Funny comment about the tuliq…
I still don’t see any connection between the balance brace and what someone is holding in their hand. Neither would anyone who learned a hand roll by hand sculling to the balance brace then sliding up. But I am sure that the guy doing WW (and I’d guess pretty well) gets input from the WW folks every time he goes out.
I got to the pond yesterday having left my skirt at home, and used the Kokatat cag as a substitute. It was amazing how much easier it made some things, even with a lightweight bungie and a not-great seal around the head. I came away thinking that the use of a tuliq for general paddling has been highly under-rated by those who haven’t gone the full greenland route. The flotation it provided could be a real help coming home tired from a long paddle, regardless of the other equipment in use.
what’s the point of any of it?
I’m guessing that very few of us kayak to catch seals for feeding and clothing our families, so it’s all really just for fun, isn’t it?
“There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Kenneth Grahame
What fits that description more than just porpoising around in and out of a kayak, rolling, bracing, failing, having fun?
Personally, I’ve dabbled some with greenland stuff to keep myself entertained during the wintertime. I get out to paddle a couple times a month, but those outings are limited by the finicky winter weather and water temps in the low 30s. But the pool is reliably 82 degrees and open on Sundays. So I go play.
This spring I’ve definitely realized the practical benefits of all that silliness as I’ve been out in a couple biggish tide races. Rolling in rough conditions is that much more automatic and natural this spring, because of all the pool time this winter. Though I worked mostly on exotic stuff (hand rolls, balance brace, a bunch of forward finishing rolls - stuff that I don’t do in “combat”), my standard roll has been more effortless on both sides this year - I’m rolling up on the downstream side in strong current without even realizing whether i’m on my “offside” or not.
My point being that boat time is boat time. Even if it doesn’t seem to have any “value”, pushing yourself to do “silly” stuff in the pool inevitably pays dividends simply by making you more comfortable in your boat.
Getting some ZZZzzzzzzz…
At the training camp in Qoornoq that I visited a number of kayakers were practicing their “balance brace” for 15 minutes or more at a time – and this is in a fiord choked with ice. Having just arrived from muggy Florida, I was warm enough in my tuilik that I did the same. The water was cold enough that first exposure felt like battery acid on your face and you had to get past that sensation in order to work on your rolls and other techniques. This sensation passed fairly quickly (just numb?).
There are a variety of Greenland techniques that demand that you immerse your entire torso in the water. Let’s face it – Greenlanders aren’t afraid of getting down and into the water – assuming that they are properly outfitted.
However, as I said in my first post on this subject, although you can take a nap, and without doubt, kayakers in Greenland have done so in unusual circumstances, the real benefit of this technique is to get a nice, full stretch of your back and legs when landing is not an option. This was useful to hunters who spent long hours in a full tuilik and very cramped kayaks.
Greg Stamer
Thanks, that was my point.
“simply messing about in boats”
As Nate notes: "...there is nothing -- absolutely nothing -- half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats."
-Kenneth Grahame "Wind in the Willows"
http://www.writebyte.net/writebyte.dll/GetPage?PageId=MessingAboutInBoats
I first heard this from Steve Maynard - one of the most highly trained, experienced, and respected paddlers and coaches with whom I've had the privilege of working.
Let’s have fun
I never realized the value of a balance brace until I fell over one day and naturally assumed the position allowing me to float quietly and effortlessly to the surface. Instead of fighting the capsize I took full advantage of it and had a cool down with a quick rest too.
It really is a skill that can help build confidence.
Besides, it’s fun too!
Gary
Wow
I’ve been telling my wife about my bracing and rolling… “I’m working on my 10,000 hours.”
“Going to Hamburg.”
Just don’t start calculating
unless you’re fairly young! I figure I could be dead by the time I get in 10,000 hrs…though with a really long trip every year maybe it’s not so pie-in-the-sky.
I don’t mention the 10,000 hrs to my husband. He might subtract it from expected lifespan hours and get pissed off about spending so much time on one thing.
I Was Napping…
http://outdoors.webshots.com/photo/1140590419043300790YFSLhx
The water was so relaxing… for about a minute or two. LOL!
I’m working on doing a balance brace with my waveskis so I can “relax” in between sets on winter dawn patrols. 
sing
So how does Eskimo Ear?
compare with Surfers Ear … ice cold sea water in my ear canal would certainly help me rock to sleep.
