Toss your paddle a few feet away from you, capsize on the opposite side and then swim to it and roll up.
4. Have someone standing next to you hold your paddle for you, capsize then setup and bang on the hull when you are ready for them to hand you the paddle, then roll up.
5. My favorite and this requires willing friends and brave students, have people sit on your kayak and knock you over, see if you can roll them up. I do this with my kids in my surf boat in the pool. Practicing it with and without a paddle is fun too. Make sure to be careful you don’t hit anyone with a paddle.

A few other thoughts are that students have to get it into their heads that rolling is infinitely easier than swimming. They have to hang on, wait for the boat to settle, set up, and then roll up. Most often the biggest reason for failure is a rushed setup.

I love paddling moving water, and rolling has become more or less a non-issue. Being able to focus on what I am doing rather than worrying about survival has been a great boon to my paddling.