Top 3 Tips for Becoming a Better Kayaker Today (Hint: it's whitewater kayaking)

Whitewater kayaking has a reputation as being a "daredevil" sport. For myself, the last 25+ years enjoying the sport has been less thrill seeking and more outdoor therapy and exercise. It forces one to be in the moment. When I lived in BC I had a stress filled job working with ajudicated youths who had a background of trauma, neglect, and abuse. I whitewater kayaked typically 3 days a week. It served as a way to de-stress and think about nothing other than what I was doing at that moment. It wasn't always about paddling the hardest whitewater. I enjoyed the amount of progression and small challenges the sport offered.

Although I don't get in as many river days now with small children, I still enjoy the sport for the same reasons. And when I teach the sport, especially to folks who already have some kayaking experience, the growth in their confidence and sense of accomplishment at the end of training, is profound. 

Photo: Doug Smith

If you're new to kayaking, or if you've been kayaking for awhile but have never tried whitewater, here's the top three reasons why you should:

#1: It forces us to employ the "Golden Rules" of kayaking. The golden rules of kayaking are: 1) Maintain an active blade 2) Use torso rotation 3) Separate the movements of the upper and lower body. Whitewater kayaking demands all of these rules to be in play, always. For example, the paddle is our gas pedal, brake, and steering wheel (and sometimes outrigger!). If we're not maintaining an active blade in moving water, the river will do whatever it wants with us. When we get a sense of how to employ these rules, our kayaking greatly improves no matter the discipline of the sport we pursue (sea kayaking, lake touring, etc). 

#2: Spending time in little kayaks improves control and stability. This translates into greater skill and confidence in larger kayaks such as sea or recreational kayaks. Time spent in whitewater kayaks in a moving water environment will make any amount of time spent in waves, wind, or swell in a larger kayak, more manageable.

 #3: It's fun! Whitewater kayaking is really fun. Nothing makes me feel more alive than getting a bit of cool water spalshed in my face. Figuring out how to front surf a small standing river wave (which we teach in our training courses) is addictively fun. The maneuverability of whitewater kayaks is ridiculous (compared to other kayaks) and with the right people around to lead and help out initially, positive experiences are guaranteed.

Thanks for reading and subscribing to our tips. All the best,

Matt DeLong