3 Mistakes Kayakers Make.... That are easy to fix.

Three simple mistakes that paddlers make that are easy to fix. Fixes that will help them work less, turn more and go faster!
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[@kenwebster5053]

I haven't seen any of your other videos. they may cover some of my comments, I don't know. It is not true that the middle quarter of the sweep is not turning the boat. The main point about the sweep is that it is an extended reach low shaft stroke, to get the blade as far from the from the centre of the boat as possible. This is to maximise the turning moment that the stroke imparts. However, the stroke itself is not the whole story in turning the boat. It may even be less than 50% of the story. The main factor in turning the boat is edging. However, to understand edging, we must know that there are essentially two very different types of kayaks in regard to their handling & control. These are either a touring kayak of a play kayak. Generally a sea kayak is a touring kayak, but it is the way that it responds in a turn that defines which type it is. If you can paddle evenly on both sides and sear the boat simply by edging it from one side to the other and back again so that in calm water it will always turn left when the right edge is down, transfer to a right turn when the left edge is down & then revert to straight ahead when the boat is level, then it is a touring kayak. Edging by the way is when you lift one side of the boat and press the other side down with your hips while retaining an upright torso, or you may sustain a long period of edging by shifting your seated position to one side. The latter is easier to sustain for long periods to counter weathercocking in difficult se and wind conditions where you need to continually counter weathercocking to maintain a course. Anyway, back to what is a play boat? Typically whit water boats are directionally unstable, meaning that once a turn is initiated, the boat has a strong tendency to tighten that turn uncontrollably. This is important to know as the turn tightens, the boat starts to side slip. That is, the boat may have turned 40-90 degrees but is still drifting more or less in it's original direction, In such a boat, the flow of water from the outside edge will be strongly trying to flip the boat over. If you are still edging as you would a touring boat, you are pretty well guaranteed to capsize. This is a phenomenon that most touring only kayakers will be unprepared for, so watch out or you will most likely be swimming. What does this mean for turning a kayak? Well, in both cases we initiate the turn in the exact same way, initiate a left turn, edge on the right & do a one sweep stroke on the right. The boat will start to turn. If in a play boat, immediately reverse the edge, left side down. Go into a reverse sweep, transitioning into a support stroke as the blade moves away from the boat, leaning your weight onto the forward moving blade, so that the boat is rolled right over onto it's left rail bringing the bow & stern completely clear of the surface. As the blade comes forward, bring you body & boat more upright & transition the stroke to a bow rudder. The boat will have lost a lot of momentum by now, but still has some drift. so open up the blade angle to maximum and the boat will now continue to spin slowly around where your paddle shaft is planted in the water. This is about the fastest way you can turn a play kayak, it's a slalom kayak technique from the 4m boat length days where that initial edging combined with throwing the torso back would sink the back deck under the gate poles. While you can use the same technique to turn a sea kayak very fast, it's not necessary for the purpose of remaining upright. It is however necessary to a less extreme degree to keep a play boat from capsizing in a tight turn, but the more extremely is is executed, the faster both boats will turn. On paddling forward: other than using a wing paddle, the most efficient forward paddling technique is to make the stroke as long as possible with a pause & glide between strokes. This is done by reaching forward with torso twist, catching the water as far ahead as is comfortable, twisting the torso as you pull back, with the blade as close the to side of the boat as you can & the shaft as upright as is possible. The blade will be almost parallel to the boat as you lift it out, wit zero drag. The forward going blade should be almost ready for the next catch. Just do a little pause & let the boat glide, before catching the next stroke. I guarantee you can keep this up for hour after hour of long crossings & at good speed. It's efficient because your keeping each stroke closest the the hull centre line as possible, where it's much more of the energy into propulsion, rather than turning & counter turning the hull as a low paddle stroke does. The down side is that strong side wind may catch a large feathered paddle & upset your balance. You often see paddlers who are beaten & have accepted defeat, that are sitting slumped, paddle low & not torso twist, all there effort is being wasted on turning and counter turning because their blades are too far out form the hull. It's just the default posture of a beaten paddler. I added up that I've been kayaking for over 50 years now (not continually though, I do sleep sometimes ).

[@AdventureOtaku]

Hey, thanks for taking the time to watch a video. Keep in mind this channel is mainly aimed at beginners, which you clearly aren’t. I have done videos on all the things you mentioned except the wing paddle which I don’t use or recommend for beginners. Maybe you should watch some other videos, or hey! Start your own channel. Thanks for stopping by.

[@jaykemp1]

Great channel!

[@AdventureOtaku]

Glad you are enjoying it, thanks for watching.

[@urbandreamist]

Great content, thanks! I realized that I do n°3 by looking at my videos. Next season I'll work on that particular issue.

[@AdventureOtaku]

I think a key word from your comment got scrambled… so I can’t tell what the problem is!

[@urbandreamist]

@@AdventureOtaku The third mistake is my problem, the one where the paddle goes too far behind me and exits water with an incorrect angle.

[@AdventureOtaku]

that is super common! even among experienced paddlers. I even see it in myself from time to time, and is one of the benefits of watching yourself on video all the time!

[@Trapster99]

Yeah, excellent content.

[@AdventureOtaku]

Thank you sir!

[@swimrski]

Thanks!

[@AdventureOtaku]

Thank you! Thanks for watching!

[@markb2396]

Thanks Brett, good content as usual. If I can try to value add on the rotation one. If you watch an advanced paddler, they not only rotate but stay rotated, wound up, until the blade is planted and then unwind. I see a lot of club paddlers who look good but just don’t seem to move the boat along well and it’s usually this fault of unwinding the torso way too early and this losing half their potential power. Regards

[@AdventureOtaku]

Yes, that is a must! for me the eye opening was in Martial Arts class when I realized the power from a punch comes from torso rotation, and that unwinding. great point. If you follow me on instagram about once a month (or when I see one) I post an Olympic rower doing unbelievable torso rotation. thanks for watching!

