Loop Lunar Orbit
WITH NICK TROUTMAN PHOTOS EMILY JACKSON
The loop lunar orbit is an awesome aerial hole combo that is sure to get you more chicks than a Nickelback concert. The beauty of it is that once you have it dialed, you can cartwheel into a mcnasty, and then keep adding more moves to infinity.
[1] Start by plugging your bow for the loop.
[2] Stand up tall and jump forward. The higher you go and farther upstream you jump, the better because the lunar orbit will pull you downstream.
[3] Throw your body forward and pull back on your paddle blade. This launches your bow around over your head. Using only one blade to pull the loop stroke is key; this will set you up for the combo.
[4] From here, you actually want to land on your stern, rather than finishing all the way flat on your hull.
[5] When you are vertical on your stern with your paddle behind you from pulling the loop stroke, quickly use that same paddle blade for a reverse stroke. This is the stern pry that initi- ates the lunar orbit.
[6] The farther back your paddle blade when you push, the more vertical your boat will go. Keep your paddle blade in the water the entire time or you will fall over on your head.
[7] Finish the reverse stroke and turn it into a forward draw to pull yourself around vertically.
[8] Lean forward as you turn your for- ward draw back into a reverse stroke for your bow smash.
Nick Troutman is the current Freestyle Kayak World Champion, a title he snatched from team- mate and father-in-law Eric Jackson at the 2009 Worlds and will defend this year in Plattling, Germany.
Helix
WITH STEVE FISHER PHOTO DESRE PICKERS
Ten years ago, I was hanging out in a bar with some mates in Zambia, using a Mosi Lager coaster to work out a new move. The following morning, I paddled down to the Zambezi’s Rapid 12B, dropped onto the wave and stuck the move first try. Ironically, it was this wave—on this very day—that would have hosted the 2001
World Freestyle Championships had Spain not won the bid two years before. Too bad, the newly crowned helix would have had the judges scratching their heads! A helix is an upside down spin where the boat does a 360-degree rotation on two of
its three axes. It’s basically an extension of an aerial flip turn. The hardest part is figuring it out in your head.
[1] Begin at the top of a fairly large, fast wave.
[2] Speeding down the face, stern rud- der to turn the boat and initiate your spin momentum. A slight bounce at this point helps.
[3] Once your boat is pointing across the wave, use an aggressive hip flick to over edge the carve—digging your upstream rail into the water, then leaning downstream. This will flip the boat over your head and send you airborne. Lift your paddle out of the water.
[4]
It’s at this step that the helix and flip turn diverge. Aggressively twist your body into the spin to continue rotat- ing the boat on a horizontal plane.
[5] As the boat comes around a full 360 degrees, switch active hands and grab the water with the opposite blade from your stern rudder. This is the key to finishing the horizontal rotation of the boat and rolling you upright. You should land flat and facing upstream.
People often mistake a good flip turn for a bad helix. To helix, the stern of your boat must not touch the water as it comes around on the upstream side. If it catches, your bow will come over your head vertically—that’s a radical flip turn.
Steve Fisher is busy promoting his new film, Halo Effect, winner of this year’s Reel Paddling Film Festival Best Whitewater Film Award. To see the film trailer, visit
www.rapidmag.com/0020.
www.rapidmag.com www.rapidmag.com 31
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