Balance brace

Boat
Balance brace is definitely boat dependent. Blame your boat ;>)



Balance brace is a good tool for learning one element of Greenland backward leaning rolls. It not only teaches you to keep both your shoulders on the water, but it makes you think about how you engage your core to swing your trunk out over the water and back over the boat. My son hit his first standard layback roll a couple of days ago. Balance brace was the first step in that progression.

The balance brace works a bit different
for each person and kayak. The balance brace is a good technique for rolling. Without the ability to balance brace you are either upside down or right side up. It gives you full control of your roll and greatly improves the dependability of a roll. Most kayaks aren’t designed to balance brace and limits the rolling techniques you can use. The ability to balance brace gives the paddler the feeling of being a duck in the water. Your not either right side up or up side down, your one with the water and the kayak. Finding a kayak that balance braces takes time. Jays Outer Island design is great. If I can’t balance brace in a kayak then I feel like I’m paddling a barge. The middle area of a roll is the sweetest part. Keep searching, you’ll get it.

the boat
I have North Shore Atlantic LV - it’s the smallest boat (volume-wise) I could find for sale locally - at 150 pounds and 5’8’’ I’m too small for full-sized unloaded boat. It rolls OK, and apart from annoying tendency to surf any wave taller than 10’’ I like it.

Never was able to do this
with my sea lion. The boat just really doesn’t seem to mind being completely upside down. Either I’m really top-heavy or the hull just wasn’t designed for this. Rolling up was something I learned pretty quickly, so it hasn’t been much of a concern.



I saw someone during a rolling class in an old Arluk III and the damn thing just didn’t capsize - it just lay on its side like a ripe banana (it WAS bright yellow) and went no further. The design had lots of rocker and decent volume at stem and stern, so it just did not want to capsize like a decent boat should :). I tried the boat and was able to simply hip snap it to vertical, slide my torso over the rear deck, and then sit upright, all without a paddle.



So design is a definitely a factor. If you have the flexability and a boat that allows a balance brace, a case can be made that all you really need is immersion protection and you’re never too far from an easy recovery (as long as the hull is intact or isn’t shipping water).



Rick

Those who find it impossible to do tend

– Last Updated: Feb-04-13 6:04 AM EST –

...to write it off as a party trick. Those who can do it find ways to make it useful."

Easier in some boats than others, easier for some people than others.

I find it relaxing, a nice way to cool down on a hot day,a calming reassuring skill, a way to hone my boat skills and comfort.

I was just the opposite, learned to roll
then the balance brace. Once i got a kayak that fit me well , then i was able to get the balance brace 1st time out. So for me the roll came 1st then the balance brace. But then again i never liked to be the same as anyone else. :o)

I don’t think of them as a trick, but

– Last Updated: Feb-03-13 8:38 PM EST –

rather another skill that helps me build my comfort zone. I paddle mostly alone and all of these small things give me something to work on and look forward to each time i get out on the water. I also practice solo rescues a lot, keeps my skill up and keeps me from being bored. I love my boat and all that goes with it.... no matter how insignifigant they seem.

ARCH, get that arch in your back
1st , be sure you have the best fit in your kayak as possible, snug in the thigh braces is what helped me most. If the fit is there, then try the following. Start by laying on the back deck as flat as possible, relax and then slide off to the side, stay relaxed and flat , core strength comes in here. Open up your ribs and push them toward the sky as if they have a string attached pulling them upward. Head back, chin pointing up as with the ribs, shoulders should be as flat on water as possible. if you have 1 shoulder that continues to be higher up out of the water think about sinking it as you are raising the opposite shoulder up. sometimes it is just the slightest change that can make a world of difference. If you can have someone video you and then review it and you might see what is holding you back. Study the ones that can do this skill and then study your own video footage. It can be a great tool to use. Keep us posted

Me too
I also learned to roll first, as did my son, who learned a C2C roll this fall). But when he mentioned that he felt some strain in his shoulder, I felt that trying some Greenland technique would help him avoid muscling his roll. The balance brace showed him that the core and the “water knee” are what drives the action, not the arms. He then performed his first layback rolls with a GP and was amazed at how relaxed his entire body felt.

Helper
A helper is really useful. They can stand on the opposite side of the kayak and hold the coaming so the boat doesn’t collapse over on you as you find the sweet spot. Less and less pressure from the helper until you are doing it.



Like others say, shoulders flat on the water, arch your back then arch it some more.



