HOW TO BECOME A BETTER PADDLER
There is of course not a set receipe to become a better paddler, and I can only speak out of my own experiences. However, I hope this might be helpful, or inspiring, to some of you out there.
The worst thing anyone can tell me is "you can not do this, you should focus on just one thing". This is something I have heard a lot over the years, and usually when I have not made the podium in freestyle. And everytime, I shake my head, and I do not agree. Too me, to become a better paddler, it is essential to be able to do both freestyle and creeking well. Yes, it might take me a few years longer to get better at both, but eventually, I will be an overall better paddler than the rest. The fuel behind this conviction, is my tendency to get bored. It is that simple. If I only freestyle for two months, I get really bored, and I will just perform worse and worse. If I only run big stuff for a month, I get bored, and I long for my playboat. To me, diversity is indeed the spice of life, eventhough it is a cliche. Over the years, it is amazing too me, how much better I paddle freestyle when I have been sitting in my creekboat for a while. My first sessions I am usually on fire, then the drive dies more and more...
To me, the different aspects of kayking are all connected. It is not a coincidence that paddlers like Tyler Curtis, Steve Fisher and Rush Sturges are all deep rooted within the freestyle and the creeking. You can take the ability to recover quickly in a freestyle feature and directly transfer that ability to a creek. To put it this way: You are surfing a big hole, and you actually know which side to surf out of it, or you start cartwheeling your kayak till you get out. Better than swimming, right? You can also take the ability to stay calm before a class five rapid and apply that to your freestyle run at your local rodeo competition. And if it all goes to shit, you can always comfort yourself in the eddy after your run, by telling yourself you at least hucked your shit the week before.. :-) Joke aside, I do belive that being a well rounded paddler will make your paddling experience that much bettter.
Paddling is a passion that will last a lifetime. We are not in a hurry, and to most of us, it is about the flow of the rivers that are running through our lives. We live our lives seperately, but a river or two are always running through them. That is how it is to be a kayaker. It doesnt matter whether you are a Pro or a Beginner, intermediate or advanced, we all just want to share the joy of being able to navigate the waterways of the world, whether you are in Japan, Botswana or Alaska. I might not win the World Championshps title in freestyle nor slalom this year, but hey, I definitely hucked my shit this summer. And one year, I will do it all. And to limit yourself to stay strictly to one part of the sport is like only eating pepperoni pizzas for the rest of your life. It is really that simple.
Mariann
The worst thing anyone can tell me is "you can not do this, you should focus on just one thing". This is something I have heard a lot over the years, and usually when I have not made the podium in freestyle. And everytime, I shake my head, and I do not agree. Too me, to become a better paddler, it is essential to be able to do both freestyle and creeking well. Yes, it might take me a few years longer to get better at both, but eventually, I will be an overall better paddler than the rest. The fuel behind this conviction, is my tendency to get bored. It is that simple. If I only freestyle for two months, I get really bored, and I will just perform worse and worse. If I only run big stuff for a month, I get bored, and I long for my playboat. To me, diversity is indeed the spice of life, eventhough it is a cliche. Over the years, it is amazing too me, how much better I paddle freestyle when I have been sitting in my creekboat for a while. My first sessions I am usually on fire, then the drive dies more and more...
To me, the different aspects of kayking are all connected. It is not a coincidence that paddlers like Tyler Curtis, Steve Fisher and Rush Sturges are all deep rooted within the freestyle and the creeking. You can take the ability to recover quickly in a freestyle feature and directly transfer that ability to a creek. To put it this way: You are surfing a big hole, and you actually know which side to surf out of it, or you start cartwheeling your kayak till you get out. Better than swimming, right? You can also take the ability to stay calm before a class five rapid and apply that to your freestyle run at your local rodeo competition. And if it all goes to shit, you can always comfort yourself in the eddy after your run, by telling yourself you at least hucked your shit the week before.. :-) Joke aside, I do belive that being a well rounded paddler will make your paddling experience that much bettter.
Paddling is a passion that will last a lifetime. We are not in a hurry, and to most of us, it is about the flow of the rivers that are running through our lives. We live our lives seperately, but a river or two are always running through them. That is how it is to be a kayaker. It doesnt matter whether you are a Pro or a Beginner, intermediate or advanced, we all just want to share the joy of being able to navigate the waterways of the world, whether you are in Japan, Botswana or Alaska. I might not win the World Championshps title in freestyle nor slalom this year, but hey, I definitely hucked my shit this summer. And one year, I will do it all. And to limit yourself to stay strictly to one part of the sport is like only eating pepperoni pizzas for the rest of your life. It is really that simple.
Mariann
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Comment by Taylor Cavin on August 21, 2009 at 2:55pm -
Mariann, you are badass. You have been badass since before I even started kayaking. I think it is important to recommend practicing both aspects of kayaking, especially since many badass creekers talk smack, distancing themselves from freestyle as a "lame, tail-chasing exercise." I will get out with a throw-bag when I am in the pool below a big hole and they start getting worked, because I know these trash-talkers are out of their element. I love free-style because I can ride my bike down to the wave where I stash my playboat and blunt twice as big after a month of paddling my loaded creekboat. And by practicing both disciplines, you don't feel the need to measure yourself by points from judges in competitions because you also reap the natural rewards of running rivers. Badass.
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