Caught some decent waves Saturday night at sunset … watching the tourists drive back to their motels …
B-brace as the entity of sculling
Greg, don’t you think that the BB is where you just end up once you learn to scull. When I learned to scull (euro paddle) I thrashed around and muscled by body on to the water and eventually it got smoother and more effortless until finally I could almost stop the paddle from moving. Then eventually I learned to bend more and actually tilt the boat back and finally just achieve balance. I always think that the balance brace is the entity of learning to skull effortlessly.
I’ve seen Gail Ferris videos of Greenlanders learning to roll and the first thing they always learn is sculling.
Hey, I resemble that remark!
> …I thrashed around and muscled by body on to the water…
Yeah, sadly - that’s me.
Oh Hell
You told me not to calculate so naturally I did. Ten thousand hours is like working a full time job for 5 years. I’ll stop talking about those hours and just make the “Hamburg” reference.
To Summarize…
For different folks the balance brace can be a way to stretch, rest, practice boat control, cool off, show off, teach, have fun.
The reason I asked about the value of it is because I can't do it, at least not in my Tempest. (Seems like I did it in a Zephyr, though). Maybe it's my short, inflexible torso. I can roll snappy, slow, left, right, one-handed. I can lay in the water and scull a little but laying still means sinking. I know body type has a lot to do with what we all can and can't do in the water. My father can lie on his back floating in the water and nap. No boat. No pfd. Not me.
Those of you who sink... take heart! You can still have lots of fun, cool off, practice boat control, stretch, etc. But if you try to nap you sleep with the fishes.
For those of you who start off teaching the roll by teaching a balance brace... uhhhh... what if they're like me and their body don't DO balance brace? I totally got Eric Jackson's technique of teaching the brace, then the roll as a sweep-then-a-brace.
Almost no scull lately
Hi Jay!
Lately I’ve been practicing my scull very soft almost to the point of doing nothing. I think the combination of a Tuilik and the Outer Island really helped.
Thanks for the Outer Island! It’s my favorite kayak to date. 
Gary
Rage
I remember reading an interview with Tom Morello. He was the guitarist for Rage Against The Machine and is ranked by Rolling Stone Magazine as the 26th greatest rock guitarist of all time. He said that while he was studying for his Poly Sci degree from Harvard he would practice guitar at least 8 hours every single day. Over four years that adds up to about 10,000 hours.
When
I teach rolling, If a person can do a Balance Brace right off and easy…then I usually teach them the Angel/Butterfly roll first.
If they can’t do a Balance Brace easy and right off…I go for side sculling and then teach them a rear deck recovery with an extended paddle sweep (Standard Greenland roll) roll first.
differant rolls depending on what they can master right away.
Best Wishes
Roy
Yeah
I subtracted weekends and a couple weeks vacation per year. I just did a rough calculation… my road cycling is 7000+ hours.
Sounds Smart to Me.
Mastery
I do consider the balance brace to be the ultimate mastery of side-sculling – in other words your technique is so good that often no paddle movement is necessary. That said, the two techniques have different goals (although they do overlap). Sculling helps to prevent a capsize and provides support in rough seas, a balance brace is to get a good break and stretch (a side scull does this too). As has been discussed there are balance brace variations that “lock” the paddle under the chine with the other end of the paddle beneath your head – that makes it easy to float for long periods with no motion at all.
Part of the problem is that we, being recreational kayakers, don’t have the same frame of reference as the Greenlanders. For example, the thought of “taking a nap” in a kayak sounds whimsical to us – or ridiculous if you consider that the water might be icy. However it might be life saving to a hunter if they had been blown offshore, had been in the kayak for 24 hours or more – and in pain, had to cut loose the seals they were towing due to fatigue, were nearing total exhaustion with no land in sight, and used this technique as a last resort. That said, I’m also sure that a number of Greenlanders must have simply dozed off while practicing the technique in gentle weather. I certainly have done this. Even in frigid water, with a tuilik and warm insulation, it’s incredibly relaxing and easy to drift off…
None of this speculation about taking a nap takes away from the value of the balance brace to take a good, welcome stretch, when far from land.
Greg Stamer