Keeping your end up.

I’ve recently had quite a few friends asking me for tips to nail the flat-water loop, and it seems like a skill that a lot of people are keen to get under their belt. In the build up to doing a ‘floop’ it’s essential to have a sturdy bow stall dialled before hand, so first things first, a look at the basic principles of keeping your end up.

When lifting the bow for a double pump to get the nose down, it’s important to remember that you don’t need too much edge. Keeping your head over the boat whist edging at about 45 degrees provides the perfect combination of edge and stability.

Here, I’ve unwound my body and transferred the force down into my legs and feet to push the bow down. Notice the slight difference from a conventional flat water cartwheel in that instead of being back with my head looking around for the next end, my body is leant forward and my left blade is slamming into the water to stop the boat rotating any further.

The stable mid point, my body is in a neutral position and my paddle is parallel to my shoulders directly below my head. I’m concentrating on keeping the weight on my feet, like a balancing bean, but through the two paddle blades and my weight through the boat I have a triangle of stability that I can use to keep balance… like a head stand!

When bow stalling it’s important to keep your paddles in the water as a lever. A reverse rule comes into play due to your body’s buoyancy so if I want to go more vertical I lean back, pulling on the paddle blades as I do so. I would use this if I felt the boat flattening out.

And likewise if you feel you’re going over vertical you can push the paddle and your body towards your feet, making the boat flatten out due your buoyancy in the water. With these principles in mind it’s a case of practice makes perfect, focusing on making your movements subtle so not to end up flapping back and forth just to end it all with an undignified splash!

These are basic principles that make it seem very easy, but with plenty of practice to refine your balance it can become second nature. Practicing stern stalls along side this, with the same theory flipped over, is a good way of hammering the core muscles in to shape to give you some good backup when things don’t go to plan, whether on waves or the steep stuff.

When you think you’ve nailed it, let your dog take your paddle away and then try to keep balance!

Falls of Lora pics coming soon and following technique article will be nailing the flat water loop.

Catch you on the water

Ed