Aerial Moves no.3 Donkey Flips T
he first Donkey Flips were done by Brad Ludden,and Keith Liles at the Immersion Research Triple Crown at Rock Island,
Tennessee. The event was designed to make paddlers do new moves and the Donkey Flip is a result. A Donkey Flip is a semi-aerial back deck roll done on the down slope of a breaking
wave.There are three different names for essen- tially the same manoeuvre: Funky Flop,Donkey Flip and Air Drill or
Screw.The Funky Flop lands you on your face and rolling up in the pile. The Donkey Flip is the same with more height, using the pile to roll up. And an Air Screw is a full rotation in the air, landing on the hull without the use of the pile or your paddle blade. A Donkey Flip won’t rip your arms off,but getting over that fear is usually the first and most difficult barrier to perfecting the move.
Step 1
Set-up your boat on the top of the breaking wave or pile. Accelerate down the pile to the green part of the wave pointing directly upstream. Keeping your paddle out in front and at about chest level helps with the bounce.
Step 2
Just as you reach the green with the bow of your boat, push your heels down aggressively using your head and body to weight your heels. When the bow meets green water resistance, lift up aggressively with your knees to get your bow as aerial as possible.
Step 3
As your boat releases from the water throw your body towards the back deck of the boat. Looking for the stern establishes the commit- ment to the move and leads the boat’s rotation. Practice this body throw on flat water, the goal should be too keep your head dry while doing a back deck roll. The rota- tion and winding up of the body— if you have done your flatwater homework—is the deciding factor of the dry-head back deck roll and the key to the Donkey Flip.
Step 4
If all is going well you have thrown head and shoulders toward the green water, your boat is aerial and you are sprawled on the back deck as it rotates above you. Your face, shoulders and paddle blades are all exposed and you are left with only two options: back deck roll or face plant. The back
Tips Become the grand master of your open face back deck roll. It will help your rodeo roll, kick flip and the donkey flip.
Step 1
Keeping your paddle shaft close to your forehead at first will help pro- tect your shoulders. Start off slowly and on flat water, if you have had shoulder problems avoid this move altogether.
deck roll must be kept in check, keep your arms around forehead height.
Step 5
With an open face or paddle power face to the bottom of the river, roll yourself up using your torso and a hip flick. Use the same torso and hip flick you used to keep your head dry on the flat- water roll. Be fast, tardiness at this point is punishing and landing like you were nailed to the cross is unceremonious at best.
Step 6
The energy put into the wind-up combined with flailing your body backwards tends to make landing and rolling up a bit crooked. The boat twists and typically lands sideways so don’t expect to land in a perfect front surf. Sticking a landing is just part of the learning process, the more you practice the better you’ll get.
The key to this move is timing the combination of bounce, wind-up and back deck roll.
It is possible to Donkey Flip on smaller features, be sure to use a boat with good hull speed. Bigger waves are better to learn on.
—Billy Harris is a Necky team paddler and two time Canadian Freestyle Champion.
by Billy Harris photos by Eric Zeitoun
Step 2
Step 4
Step 3 34
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Step 5
Step 6
Paddler: Billy Harris. Feature: Bus Eater at the Lorne, Ottawa River.
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