White Nile Christmas sessions

So here we are... Christmas on the White Nile with the mighty Nile Special just 10 min paddle away running all day long... We are all slowly getting used to the slow rhytm of this country... We are also getting better on the wave. The long time without paddling is still apparent though. The weather is not as hot as I expected, it is like 25C, really pleasant. One of my friends - Jirka broke a paddle against his forehead while running Kalagala falls... Otherwise nothing serious happened so far.
We are all going to have a spit roasted pig for lunch today... and then guess what... the wave awaits us. Big up for Slunda for those photos... ingenious work.
So long and Merry Christmas.... Stay tuned for a video update.

C-1 Calendar

Hey
The C1/OC1 2008 Wall Calendar just issued. I made it to the October page... So check it out here.
I am getting ready for the trip to Uganda... This time next week I should be on the equator.
Stay tuned for frequent updates from the Nile.
So long

Technique-Small waves basics-onside roundhouse

Hey,
So after a long time I found enough determination to write something new... I ve been out of the WW business for over 2 months so sorry for not having attended the site for such a long time.

Anyway... First of all this article is for those who have started the difficult path of C1 freestyle. The roundhouse is a way to have fun even on small and/or shallow waves. If you want to learn blunts someday the roundhouse is a good start to improve your stability and general behavior on small waves before you try bigger ones.

Roundhouse is basically a low angle blunt (or even more basically slightly angled dynamic half-flatspin)performed on the green water (the part of the wave not covered by foam).
To get the general idea how it looks like watch this video.


The first important thing about the roundhouse as well as any wave maneuver is to get up the wave to the top. I already wrote an article on this see: here
DO NOT attempt to do a roundhouse while surfing on the green water without any upstream speed because you will not learn how to get the speed without losing balance which is MOST important for a C1er to progress to more difficult moves.

Phase 1:
So now you are somewhere up the wave. The first important thing is the angle of the descent to the green water where you want to do the move. There is a comprehensible rule for that: If you want to do a right roundhouse "aim" your boat slightly to the left and consequently in case of a left roundhouse you go slightly to the right.


Phase 2:
Now you are descending down the wave. Since we are talking about small waves it wont be much of a descent...:)) But you need to get as much speed as possible.

Here comes the first problem of the onside roundhouse/blunt. You cant use a paddle stroke for higher speed like the kayakers do because it would a) get you out of balance b) affect the onset angle c) move your paddle backwards where you cannot use it for the rotation. However you can plant a stroke while still on the foam pile but such a stroke wont affect the speed much... You can increase the speed by leaning forward dynamically on the foam pile.

The second important thing is the "edge transition" which simply means that you firstly engage left edge of the boat for a right blunt and right for the left. You engage the respective edge by pushing it into the water (your weight on the respective edge) while the other edge stays out of water. The body position at this stage should be neutral (no leaning forward at this stage!! The weight shift should be done by pushing by the respective knee and tilting the boat a bit).

Left edge/rail not engaged (left roundhouse)

Right edge/rail engaged (left roundhouse)

Phase 3: IMPORTANT
Then when you ve felt the strength of the water forcing the boat into a carve/turn to the respective side you have to change the edges fiercely. This creates enough energy to do the roundhouse. As you change the edges you also plant the paddle (you actually lean on the paddle thus changing the edges). You should plant your paddle somewhere near your hips. The closer to the boat you plant it the more vertical the move will be (but also the more demanding as far as strength and dynamics is considered.) Body position- lean aggressively forward just as the boat starts to turn to your onside (on bigger waves while doing air blunts it should be backwards..)

After the edge transition you have enough energy to complete the move.

Onside edge engaged. Paddle position indicated

Phase 4: The rotation
One of the mistakes I used to make was that I simply thought that during the rotation I shoul apply the strength just as during the bow end of the onside cartwheel. During the cartwheel you should apply the strength continually but during wave maneuvers you must pack all the strength in one dynamic impulse (if you don t you usually end up with a washout...). Your paddle serves as a pivot point of the rotation.

