Short description: This clinic is designed to help you improve your body and boat control and maneuvering strokes on moving water, improve your use of powerful torso muscles to make your paddling easier and more effective, and improve your understanding of moving water.

Main emphasis: good techniques working with moving water.

Target audience: kayak paddlers (whitewater and flat moving water) who are interested in improving their paddling power, their maneuvering on moving water, and their understanding of moving water.

Class size: limited to 10 students

Date offered: Saturday, June 8, 2024

Location: dependent on water levels and resulting eddy lines and waves.

Start time: 9:00am

On water time: 10:00am to sometime in the afternoon

Possibly some videoing and video critiquing: after water or interspersed on water.

Finish time: late afternoon

Skills and drills to be worked on: body weight location and posture (center of gravity versus center of buoyancy, cheek weighting, deck weighting, paddle weighting), edging versus leaning, torso rotation (separation of the upper and lower body), joint safety (box, flex), moving the boat versus the paddle, forward strokes, back strokes, sweep strokes (components, spinning versus carving), draw strokes (static, dynamic, bow, stern, open, closed, neutral, water pressure and blade faces), turns (initiate on the outside, control from the inside, stroke recovery), bracing (blade faces and elbows, sculling braces, balance on edge, minimize paddle weighting), reading moving water, use of the strokes in moving water, ferrying (purposes, targets, angles, forward, back), side slipping, eddy work (eddy lines, eddy currents, entering techniques, leaving techniques, edging versus leaning), rock pillows, unbroaching, possibly a bit of surfing.

Equipment needed: your own food (snacks, lunch, liquids), suitable paddling gear for air and water temperatures (dress for getting wet, have towels and dry clothes for after), helmet, suitable personal flotation device (pfd), kayak paddle suitable for moving water use (possible rocks), whitewater kayak, air bags in kayak, spray skirt for whitewater kayak unless a sit-on-top whitewater kayak (displacement hulls, planning hulls, park and play, free running, river running, creeking, and crossover designs all acceptable whitewater craft).

Skills needed to take the class: ability to paddle your kayak along a desired path when on flat water, ability to hold your kayak relatively stationary along shore despite moderate current, ISUCK pool sessions highly recommended, kayak roll recommended.

Complementary Kayak Eddy Skills and Surfing class highly recommended.