My hint: don’t push your head back - lift your chin up (it amounts to the same thing but is a better visual IMO because it reinforces that your mouth, ideally stays out of the water:)

Balance brace
When you twist your hips, don’t bother to keep your feet on the foot-pegs. Push down on your top leg and up with the lower one. You will have to hold the kayak in the tilted position to prevent it from tipping over.

brace
Practice. A high and low brace takes paddling to the next level.

best way to fine-tune
I’ve found that the best way to help someone find this, or fine-tune it, is to stand in the water at their head, and give them tips.



pressure on your bottom knee, relax the top leg completely, arch your back right here (poke them in the lower back), shoulders flat, use your back arm to rotate your torso away from the boat, etc.



After a few tips you can often lower your hands away from their shoulders, so they’re doing it on their own.



Being there to support them as they figure it out and get all the pieces in place is much more helpful than them trying to improve it while constantly sinking and struggling to breath.

From…?
Balance brace is a somewhat different animal than these - except the balance brace can complement learning other braces because it can leave a paddler feeling more comfortable about coming up from a deep recovery. But I don’t see anyone suggesting it replaces a solid basic brace.



Bracing is taught to beginners, and reliability tends to arrive with other intermediate skills like rolling. Anyone who wants to leave beginner stage is going to be practicing this.



Some coaches are focusing more on the low brace though. It has less shoulder risks (done right) than the high brace, and a failed low brace leaves you time to go for a second try at recovery via a high brace or a balance brace position. A failed high brace tends to turn into a roll, or at least some aggressive sculling up.

Blame the boat

– Last Updated: Feb-04-13 6:25 PM EST –

If It is hard to do ;) As mentioned, some boats make it really easy, others - not so easy, and in others, unless I have my PFD on, I can't do it (a buoyant paddle also helps).

The cockpit should not be too tight, so you can wiggle around, especially if you do not have great flexibility.

I have 2 sizes of the same white water kayak and I can balance brace in both. But the larger size is much easier, both because of the added boat stability when on edge and because I have more room in the cockpit for my legs (both are otherwise with the same seat and snug at the hips). In one sea kayak I had it was almost impossible for me to balance brace, while in the others - piece of cake.

As for usefulness, I use it as part of rolling practice or just to relax in the water while paddling. At the beginning of paddling in cooler/colder water I often do a balance brace to get wet and accustomed to the temps rather than roll or splash (often I do a high-brace splashing my head in the water then recovery without a roll for the same purpose).

For perfecting it, start with a pair of paddle floats on your paddle and gradually reduce the air in them till you don't need them. Arch your back, stay away from the boat with shoulders flat on the water, and dip your forehead in the water with only your nose/mouth above water. If you can't relax with the upper end of the boat away from you (rather than trying to fall on top of you), then there is a fit/flexibility problem and trying to force a balance brace might not ever work...

Thanks!
For the advice, much appreciated. Once the sea out here thaws I’ll keep trying!

Can Jay clarify?
Jay said “twist your hips in the boat before you enter into the water”



So Jay are you saying to turn your body from the hips instead of just rotating the torso? I think this is what you are saying and if so, is it helpful to do this when setting up for a full roll as well?



interesting balance brace article at kayakquixotica here:

http://www.kayakquixotica.com/2010/08/13/square-thoughts-about-the-balance-brace/



I’ve been rolling since last mid summer, but i would like to improve the “finish” phase of the roll. I think the balance brace would be a great way to do this. (and cool off in the drysuit as Celia said)



cheers

Ian.

Balance Brace
Here’s an old post of mine from the Qajaq USA forum that discusses the fine points of the balance brace:



http://www.qajaqusa.org/cgi-bin/TechniqueForumArchive0_config.pl/read/823

http://www.qajaqusa.org/cgi-bin/TechniqueForumArchive0_config.pl/read/833



Another interesting technique is the Petrussen Maneuver. Here’s an article that I wrote for Sea Kayaker:



http://www.qajaqusa.org/QK/petrussen_maneuver/Petrussen_Maneuver.html



Greg Stamer

good info
Greg,

good, detailed info on the balance brace. The Petrussen looks interesting, cant wait to get back on the water and try these out.

turning the hips
I can’t speak for Jay, but for my part, I definitely recommend having the space in your boat to rotate your hips, not just your torso. This is useful for everything from forward paddling, to draw strokes, to balance braces. I don’t know many people who can turn their shoulders 90 degrees to their hips! Yet there are lots of times when we want to be able to get our shoulders in line with the length of the boat - so rotating your butt in the seat can make that easier.