FREESTYLE’S TOUGHEST MOVES
McNasty
WITH RUTH GORDON EBENS PHOTOS SCOTT SADY
Back Pan Am
WITH ADAM CHAPPELL PHOTOS JOHN RATHWELL
The back pan am is essentially a tricky back blunt, where your boat goes inverted during the rotation.
1] Find a nice, big wave and set up backwards at the top. The easiest way to do this is to move to the top of the wave in a front surf, then spin 180 degrees.
[2] Shoot stern-first down the face—a back stroke on the right will help you get enough speed to bounce.
[3] Bounce on the green water and load your bow by staying forward and stomping hard on your feet. At the same time, turn your head and look over your right shoulder. This winds up your body for the rotation.
[4] Pull the boat over top of you by throwing your body back and pull- ing your knees toward your chest. Unwinding your body during this step helps pull the boat over your shoul- ders and begin its rotation. Take a powerful forward stroke by your left foot at the same time to assist a quick rotation.
[5] Land on your stern and immediately take a forward recovery stroke with your right blade. The sooner you pull the recovery, the better. Sit forward and maintain a controlled front surf.
Having trouble? It’s super critical to unwind your body through the trick. Start cranked up to the right to throw, un-crank during the middle of the trick and, as you land, crank to the left to get a powerful recovery stroke.
Adam Chappell has learned a whole bag of tricks in his two-year paddling career. He competed at the 2010 World Cup and is an alternate for the Canadian Freestyle Team at this year’s World Championships.
The venerable mcnasty has been around since 2002, when Eric Jackson invented the move—a bow pivot into a front loop—in his backyard rapids at Rock Island, Tennessee, and showcased it later that year at the IR Triple Crown. For a long time, I studied footage of
this move in awe, as the mechanics of it seemed way beyond me. I was finally able to demystify this trick by breaking it down into manageable parts.
[1] Sidesurf in a hole with a foam pile. Rotate your body downstream to set up for a powerful reverse sweep.
[2] Use the reverse sweep to push your bow into the foam pile so that your stern is upstream in a back blast. Your legs assist with the back blast: shift your weight slightly forward and push down on your heels, driving your feet under the foam pile. This will keep your stern from catching in the upstream flow.
[3]
It’s easiest to continue in the same direction started by your reverse sweep, using the spin momentum from that stroke. Look back up- stream, rotate your torso and reach to your toes for a powerful forward sweep. This stroke pulls your bow deeper under the foam.
[4] Drop your upstream edge slightly. This edge is going to catch, so there is a fine line between too much edge and just enough. The dropping of the edge allows you to pivot around your bow.
[5] Hold the forward sweep as long as you can and keep pushing down on your heels.
[6] When your boat pivots to where you are vertical and pointed upstream, jump forward to initiate a loop. If your loop lacks pop or your mcnastys are crooked, make sure you are facing all the way upstream before jumping.
Ruth Gordon Ebens, an Ottawa River native, is the 2007 Women’s Freestyle World Champion and 2009 Silver Medalist. She has her sights set on gold in Germany this June.
www.rapidmag.com 33
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48