I will be attending the Brent Reitz forward stroke clinic June 11th at Lake Natomo (Sacramento, California).
Was wondering if any other p.netters will be there, and also if anyone has any advice for me that has attended one of his clinics in the past.
Thanks for your help!
Kyle
Guided discovery
– Last Updated: May-13-06 4:35 PM EST –
Brent is a fine fellow and very good instructor. As an instructor myself here are my methods of enjoying instruction and getting the most out of a session.
1. Remove all pressure of getting it right. Instead consider what the instructor is showing you as a HOME BASE, that is methods that are a STARTING POINT for you as you begin to discover what works for your body, boat, paddle, preferences.
2. Open Sensate Focus- stop analyzing, save it for later, focus on the sensations of your body as you try the skill. This promotes the relaxation needed to coordinate new skills.
3. Look at the part of your body that Brent wants you to emphasize. Our brains will dominate that part of our body we look at and focus on!
4. Only practice one thing on one side of your body at a time! If he says push don't pull, just focus on this and forget everything else. Only stroke on one side, recover and do it again. Build up the pieces into the whole slowly.
5. MOVE SLOWLY. Do everything as if in a movie at super slow animation. This allows maximum learning.
Enjoy, he gives fine clinics!!!!
Evan
enjoy your self
that is the important thing. Mr. Reitz teaches in a rather fun way. Get your wing-thing up, twist and then POP there it comes.
just enjoy it all…it will sink in even more later.
Liveoutside
Consider buying the video and watching
it before the class. Get the general feel for what he’ll be speaking of, then you will appreciate the nuances of what he says live and perhaps be able to ask “second tier”, probing questions that will help your paddling. Questions that might be more specific to your paddling style or location, since you’ve already watched his video (as many in the class will already have done).
It is a great video, honestly.
Be sure to ask
why he double parks at the beginning of the video! Little pincess think he’s the only one in town? %#&@$!!
Thanks for your excellent advice!
I just rented the video from the local library, so I will preview it a few times before the clinic. I will keep an open mind, Grasshopper; that is good advice. I’ll post how it all went, too.
As for asking him why he double parked his car, well… 
The clinic was great!
Thanks to all of you who offered advice up front. It was very helpful to have watched the video (many times), and to have an open mind. We had a really nice group of eight participants, and they even let me bring my new surf ski. Michelle at CCK was exceptional in helping everyone to get the most out of this clinic.
Brent teaches in a very relaxed, but thorough manner. We all had individualized attention, and we also learned from others. The videotaping was extremely helpful.
I would recommend this clinic to anyone interested in bettering their forward stroke paddling skills, and especially to avoid repetitive injuries that improper paddling might bring.
Kyle