Critique my Wet Entry 2 - the video

Advice
#21

@NotThePainter

Some paddle float clips are too small a diameter to work with a GP. Good to do if you can.

The video shows the basic stroke. IMO, ideally the guy in the video should be moving his elbow out from the body less and getting more upper body oriented over the paddle. But I am sure he is a better paddler than me.

#22

He actually does both. He slaps, and then scoops the paddle out of the water.

This is also correct technique for a europaddle.

When you do a good, powerful low brace with a europaddle, the water will close in over the top of the paddle blade. You will hear two sounds: a hard [slap] when the blade hits the water, and a deep [kaplonk] when the water closes over the blade. If you try to lift the blade out of the water after the [kaplonk], the water will create a downward force on the blade, which will actually help the capsize you were trying to prevent.

If you instead scoop the blade out of the water, you can avoid this downward force, and instead get neutral force from a “clean” scoop or upward force from a “sculling scoop”.

#23

@Allan_Olesen

Nice explanation of how best to actually get the paddle out of the water right. Had the thought but could not figure out how to say it clearly.

#24

I agree with a lot that this guy says… but not that slap-twist thing he does. It might work great for some folks but I’m in roym’s ‘spreading peanut butter’ club. I would add that a training tool I made up for myself has helped me get ‘automatic’; brace quickly left and right; over and over again.

While I’m at it, I think Eric Jackson’s way of teaching the roll and the brace AT THE SAME TIME is a great idea. A good roll helps the brace. A good brace helps your roll.

#25

We learned two types of low braces in the class I took: a sculling brace (spreading butter, back & forth), and a low slapping brace like in the video. What he said in the video about needing to practice going beyond your comfortable edge proved totally correct for me. It wasn’t until I was practicing wet exits, and therefore committed to capsizing, that I was able to experience a true brace. I saved myself from capsizing with the slap and slice, and it was an astonishing moment. Eureka.

I use my Greenland paddle on longer trips as it’s easier on my shoulders, and have to learn how to brace with it, which I think is harder.

By the way great thread, NotThePainter! Very helpful for this slowly advancing newb, so thanks. (I’m envious of the pool.)

#26

Thanks. I’m envious also. I borrowed it from a friend! Man, if I had a pool in by backyard I’d be a rolling demon, flatwater at least.

#27

OK, then, I’m envious of the neighbor. Good you got the practice opportunity!

#28

First of all, smart to practice to get the moves down before you need them in a real-life scenario. That said, there are many, many issues with this and frankly, I see way too many novices meaning well trying to replicate what they’ve learned or seen, yet fail to execute the procedure properly. So here goes:

  1. No spray skirt? Spray skirts will minimize the amount of water entering your cockpit during a capsize - AND do not impede existing;
  2. You need to learn how to drain water out of your boat, easy method in most conditions is to weigh down on stern causing bow to rise and water to drain to back of cockpit and out…this reduces weight of boat and makes it more stable;
  3. It’s OK to rely on the floor of the pool to push off when learning re-entry BUT you need to be in deep water AND learn how to swim up onto boat and not jump/pull like you keep doing. Your friend commented on how tiring it must be to be using your upper body strength. Exactly, use your legs and a swim-kick to get up to edge of cockpit where you can more of your body over the boat and then use your leg to maneuver into cockpit. This is a critical error that will really wear you out if you try the vertical jump method you insisted on using each time;
  4. Your tap on the water with your Greenland paddle tip was hardly a “brace”. You need to learn more of a sculling/sweeping stroke. The comment about applying peanut butter used in the comments was a good analogy - as was the position of your body relative to the boat’s center of gravity. Need to use your arms less and your body more. I am guessing you paddle just using your arms and not your torso…Need to work on that, too, if such is the case;
  5. Again, don’t rely on the bottom of the pool for support;
  6. In a real life scenario, especially in open water conditions, for crying’ out loud, either put the pump in a more accessible location OR remove it while in the water and secure to the bungee on the forward deck. If conditions are affecting the boat’s stability, etc. do you really want to have to wrestle with the pump?;
  7. Try to get the best, experiential info’ you can, and keep practicing. Once you get the PROPER techniques down, practice in rough water some day (near shore, assistance nearby) and see the difference between a safe, limited swimming pool and the real world of water.
    Good effort, keep at it! (I suggest reviewing some of the postings on Paddling.net that explain the proper way to do much of what you were trying).
#29

One thing that I see early on is that you are twisting your paddle to slice it out of the water immediately after slapping. Now it slices into the water really easily (helping you to capsize really easy).

I think of the brace as using the surface of the water to resist the paddle sinking while you use your legs/core/arch your back to right the kayak, then once you are upright, you can recover the paddle from the water. If you start recovering the paddle before you finish using it to brace, then you capsize.

As Roy says, you can extend the time that the brace is supporting you by sculling (spreading peanut butter).

Kind of a minor point, but to me the slap isn’t really part of the brace, but is the reaction which gets the paddle blade to the surface of the water, now the actual brace starts. Sometimes the paddle is already in the water when you want to brace, then you just twist it so it is flatish on the surface.

As far as the reentry, that seemed pretty good, just keep doing it.

1 Like
#30

My experience: When sculling with the GP I just hold it lightly and the blade finds its own (correct) angle to provide purchase. It’s like leaning on solid earth. Not much need for any leg or torso or hip action. Eric Jackson described that feel as paddle dexterity. And if I remember correctly it was jaybabina who said something like ‘to learn sculling, push the blade forward and back in the water. Repeat a thousand times.’

#31

hey notthepainter thanks for posting, you’re very brave letting us critique your movements. That takes a real growth mindset (thick skin). I got a lot out of both your practice video and the learning the reflexive low brace video that you shared. Both gave me a lot to think about. I am a total newbie to sea kayaks and enjoy learning more.

I’m pretty secure with my own low brace from my ww c1 days. The mechanics are pretty much the same (from c1 canoe paddle to my now using a kayak paddle) and although your own paddle style and kayak (greenland, sea kayak) are very different than mine (ww) the fundamentals appear the same.

I found the best way to learn to low brace effectively is to have someone else in the water helping to support you. This allows you to commit and focus on form (j lean). Things I really liked about the reflexive video your shared were how the stroke was broken down, how he stayed “in the box”, and he talked about how he conceptualized slightly differently than others (slap and slice vs slap and sweep). I’ll give you and others some more to think about and dissect.

Often, as a practical matter, the low brace position is utilized without the slap down but stabbing out into a feature. Think about a wave hitting you from the side. No need to slap down in that scenario, just planting/positioning the paddle is often enough and while there are certainly times I “slap and slice” I think you can get a stronger brace with some sweeping motion. When strokes are moving (less static) they support you longer. Unfortunately, this “real world” application of “stabbing out” is hard to practice in a pool where there is a lack of waves.

I would have liked to have seen the brace demonstrated with the core rotated (lead shoulder “facing the work”). This position safely allows for a head dink closer to the water line while still maintaining a j lean and allows one to commit more of their body to the brace. My own core rotation sucks (lack of flexibility as I’ve gotten older) but I do believe it is a component of any strong brace.

Thanks again for posting and sharing your practice.