The rotation

Phase 5: Paddle movements
This is the most problematic phase of any onside wave move. If a kayaker does a blunt he may use the second blade for the "recovery" stroke thus regaining balance and staying on the wave. What often happens in a C1 is that you lose your balance after completing the rotation and you fall to your offside like a bag of shit...
There are three basic strategies how to avoid losing balance.
A) You move the paddle to your offside and use it as a backwards rudder. Tip: shift your hand that holds the paddle up the shaft as you complete the rotation before trying to use it to regain balance. Another tip: If you feel dragged to your offside by the water pushing against the blade let go of the shaft!! Then fling the arm to your onside- this often saves the day... can be seen in the video above...

Blade to your offside - backwards rudder

B) Hand stroke. This technique is more advanced. You simply do the recovery stroke with the palm of the hand on the T-grip just as the kayakers do their stroke with a paddle. I personally use a combination of these two techniques. You can see it in the video.

Hand and paddle movements

C) Spin-out. For me this is the most difficult technique. It is, however, most natural. As you end the 180 degree rotation you simply cleanspin round and end in front surf... :))


So this is it... hope it helps... Please let me know if it did.
Thanks
So long
Z.

Devil´s Extreme race 2007

C1 Freestyle proudly presents:

Dear friends and courageous paddlers,

In cooperation with CNAWR, we prepared for you the first year of an extreme kayakcross and slalom competition. The competition takes place from the 31.8. – 1.9. 2007 on the river Moldau (Vltava) on the well known rapid – Devil´s cataract. All proffesionals are invited as well as other paddlers. Flawless paddling, action alpine superpipe start, great party with DJ Happy and Dj Eja, mixed drinks, sunny weather and warm water (21°C) guaranteed.

Starting fee- 500CZK (23euro), CNAWR members 350CZK

INCLUDES- campingplace, dinner, breakfast, a drink at the party, SHOCK drink, souvenir from the event

Program:

Friday: meeting, free training, dinner

Saturday: morning- meeting at the starting point in Loučovice

Track inspection with slalom following (touch the banner style)

Special start alpine free pipe

Afternoon free training

Evening party on the football stadium in Loučovice with barbecue (included in starting fee), bar, mixed drinks, DJs, camping on the location

Sunday: kayakcross cca. At 12:00

Results, prizegiving, huge raffle, free riding

Registration deadline 28.8.07

See you there

The Czech Freestyle Championship 2007

Hi again,
this weekend we organized a great event in Prague. It was both National Championship and a part of the CNAWR Rodeo Tour. There were serious problems with the playspot since the obstacle that was supposed to shape the playhole was installed on Wednesday with only two attemps to "tune" the playspot. So in the end the competition had to be done on our local shallow wave, because the desired playspot wasn´t any good.
The best thing about the event was the ramp we built. It was not the usual type of ramp that throws you in the air... The end of our ramp was leveled with the water so that you bounced of the water and had a chance to do completely aerial wave tricks.
The event itself consisted of funslalom, boatercross, team race, freestyle and big air contest. I ended up second in the freestyle competition, the C1 category was won by Stepan Fiedler (8 times Czech champion) who is a brand new father and hasn´t been training for over a year.... Respect...

I really enjoyed the ramp and i landed some very good pan-ams airblunts and even one clean airblunt... wooohoo

I also managed to win the whole event (combination of all the competitions) for which the prize was a nice Axon backpack... a great gift for my mom....

Photos follow... thanks Peter....

Karel Boukal aka Jan Bouchal (Old Bastards category 1st place)

Tomo Andrassy clean blunt (1st place K1m)

Stepan Vohradsky entry kickflip (2nd place K1m)

Maty Kucera donkeyflip (4th place K1m)

Stepan Fiedler blunt (C1 1st place -for the eighth time in a row...)

Jan Spindler(3rd place K1m) airscrew bounced from the ramp

Tomo ramp helix

Peter Prauze ramp panam

My two nice onside panams

Jan Bubnik fisherking

Me launching big clean back something...:)

The Slovak Championship 2007

I went to the Slovak championship for the weekend 5.-6.8.
It was a great competition and I particularly liked the kayakcross which was immense fun. The playspot was really not my cup of tea since it was quite shallow and it was pulsating a lot. But I still think it is a better hole than we will ever have in Prague.
In holeriding I ended on the 8th place, basically not completing a single move... well shame on me. The C1 category was won by Jakub Micka.
I did far better in the C1 kayakcross. I won the first heat! And I won it against three creekboats... That was the one piece of satisfaction I needed... Huh I ended last in the finals though.... The party was really great and that´s what matters the most....

