how i got here technique
Link
MorE
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hoto
EndS
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kelSeY THOMPSON
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C a r t w h e e l i n g
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has been around
ego
since the early
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days of playboating and has led to the evo-
lution of almost every modern freestyle trick.
Despite cartwheeling’s longevity, linking lots of
ends is still one of the most difficult freestyle se-
quences to master. It requires excellent control,
constant adjustment and superb awareness.
The easiest way to get good at cartwheel-
ing in a hole is to first master cartwheeling on
flatwater. One of the biggest things you’ll learn
here is the importance of proper edging. Pick
a point on shore and try to look at it the whole
time you cartwheel. Keeping your eyes fixed on
this point forces you to edge your boat prop-
erly and keeps your cartwheels in a straight
line, which is essential when cartwheeling in a
hole. The only time your eyes should leave the
object is when you reach for your stern end,
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in which case you’ll snap your head around,
hoto Bill
quickly refocusing on the same object.
When you move to linking ends in a hole,
y
h
pay close attention to where you initiate your
a
RR cartwheel. Initiating and continuing the move
is
with the tip of your bow or stern at the seam
of the hole is the only way to link lots of ends
ruth Gordon, 32
in control. Initiating too far into the green water
causes your boat to pop forcefully up and out
» Freestyle KayaKing World Champion
of the hole, making it very difficult to continue
I
started at a rafting company toward the end of high school. Most of the other raft guides were
with additional ends.
kayakers so I jumped at the opportunity to learn. I spent many summers on the Ottawa River
The single most important part of cartwheel-
safety kayaking, instructing and even trying some fun competition before I decided to quit my full-
ing is staying ahead of your boat. This means
leading the move with your head and body,
time job with the Heliconia Press to focus on winning the 2007 World Freestyle Championships.
keeping them ahead of your boat’s rotation. As
The goal of winning the Worlds helped me focus but there were many other smaller objectives I had
you snap your head around for a stern end,
to meet first. I had to add specific moves to my freestyle repertoire, make the Canadian team and
you should be leading so aggressively that you
develop a competitor’s mindset.
can see your stern before it enters the water.
Just before the Worlds, I realized my mind was playing tricks on me. I was focusing on the Keeping your arms tight and maintaining a
negative again—in competitions I had always excelled in the prelims and floundered in the finals. I
power position—with your arms, paddle and
decided to visit a sports psychologist. I wasn’t told anything I hadn’t read before but I was reminded
chest forming a rectangle—allows you to get
to prepare for the negative self-talk and work on techniques for getting rid of it.
the power necessary to go vertical and is also
On the day of the finals I was competing against one of my good friends and training buddies,
a key element in staying ahead of your boat’s
rotation. Think of a figure skater spinning; the
Tanya Faux. I had three rides; my first ride I did one small trick and flushed, the second one I missed
closer her arms are to her body, the faster she
the tow rope out onto Bus Eater. I heard the negative self-talk, “Here I am blowing it in the finals
spins. The same rule applies to cartwheel-
again.” I took a deep breath and visualized a fun training session I had with Tanya and some friends.
ing—the closer your arms are to your body,
I loved this wave! Just as I had cleared the chaos from my mind, Tanya paddled into the eddy and
the faster your stroke transitions and the easi-
said, “Ruth, you are the best paddler in the world right now, so go paddle like it!” —R.G. er it is to stay on top of your ends.
technique
SquirT EVErY EddYLinE
BreNDAN MArk
Squirting the stern of your standard 45-degree angle. When your knees cross the eddyline, that’s your
kayak is an easy trick to cue to put your boat on edge—the wrong edge. Squirting requires you to tilt
R
t
learn and it can be done upstream, allowing the current to push the stern of your boat underwater. As
anywhere that’s deep you edge, rotate your body downstream towards the stern and plant a deep
enough to roll. The less reverse sweep stroke at the back of your boat.
v
illecou
volume in the stern of your If you’re having trouble getting vertical, think about pulling your knee to
aul
kayak the easier it will be to your chest rather than leaning back to start your sweep. Your body position
squirt. I learned in an actual should be leaned forward as you start your sweep so that you can gradually
P
hoto P
squirt boat where the stern shift your weight back to a neutral position as you unwind your body.
in flatwater was already three inches underwater. No matter what your boat, To avoid hitting the wall—when your stern pops back out of the water or
start by mastering the skill in flatwater then move to squirting eddylines, you simply flip over—remember to gradually level out your edge while un-
wave trains, seam lines, whirlpools, splat rocks and even holes—anywhere winding from your sweep. Hitting the wall usually means you have too much
with opposing or funky currents that help push your stern underwater. edge or you’re not levelling your boat fast enough, or both. Try starting with
When you move from flatwater to eddylines, the main thing you’ll notice less edge and slowly lift your knee higher as you get more comfortable.
is how fast everything happens. Getting your timing down will be your first When you get the timing and edging right, your stern will slice, your bow
challenge. Starting in the eddy—which is easiest—exit the eddy with the will lift and your boat will spin around 360 degrees.
26 Rapid summer/fall 2009
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