The kayak technique
This section contains all the articles about the technique of kayaking. The techniques described are the result of years of analysis to find the main foudamental blocks of this very special sport.
If you are a beginner and you want to learn the basics or review the technique from the beginning, I suggest you follow the lessons in order:
In the video tutorial below you can find a simple but very important tip about how to paddle through the waves.
The technique can be used on river boats in the river but it works also in sea kayaking.
The kayak rotation comes from the power of the arms. Wrong, a good kayaker is able to turn it mainly using the body rotation to direct the boat. Only through the comprehension of this movement is possible to make a big step forward in the kayak technique.
The Power stroke is a propulsive action to push the boat forward using the body movement. It can be used to perform many operations in white and flat water with freestyle and creek boats. This stroke is very effective while getting into an out of the eddies and to boof (jump an obstacle). In flat water allows simple circular path through a series of strokes inside of the curve. This stroke is important to learn how to move your torso and increase its mobility.
In this article you can find a very detailed video tutorial about the paddling technique. This video shows the 2 foundamental movements and explains how to learn them. This 2 elements, combined in proper way, create an efficient and stylish paddling.
Michele Ramazza has been studied these ideas for years and now are resumed in this very useful video.
Getting in and out of the canoe can be often difficult. This video explains the system I use to enter and exit from the river. This technique allows to board and disembark from the kayak in every possible situation, on high banks, muddy or where it is necessary to climb.
What I'm presenting now is one of the first stroke to control curves with creeks and freestyle boats. It's a very energy saver stroke to control direction in white water.
This stroke has been one of the most complicated maneuver to teach and to learn. The aim is to put order and, why not, physics, to understand what I call the draw stroke. I use basically only this stroke to change direction because is the most efficient way not to loose speed and to avoid the drifting effect.
The boof is the move used to jump any obstacle in a river. In this article you will find the explanation of this fundamental white water move and the timing to do it in the right place at the right time.
Kim Russell explain how to loop in this article. The loop is one of the coolest feeling tricks out there but there are few tricks you need to know..
Bryan Kirk, freestyle champion, teaches how to perform a McNasty in a hole. The McNasty is a variation of the loop like the Space Godzilla and the Phonix Monkey.
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