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Whitewater SUP is accessible to all – it ’ s all about getting a few basic skills down , the most important of which is balance .
Chant to yourself – it ’ s all in the knees , it ’ s all in the knees , as you drop into the rapid .
No matter how good you are , everyone falls .
Secondly , even if you could move it fast enough , now you ’ re throwing the heaviest part of your body ( torso and head ) all over the place . Put a weight onto the side of a top , and try to spin it . You can ’ t . The same applies for you . Bending at the waist throws your entire centre of gravity out of whack with the centreline of the board .
We ’ ve all done it , but usually ( unless you ’ re really lucky ) this terminates in a swim .
Power up If you read the Paddler summer edition of 2017 , you will see my article on paddling ‘ power up ’. This essentially goes into detail of
how to use a forward stroke ( or turning stroke ) as a brace , rather than an actual brace .
To summarize the article , a low brace almost always forces you to bend at the waist , and we don ’ t want that . The support of a low brace comes from the water pushing back against the surface of your paddle . But a forward stroke puts just as much force into the paddle , and you can use it just as effectively as a brace .
In addition to a forward stroke being a positive stroke ( while a brace is a negative stroke , robbing you of speed and drive ), a forward stroke also acts as the third leg in a tripod . Adding a third ‘ offset ’ leg to your kung fu stance more than doubles stability , and this ‘ leg ’ is mobile : you can move it to wherever it ’ s needed .
If you get bumped forward , instead of stepping forward to keep your centre of gravity on the centreline ( or as is often done , bending forward at the waist into a low brace ), you can simply do a bow draw or C stroke , which puts force on the paddle and gives you that same stability without ‘ stepping out ’.
In summary Even if you do all of those things right , you ’ re going to swim . Sometimes the board is going to take a hit , or get bucked , harder than your ability to absorb and compensate . But , for the most part , if you apply these basic ideas , and practice them a thousand times , you ’ ll find that your success rate will sky rocket .
And nothing breeds confidence like success .