Article and photos: Simon Wyndham

If I told you that there was a type of boating that could solve a myriad of confidence and control issues, while simultaneously affording you more time in a boat than most years of river running, and being a whole load of fun to boot, would you be interested? Thought so.

Bio

Simon Wyndham is Deputy Editor of RedShark News. When he isn’t trying to mention kayaking in his day-to-day writing, he can be found on the Slightly White Water Kayaking Facebook group, where likeminded paddlers support each other’s development in a relaxed, encouraging environment. https://www.facebook.com/groups/566085703545526/

Freestyle is for everyone

When I first started kayaking I went through the usual ups and downs that afflict most boaters. Learning to read the water, trying to make the boat go where I wanted it and that demon that haunts pretty much every beginner, trying to get a consistent and reliable roll. As my kayaking developed I took on many different boats going on all sorts of rivers. I even dipped my toes into slalom. But there was one type of boat I didn’t go anywhere near, because I thought they were silly and short: a freestyle boat.

In fact my narrow mindedness was such that I used to hold the opinion that freestyle kayakers were not really in control and were simply capsizing in a stylised way. Yet I have gone from one of freestyle’s biggest sceptics to being one of its biggest supporters, and for very good reason. The benefits are so all encompassing that I have converted my local club from, in some cases not even wanting to sit in a playboat, into a fantastic peer supported group of enthusiastic freestylers. As a result I’ve seen people go from having almost zero confidence going upside down, to pretty much not being able to get enough of it!

And there’s some very good reasons for you to be giving it a go, too.

Indeed, if you have attended any coached kayaking course recently and listened to the list of things paddlers tell the coach they need to get better at, it reads like a what’s what of how freestyle can benefit you. From confidence through to boat control, it’s all here.

If you’re a sceptic, as I once was, and you don’t like the look of those short boats, you’ve come to the right place to have your conversion!

1. It improves your roll

It improves your rollGoing upside down, a lot, is an integral part of freestyle kayaking. And going upside down means your roll will get a lot of practice in a live environment, while going over in all sorts of weird and wonderful positions. My partner, Emily, was quite sceptical about playboats to begin with, until she went in my old G-Force to play on the bottom wave at CIWW. She was hooked and I barely saw the boat again. But importantly her roll went from being sporadically successful to being 80% reliable within a few weeks.

Going over in a feature means that not only is your actual rolling technique applied in a white water environment, but you are also learning to become more comfortable with being upside down in such an environment to begin with. Fear is born of the unknown and familiarity with such situations only help to make you comfortable when you are in such a place.

2. It’s a whole load of fun

This is an important one, and an aspect that often gets lost in amongst the talk of kayaking technique and methodology. Fun is, after all, one of the main reasons we get into our plastic tubs in the first place. Freestyle really does allow you to have a barrel of laughs.

Sometimes with river boating those with less confidence can feel conscious if they keep swimming. I’ve even known some groups to poke fun if someone merely capsizes.

Freestyle has none of those hangups. Going over a lot and getting thoroughly soaked is a part and parcel of it. Going over is cool. And if you swim? So what? Your roll will come on so much faster, especially in a supportive group of likeminded paddlers.

3. It improves your balance and control

Freestyle boating is great for gaining control over your balance in a boat in all sorts of positions. You’ll be balancing on extreme edges with lots of movement and after a while you’ll get to the point where you can recover the boat from going upside down from positions that would see most people going on their heads. More comfort and control of your boat in such positions, translates into being more comfortable and balanced in rough water in your normal river running boat.

On top of this, most playboating tricks require you to develop good rotation, and the ability to anticipate and rotate ahead of your boat. These are concepts that can apply to and are useful for any type of kayaking or canoeing.

4. You don’t need white water to have fun

This is a biggie. If you are one of the many people up and down the country who have to travel two hours or more to get to the nearest decent piece of moving water, freestyle offers you a chance to have a whole ton of fun even if you only have a lake or flat water river available.

Flat water freestyle allows you to receive many of the benefits of learning extreme boat control and rolling practice within a fairly benign environment. To do it well takes a lot of skill, but it does afford you the opportunity to learn the moves you’ll be using on waves and in holes, even when you don’t have any such features near to you.

Warm summer evening flat water freestyle sessions are glorious, and makes any piece of water into a fun playground.

5. You can practice in safe environments

You can practice in safe environmentsOne of the best aspects to freestyle kayaking is that a lot of features that are great for playing in are quite often in relatively safe environments, with plenty of flat space to pick up pieces from any swimming practice. Features such as the bottom wave on the Dee, through to CIWW and inlet gate at HPP are all pretty low pressure environments to practice in, with not too much to be concerned about if you get even wetter than you anticipated.

6. The boats aren’t uncomfortable

One of the big myths out there is that freestyle boats are uncomfortable. For the vast majority of people, if you get the right boat and outfit it properly a playboat shouldn’t be any different, comfort wise, than your big boat.

7. It helps your river skills

Practicing freestyle helps you read white water, particularly features such as waves and holes. Not only that, but it gives you a lot more tools to deal with, and be more confident if you ever end up getting side surfed in your big boat.

8. You get much more time on the water

Getting time on the water can be hard. If you work during the week you can’t just up sticks and go to the best river with the most water coming down it. The weather doesn’t plan its activity around your work or study schedule. But by getting yourself into a playboat you can get plenty of time in the boat come rain or shine, all year round, particularly in the summer months.

For sure you can take a big boat to CIWW or Lee Valley, but when you’ve caught every eddy and side surfed yourself into oblivion, getting into a short boat will give you a load more options for dynamic fun.

You don’t need the latest boat to enjoy it either. If you surf a boat on a wave, or even just do a spin or tail squirt, that’s freestyle, and you can enjoy such things in all manner of designs going back to the mid-2000s. Of course it goes without saying that a modern boat will give you a bit more flexibility, particularly if you want to be practicing on the flat or you want to learn the latest moves. But the concept of freestyle can be enjoyed in a wide variety of designs.

Importantly, even if you feel you are too old and inflexible, I have some news for you. You aren’t. You can make as much of freestyle as you want to. Getting vertical on the tail, or just surfing and spinning are perfectly cool ways to have fun in the boat if you don’t feel physically up to trying aerial loops. For youngsters, getting them in a playboat early is really good way to build confidence and control, as well as having a ton of fun.

Top names

Here’s a simple fact. Mention any top ‘name’ in the modern paddling world, from Bren Orton to Aniol Serrasolses, through to Nouria Newman, Adrienne Levknecht, Evan Garcia, Benny Marr and a whole host of others, and you will find one thing they all have in common. They either started out in, or subsequently practice to a good or even high level, freestyle kayaking. There’s almost no exception to this rule. And there’s a good reason for it.

So the next time you find yourself trying to talk yourself out of having a go in a playboat, give it a go. You never know, it might be the most fun you’ve ever had in a boat.