Greg's Saturday clinic was excellent. We had a large group of people-- from a first timer, to old pros and even kayak surfers. Boats ranged from clunky plastic rentals to sleek 20 foot kevlar Neckies, Sedas and even a Vahalla surf ski. I recognized Dave O'Connor, Steve Wilson, Duane (of course), Mike Brown, myself-- in the bathroom mirror much later, and a Euro Kayaker I met a few months ago at a wild surf session at the Aqua Hedionda lagoon mouth.

I've been paddling for years, but was trained in the old school method-- long, low sweep stroke, keep elbows below shoulders, don't cross hands over the centerline, speak only when spoken to, etc. Great for easy long day paddling, not so good for racing. But, it worked for years and never got me injured. I cheat a little on those rules or I wouldn't be able to keep up with my buddies. Greg took me on as a project-- could he teach an old dog new tricks? To some extent, yes, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

After a very well-communicated and blessedly concise, informative dock lecture and on-land demo of proper techniques, Greg got us out on the water to warm up a bit, then brought us over near the police station (to help keep order?) and got right down to business.

He took us through stretching exercises, high angle paddle positioning and hand grip, foot pressure and other body motion, early catch, parallel stroke, proper paddle lift timing and technique, etc., one thing at a time- -watch, try it out, critique, try again. That isn't easy when you have 15 or 20 people in a class. He had a new, skilled assistant, Jesse. Greg usually has smaller sessions and/or more instructors, but this was a freebie, so no one was moaning about it.

He also had us deliberately do wrong moves, so that we could contrast them to the right way-- it worked very well (now if I can only remember which was which). For example, he had us paddle as fast as possible, leaning all the way forward, then way back, to compare these to erect posture (of the body trunk, of course) technique.

I found that the moves made sense, but it was hard to put them all together effectively, in a single session. Now I see why Greg gave the first lesson for free, just like the drug dealers always initially gave out complimentary samples, in the old videos we saw in school (16 mm filmstrips in my case- Reefer Madness-yeah!).

I brought a shiny new boat, sleeker and tippier than my Eclipse. Plus, Greg talked me into switching to a feathered paddle, which I have given up on more than once, to protect my ancient arthritic joints. That, along with all of the new paddling techniques, was a bit much to absorb all at once. Not a good idea. Don't try this at home.

In spite of all that, I managed to incorporate several of Greg's techniques into my repertoire. I noticed that the newbies, on the average, actually were progressing better than the more experienced folks, probably because they didn't have as many bad habits to unlearn and possibly because they still had more brain cells remaining.

My 230 cm touring paddle was poorly suited for Greg's high speed technique, so I tried a couple of other paddles briefly during the class. One ultralight, cupped carbon fiber $350 work of art was at least 20-25% easier to paddle than my huge Werner Kauai. I thought it was slipping, but Greg assured me that I was going just as fast as before. I won't believe him until I return with GPS on deck. The shaft was so short, it hardly seemed to reach the water, but it practically forced me to use a higher angle of attack, which is GOOD, I learned.

The attractive, outdoorsy-looking blonde I conceitedly thought was videotaping me for later, discreet viewing, was actually Jen Kleck of Aqua Adventures, recording the class for later fun and participant self improvement, or possibly as a defense against frivolous lawsuits from Mike Brown, who showed up late, demanding a refund for a free class. He actually did rather well. Mike came down to pick up a damaged, repaired boat, that he ended up buying for about -$300, if I understand this highly complex transaction and I'm not certain that I really do. They don't call him "Boat Bender" for nothing.

Anyway, Greg had us do a couple of runs past Jen, who recorded our antics for posterity and educational purposes, then lured us into their shop to see the video, which is like leading alcoholics through a bar.

The video was more effective than any conceivable criticism from Greg or Jen. Wish I could get a copy, for the "Before and After" video we'll produce after I win the Bay-to-Bay Senior Sea Kayak Division for the Mentally and Physically Impaired, in some distant future year. Seriously, I'm still mentally replaying it, to glean improvement ideas and wondering how I make any forward progress at all with my current technique. The video images resembled a wildly porpoising Unlimited Class Hydroplane, making remarkable progress through the water, but consuming vast amounts of energy and presenting a clear and present danger to anything near its path.

From what I saw, every single person made noticeable progress in the class. I heard some express interest in achieving further progress. Count me in that number.

Regards,
    George Miller

Submitted on June 09, 2003