Here are some pictures from the event....

Before the eddy I was the last one...

But I managed the eddy better than the others...

Stepan Fiedler (red boat) -the winner of the C1 kayakcross

You can find more photos here.

An article about the 2007 Czech Open Freestyle Championship coming soon

C1 lady experience

Cheers people...
This article was written by a C1 lady beginner. I asked her to write it because I think it might interest you since you cannot see a girl paddling a C1 every day.... Translation to English done by me....
Enjoy


English version

I ve been living right next to a river for my whole life, but I got involved in paddling as late as in 2004, when a guy took me on a canoeing trip. So I started with touring recreational paddling. And since I liked the rocking of the boat as well as the guy, I was dragged into the paddler´s world. I frequently went paddling with him and watched him paddling a kayak and in my mind I saw myself riding on the waves.

After a short time I said to myself I should try a kayak. My boyfriend was happy with that and he seated me into a kayak called Bert, thinking this is the best boat for me. I paddled an easy WWI… But the Bert is one hell of a boat and I am 161 cm tall and 53 kg (115 pounds) so you might imagine how I did in that… Well.. and there were like ten people on the bank shouting „Lean downstream!“ and even though I got the hang of handling the boat, the boat did not react… So I ceased my efforts saying to myself I will try it again, but I not soon… But I wanted to paddle all the same… And then came the great idea of trying a C1… Whooa! C1 ROCKS!
Right at the moment I first knelt into the boat I imediately knew this is what I want. I don´t mind kneeling in the boat. I actually find it more comfortable because my back, unlike in kayak, doesn´t hurt. The knees are pretty much all right but ankles are giving me one hell of a hard time. But I can handle this. Well… I won´t freak out for such thing. I like being higher, I got better view of what´s coming and the overall control of the boat is better.

So i began to learn despite my friend discouraging me all time. As my friend Fantomas (nick) says :“ Barenka, you´re doing well, but fuck C1 and go to kayak.“ C1 is a challenge to me. And even though all others think I am out of my wits, I find the movement in a C1 more natural.

This year I´d like to run Hamr creek, Vavrinec creek ( famous czech creeks class WWII-WWIII that are runnable in autumn when the lakes release water) and other runs. The roll is still to be perfected, but I can surely handle that. I am most enthusiastic about C1. Fantomas taught me to roll, right after I bought my boat. It was a great motivation for me. I lerned it in an hour so I was even more enthusiastic.

I like C1 despite that everybody says I won´t keep up with the kayakers. So what?! I´ll simply paddle because I like it not because I want to rock the river more than somebody else.

I paddle my way- relaxed and laid back. The Wavesport Z I recently bought seems to be an ideal boat for me and I am still training on flatwater and easier runs. I don´t want any rush. To chase some goal… wait … I got one… My dream is to run the Devil´s stair (class WWIII-WWIV rapid in south Bohemia. Location of one of the World Championships in rafting) But I don´t need to rush into it. On the other hand I am pretty sure I will handle it someday.

When I ran Jizera rapid ( class WWII-III river in northern Bohemia runable in spring) it was great and it gave me motivation once again and I thought I mustn´t be satisfied with what I got. I feel I´ll do much better if I put enough effort into it. If you get my point :).

It´s a shame many people think C1 is dead… What a bullshit. Why? It certainly is harder and slower than kayak but in this age of speed we should relax a bit.

Relax all the same….

On the other hand I do not completely forsake kayak. I will probably learn it someday…

So I hope there will be more and more C1 paddlers and even C1 lady paddlers on the river.

As I say : Hail C1 and be happy. :)

Barenka

On the Jizera river

Training in Ceske Budejovice

Czech version

Celý život bydlím u řeky, ale k pádlování jsem se dostala až v roce 2004, kdy mě můj kamarád vzal na kanoe. Takže jsem s tím začala rekreačně.

