After doing the exercises in this video you become almost completely impossible to capsize.
Imagine being confident paddling in rough water. A big steep wave breaks over you,
and you’re stable. Because you have your paddle in the perfect place for a secure low brace.
And you know it will keep you upright…Most of the time.
Now let's say for whatever reason your low brace fails you. Maybe the wave caught you
off guard. You try to stop the capsize but it’s too late. You are going in.
Now imagine that you stay relaxed because you are still
in control. You know what to do when your low brace doesn’t work. You already practiced
that. You may even be able to keep your head above the water…and keep breathing.
There is a saying that we are all between
swims. And I say that doesn’t mean we can’t eliminate the wet exit almost completely.
In the previous videos we covered the balance brace position, and side sculling.
This video is all about how to put all these skills together to make you
almost impossible to capsize. In a way that is easy and gentle on your body.
There’s a certain peace of mind that comes when you have confidence.
If you’re someone who goes on expeditions,
Doesn’t it make it more enjoyable? As you will see there is no hard or
awkward movement needed to do this. No need to risk a shoulder injury, or even have to force
anything. It’s more like aikido where you just move with the force, instead of resisting it.
I receive a lot of emails from people telling me they wish they had learned
this before tearing their shoulder. A lot of those injuries never heal.
I’m Paulo and this is Dancing With The Sea. It’s for those of us who want more ease and finesse.
And less feeling like it’s hard and I don’t feel safe.
The kayak is not a tool to help you conquer. It’s to show you how you belong to nature.
There’s a certain peace of mind that comes when you have confidence.
If you’re someone who goes on expeditions, Doesn’t it make it more enjoyable?
As you will see there is no hard or awkward movement needed to do this. No need to risk
a shoulder injury, or even have to force anything. It’s more like aikido
where you just move with the force, instead of resisting it.
I receive a lot of emails from people telling me they wish they had learned
this before tearing their shoulder. A lot of those injuries never heal.
As you can probably imagine, these techniques only work when you’re wearing your kayak.
That’s when kayaking goes from trying to control a boat, to moving your body
naturally. And the result is a lot more ease and elegance with everything you do in your kayak.
If you want to know how to adjust the fit of your kayak to unlock your agility,
just click on the link in the description to sign up for the free mini course I made for you.
Anytime you feel unstable, you want to be ready in the low brace position.
I don’t mean this.
I mean this.
I like to place the paddle at about 45 degrees to the stern. Why?
It may seem like the paddle will give the most support when at 90 degrees. It makes sense,
until you consider that from this position, all you can do is push down on the paddle.
On the other hand, in this position you have room to powerfully sweep the paddle forward
with your pelvis and core muscles. That’s why the Greenland paddle gives you way more
bracing power than a big euro blade, even though it has less surface area.
The paddle slicing through the water gives a tremendous amount of lift.
Your arms and shoulders are in a naturally strong
position. So you can get a lot more support and it feels easy.
If you’re not sure how to do this powerful low brace go watch the video on the low brace.
The uncapsize method is about what you do
after the low brace, if you are still not back in balance.
As soon as you realize you’re going in, don’t force anything.
Just relax. If you practiced the balance brace and sidescull you are still in control.
You simply keep moving the blade forward towards to bow of the kayak.
And as you do remember the balance brace position. And just plop your back on the
water. It will feel very familiar if you already practiced the balance brace and side sculling.
Now you are in position for sides sculling, or you can simply recover.
As you probably realize when you have an effective
low brace you won’t need this often. I only had to use it once in the last 15 years. But that
one time saved me from having to do a roll or a wet exit in conditions where it could have been
very dangerous. I don’t think I would have made it back in my kayak if I had done a wet exit.
These skills can be a real life saver.
If you want step by step exercises to practice this until it becomes second nature…or
if you just want to get better with the Greenland paddle and traditional techniques…join
the Dancing With the sea club. If you want step by step exercises to
practice this until it becomes second nature…or if you just want to get better with the
Greenland paddle and traditional techniques…join the Dancing With the sea club.
You are just moving your body. Ofcourse this will only work
when you have the right fit with your kayak. If you want to wear your kayak,
just click on the link in the description below and sign up for the free mini course.
Thanks for watching.