[@ronmorgan3246]

always good!

[@AdventureOtaku]

Thank you my friend.

[@bluesdr44]

Hey there Brett, slightly off topic, but this is the first vidieo I've see where your paddeling with the new vest. How do you like it? Seems to have a bit more bulk, but movement doesn't look too restricted.

[@AdventureOtaku]

Super happy, easy transition. Not any bulkier it’s just the class 5 version of the old one.

[@martin.feuchtwanger]

I agree with you on those, based on my teaching experience. Now i'm trying to think of 3 mistakes that prove to be difficult to fix. First, and both most important and most common, would be failure to rotate the torso when paddling. It's hard to get folks to do that. Even _you_ don't seem to do it much. Second, and still a common mistake, would be failure to use a very low shaft angle during a sweep. Again, difficult for them to correct. Third mistake that's hard to fix, but common mainly among children, is failure to have a wide enough hand position on the paddle. BTW, you make a mistake, or bad prediction, at 7:03, that may confuse some ;-)

[@AdventureOtaku]

totally agree! And part of that is that a lot of people cant physically rotate at the core. As a species we spend so much time sitting, it is muscles and movement we never do.

[@AdventureOtaku]

Let me know if you come up with two more and I’ll do a video!

[@wisenber]

I do like bow rudder and stern rudder strokes when current is involved. Since I use mostly GP and Aleut paddles, I had to watch the blade exit portion several times. With GP blades, a wrist flick on exit offers a last bit of propulsion. I also noticed there wasn't much in the way of torso rotation.

[@AdventureOtaku]

I’ll have to try the wrist flick and see if it gives me some propulsion with a euro blade, good tip.

[@wisenber]

@@AdventureOtaku You might have more luck than me with that. I found it to be more destabilizing than propulsive with my Werner. I think we all get sloppy with our forward strokes along the way. Practice does develop a more instinctive muscle memory to avoid it, but I believe most will slack off. The paddle stroke I use when I'm chatting with other paddlers in an estuary isn't the same as when I have 8 miles left to get back to the put in before dark or 2 miles when a storm is blowing in. Always great to see your take on improving skills.

[@AdventureOtaku]

Oh I totally agree. There are days when I don’t give a damn (usually in days it doesn’t matter) and days you have to be on it! Totally agree

[@wisenber]

@@AdventureOtaku True. There's a big difference between getting it wrong and not knowing how to get it right versus slacking off. That's why lessons can offer a lot more than what many would think. Experienced paddlers can also benefit from an objective set of eyes. Rolling and rescue technics come to mind when we think lessons. However, I imagine 90 percent of actual paddling is a forward stroke. Developing a good forward stroke is greatly overlooked.

[@AdventureOtaku]

This is what drives me crazy. I see people who can’t do a forward stroke but can roll. And you tell them they should take a lesson and they are like “why?”

[@terrytysinger6022]

Did you use to work at Great Outdoor Provisions in GSO?

[@AdventureOtaku]

I didn’t, But I did work at REI in Greensboro - and ran REI outdoor school for all of North Carolina for a while.

[@tommycheshire5508]

What exactly is a type 5 off and where can you purchase one? Are they safer in some way?

[@AdventureOtaku]

Type 5 is a rescue vest, it has a quick release belt for a tow and has some reinforcements built in… stuff like that. Safer is debatable

[@tommycheshire5508]

@@AdventureOtaku Since I almost always kayak alone, I guess I don’t need one. Thank you for answering my question. You are always polite and thoughtful. Not many like you around these days.

[@AdventureOtaku]

My pleasure brother. Paddle safe.

[@sprintershepherd4359]

I was paddling yesterday and noticed i was lifting water and it was splashing me a bit dripping of my paddel . I knew I was doing something wrong but didnt realise i was not pulling the paddle out of the water soon enough . My logic was if I use a longer stroke i would get better energy and momentum efficiency . am I wrong ?

[@AdventureOtaku]

You are not wrong. You don’t want a short a stroke, but you also don’t want to be lifting water. If you are lifting water you are essentially (attempting) to pull the boat down, which will slow it. You are also creating all sorts of bubbles and turbulence in the water which is energy that could be used to move the boat forward. Your blade should enter the water near your feet - with your torso slightly twisted to lengthen your reach, and engage your core muscles. Then as you unwind your torso the paddle comes back (but isn’t pulled back by your arms!) and is lifted out of the water around your hip. And the blade should slide out of the water, slicing up, vertically. By now your torso is rotated the other way, setting up your next stroke. the real efficiency comes from not splashing water, not making sound as the paddle enters, moves through, and exits the water. the real efficiency comes from engaging large muscle groups, like legs, and core, not arms.

[@sprintershepherd4359]

@@AdventureOtakuthanks for the reply .maybe I need to twist my wrist to the right position so as to not lift the water or I am just making my stroke to long? pretty sure i have my torso rotation and paddle entry ok I am always trying to perfect my paddling to be as quiet as i can . i love the stealth mode of kayaking my paddle noise annoys me sometimes lol

[@AdventureOtaku]

I think youre just making your strike too long. Feel free to send me video

[@sprintershepherd4359]

@@AdventureOtaku thanks I will work on it next time I am out 👍

[@swimrski]

#3 - GUILTY

[@AdventureOtaku]

don’t feel bad, it’s pretty common…even among experienced paddlers….