A protože se mi houpání lodí zalíbilo a zalíbil se mi i kamarád, vtáhl mě do světa vodáků. Často jsem s ním jezdila a koukala jak pádluje na kajaku a viděla sama sebe, jak si dávám tu, nebo jinou vlnku.

Po delší době jsem si řekla, že zkusím kajak. Přítel to přivítal a v domění, že mě posadí do té správné lodě jménem Bert, mě vyslal ve Vrbným na jedničku. Jenže Bert je blbuvzdorná loď a já jsem 161 cm vysoká a vážím 53 kg. Takže si dokážete představit, co to pro mě bylo. Navíc se na břeh vyskládalo asi deset lidí, co na mě řvalo: „Nákon!!!“ a i když jsem to měla všechno vyčíhnutý, jakej náklon, Bert prostě nic.

Takže jsem s tím sekla a řekla si, že to asi zase někdy zkusím, ale za hodně dlouho.

Jenže jezdit jsem chtěla. A tak jsem měla spásnej nápad. Co zkusit singla.

UAU! Singl je ale věc!!!

Když jsem na to sedla, okamžitě jsem věděla, že to je ono. Klečení mi nevadí. Vyhovuje mi to víc, protože když jsem později ještě zkoušela kajak, bolely mě hrozně záda. V singlu mě záda nebolí. Kolena jsou taky v poho, jen nárty. Ale to se dá zvládnout. Přece nejsem žádný mejdlo. Vyhovuje mi když jsem výš, mám větší přehled o tom, co mě čeká a celkové ovládání lodi v zákleku je lepší.

A tak jsem se začala učit, i přez odrazování mého okolí. Jak říká můj kamarád Fantomas: „Bařenko, máš našlápnuto, ale vyser se na singla a jezdi na kajaku.“

Singl je pro mě výzva. A i když všichni kroutí hlavou, je to pro mě přirozenější pohyb, než na kajaku.

Asi na tom něco bude.

Letos bych určitě chtěla jet na Hamerák, Vavřinec a všechny tyhle prásky. Zvedání musim sice ještě dopilovat, ale to se zmákne. Jsem hrozně nadšená. Eskymovat mě naučil Fantomas, hned jak jsem si koupila loď. Bylo to pro mě hrozně motivující. Naučila jsem se to za hodinu, takže moje nadšení stouplo ještě víc.

Baví mě to a i když mi říkají, že nebudu stačit kajakářům. Co na tom. Prostě budu pádlovat, protože mě to baví a ne proto, abych někomu natřela prdel.

Pádluju si pěkně pomalu a v poklidu. Svojí loď, co mi sedí jak hrnec na prdel Wave sprot Z, jsem si koupila v lednu a tak se učím zatím na klidné vodě a na menších peřejích. Nechci nic uspěchat. Hnát se za něčim. Hm.

Mám se za čím hnát. Můj sen je sjet Čerťáky. Ale nepotřebuju to uspěchat. Na druhou stranu ale vím, že to jednou zvládnu. Když jsem jela horní Jizeru, bylo to super a opjet mě to nakoplo a řekla jsem si, že nesmim usnout na vavřínech. Cítím, že když budu chtít, bude to fakt dobrý. Teda jestli mi rozumíte :o)

Mrzí mě, že si někteří lidi myslí, že singl nemá budoucnost.

Co je to za hovadinu. Proč? Je to sice těžší, učit se na tom a v závěru pomalejší než kajak, ale v dnešní uspěchané době,.... :o)

Prostě pohoda.

Na druhou stranu, kajak určitě nezatracuju. Asi se to taky jednou naučim na sedometu, abych pořád nepádlovala nakřivo :o)

Takže doufám, že se singlířů a singlířek objeví víc a podpoří to snažení, aby bylo víc singlířů na řekách.

A jak říkám, přijpíjejte na singlíře a buďte šťastní :o)

Bařenka

Plattling playspot all inclusive

Hi,
Last weekend my friends and me went to Plattling. Since the weather forecast promised rains on Saturday and the water level was good we were looking forward to a great weekend on one of the best playspots in Europe.

