sea kayak brace
Here's where to sign in for the free "uncapsize" lesson. www.dancingwiththesea.com/fun...
After watching this video you will know when to use the high brace, and when to avoid it.
And how to do a sea kayak high brace that works every time. What I mean is you won’t find yourself upside down with your head under water and you can’t breathe.
If you learned to do a high brace before and found it difficult,
you’ll be happy to hear that this technique is easy for anyone to learn. It doesn’t take years.
So let's say you're paddling in the waves. When is a good time to use the high brace to stop a capsize?
I would say never…
I’m going to suggest that what works best is doing a low brace to avoid capsizing. And when you know you’re going in…
That’s when you deploy the high brace. But not the kind of high brace most people are teaching.
I call it the uncapsize method.
Because when you use your low brace, and this high brace together, it’s almost impossible to capsize you.
The way most people do it, either you’re upright, or you end up upside down. And roll back up. Or do a wet exit.
I don't’ like any of that.
What I’m suggesting you do instead is what the Inuit of Greenland learn before they’re even allowed to go on a hunting trip.
This technique evolved with the sea kayak over thousands of years. As a key skill to keep paddlers safe on the sea.
It’s how you can go over and still feel relaxed, in control, and keep breathing.
So why not do a high brace to stop a capsize?
Instead of having the wave hold your paddle in the water, as when doing a low brace, you’re giving the wave maximum leverage to capsize you.
That’s one reason.
Also notice that the paddle angle is steeper with a high brace, and gives you less support than when doing a low brace.
In case you need another reason.
You’re putting your body in a weak position. And unless you can stay perfectly cool and focused on keeping your elbow tucked in, there’s a chance you could destroy your shoulders.
In my experience this kind of brace doesn’t work very well for most kayakers anyways. It requires more talent than most of us have.
So here’s what I like to do instead.
You start with the low brace, and as soon as you know you’re going over, you transform your low brace into a sidescull.
Just to be clear, if you have an effective low brace you won’t have to do this often.
Most people think it’s hard, but actually when you have a good fit with your kayak, and you know the steps to practice, it’s easy for most people to learn.
There is no forcing anything.
You let the water stop you. You float and keep breathing.
There’s no need for a wet exit, or needing help getting back in your kayak.
You can take your time and enjoy a little stretch before you recover.
Or you can recover quickly and avoid the drama of being upside down and feeling out of control. Wondering “will my roll work.”
If you want to do the sidescull you can sign up for a free lesson that shows you the steps that make it easy to learn and master.
There’s a critical thing you have to do to avoid having your paddle sink and pull you underwater.
I will leave a link in the description in case you want to sign up for the free course.
After you develop this, you can more quickly master the low brace... because you’re much more bold. Knowing you don’t have to do a wet exit every time you miss.
You have a lot more confidence.
You’re stable in the waves. Because you’re focused on using an effective low brace to stay secure.
And even if you do capsize, it’s no big deal.
You can keep breathing.
If you happen to accidentally get knocked over,
you can tell your friends “I meant to do that” and instead of thinking you lack skills, they’ll just think you're pretty cool.
Thanks for watching