This video helped me tremendously. Forget that ‘head dink’. You ain’t braced til you plopped over in the water. ;- ) One thing I have issues with… every time Jackson says ‘hip snap’ I have to think ‘thigh snap’ or ‘knee lift’.
Later I switched to a GP and my roll adapted and improved.
I think that’s pretty nice modeling of a technique, and a good technique to model.
Considering some comments regarding which brace to use and when, I think it’s important to remember that quite often, you haven’t set out to brace, or perhaps not to brace alone. You might be developing thoughts beyond simply surviving the onslaught. Paddle strokes are most often a continuum. What if I whimsically want my bow to rise over the wave first, hoping my stern will wash downwave further - using the wave as part of performing a turn? So a high brace transitioning to an active bow draw (vs static bow draw where paddle is held in the same place in relation to the kayak) directly into a forward stroke? It’s just a singular example among many possibilities.
If my goal is smooth, coordinated, assertive control of my kayak, of course I want to incorporate transitions including high brace positions. And yes, it’s important that I’ve practiced and learned safe high bracing.
Remember that just like rolling, we’re not seeking a lot of power from our paddle and arms. We’re mostly trying to keep the paddle out of the way, and have it in position for just that nudge of support where needed. This concept also relates heavily to shoulder injury and dislocation.
Thanks, Rex. Bookmarked for next spring. While I have two kayaks stored at the pool, no kayak pool sessions this winter.
I saw this same brace demonstrated some years ago. I have no problem with it whatsoever. I would note, however, that his demonstration of the traditional high brace is not what many of us do: instead of falling 90 degrees to the boat onto our shoulder, we fall 45 degrees behind and onto our back, hitting the water with both shoulders and head cocked back. That makes for a very safe brace for the shoulders and allows the buoyancy of the trunk to assist. The benefits of a Greenland education.
I looked through my old surfing diagnostic videos and found some braces on decent sized waves (big enough to really grab you in a side surf, not just get you wet). Here I am doing a low brace that looks a lot like his high brace (the only difference being the blade face). I’ve done a right stern rudder to initiate a top turn and I’ve just cocked my wrists forward to turn it into a low brace, all while facing the wave:
I stayed in this position and turned off the top of the wave.
In this next one, I’ve gone over the falls with the same type of low brace. A couple of seconds after this image, I leaned back and turned it into a high brace for more power:
And here’s what my “this wave is big and has enough power to do damage” high brace looks like. All you Greenland paddlers can see the pedigree, even though I’m using a euro blade:
So basically, whatever works and doesn’t dislocate your shoulders. I am very happy that I learned Greenland rolling many years ago, as I’m convinced it laid a good foundation to keep my shoulders safe.
