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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
and another . . .
Posted By: Jed In Response To: Re: A different thought... (Greg Stamer)
Date: Tuesday, 9 January 2001, at 6:55 p.m.
: That said, many of us like to play in exactly those conditions that require
: braces and rolls. I have never bought into the "having to roll is a
: sign of failure" argument. I will often simply roll, when an overhead
: breaking wave is about to explode on me, to take the punishment on the
: bottom of the hull rather than staying upright by performing a heroic
: brace. In cases like these a deliberate roll can result in less energy
: expended and less chance of injury.It was over this issue ("to need to roll is a measure of failure") that I locked horns with the honorable Shawn Baker some time ago. As it turned out we disagreed less than our posts might have implied. I agree with you Greg on this. There are times when a roll is more efficient or just more convenient and even more times when it is the safer alternative.
I have admitted before to my transgressions vis-a-vis gratuitous rolling during my freshman year as a roller. Once I was convinvced that my roll would work as advertised, I started to work on braceing to the point where I refused to roll at all except during legitimate rolling practice. Now I can honestly say that I have a reliable and shoulder-safe high brace. But it was the ability to roll that allowed me to learn how to high brace safely.
I have a difficult time believing that someone can become an expert at anything without stepping over the line and crashing once in a while. So while I too have met people that say they have never capsized, I have never met an expert paddler that made that claim. I'm not saying it's not possible, I just think the fastest way to learn is to dance at the edge of the envelope.
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