Leaving Prague with an extra boat.


Jakub Nemec launching a McNasty

In the middle of the river there was a nice wave with a green shoulder that allowed dynamic right blunts


Eva Fillova- Slovak team member- going huge

Ain´t this beautiful...?


The Plattling playspot allows HUGE airloops- Karas in mid-air

The promised rains came on Saturday night. Three storms collided just above our heads. The wind almost blew our tents away. It didn´t stop the party though...:)

Next weekend I am going to Bratislava to participate on Slovak Championship 2007. They say the competition hole has improved since last year (it was a small and shallow hole) and that now it allows right blunts on the left shoulder. So I count on my right cleanblunt during the competition... :)
to be honest- the main reason I go there is not the actual competition but the PARTY. It is certainly going to be great.

Well one last piece of information. I persuaded the single C1 lady paddler I know to write a short article about her C1 experience. So look forward to the article, the translation will be ready by Thursday.

So long,
Z.

Technique-C1 Creeking tips (Czech and English version)

Hi again.
I finally managed to get some other C1 paddler to write an article for this site. The author of this introduction to C1 creeking skills is one of the best Czech (and European) C1 creekers- Peter Kment. He is a specialist on Norway and Austria. Thanks Peter!!

Enjoy the article and photos and good luck on the river.

English version (translation by me :))

Some time ago Jan asked me to write an article about whitewater paddling. C1 paddling of course. I wasn´t quite eager to write it, I came to think only about some general stuff, nothing that applies only to C1. In the end I tried to write something down, so you´ll see, if you like it. Don´t expect any glorification of canoes for creeking. We should reconcile with the fact that on some rivers you´ll be able to keep up with the kayakers, on others you won´t (at least that´s my experience).

If you´re just starting whitewater paddling and consider trying a C1, you better think about it. If you choose C1 you are going to be really limited on the river. There are more people, who used to paddle a C1 and changed to kayak, than you´d think. They switched to K1 because they reached the limits of their abilities. The limits are set far more straightly on a C1. In other words- with the same abilities you´ll do much more difficult runs on a K1 or you´ll do the same but more easily J . In this case it is better to start on a kayak straight away.

The disadvantages of C1 are apparent. The higher center of gravity and single-bladed paddle are the most important. The advantages are a bit hidden, but they aren´t that few. Only when you use these advantages correctly you´ll keep up with the kayakers. It is true that we cannot gain as much speed as a kayaker, but if a single powerful stroke is needed we have an advantage. The key thing is of course the timing of such stroke, there usually isn´t time to fix a badly planted stroke. Maybe an even more advantageous thing is that we can change the balance and tilt the boat more efficiently. Leaning forward or backward can be often really useful. The kayakers may also do all these things but less efficiently. The kneeling position is not that bad after all. Compared to a kayaker a C1er has a far better view and can react sooner to all kinds of obstacles. This is a kind of compensation for our lesser speed. These advantages are best used on technical runs of all grades. On the other hand some bigwater river with great strength can be a problem and the disadvantages will be apparent.

There are lots of things you have to learn in order to become a successful rider. This applies for both K1 and C1, but a kayaker has a better opportunity to correct a mistake. The C1ers thus have to paddle with precision and avoid mistakes at all costs. There are three basic techniques you have to master. Without mastering these techniques it is going to be really hard.

1. You have to learn to read the water and develop a sense for it. A line the kaykers have picked up may not be the best for a C1er. You can´t fight the water as easily and you will always be more confident on your onside. There is no shame in scouting the runs a lot and searching for YOUR line that often differs from that of your fellas. Try to find a line where you will be able to use the current to the maximum not forced to fight it. Try to go through the eddies. This can often help to get the correct inrun angle before a difficult spot. The rule that you should track your line upstream applies to all. You should begin at the end of the difficult part and than track your line all the way up and think about where to run it.
2. The second essential technique is boofing (boof is a technique when you hit the landing spot with the hull after a jump). C1 can be boofed quite easily, precisely thanks to the efficient weight transition combined with a single powerful stroke. If you do all this accurately you can boof even oblique or sideways jumps. Find the precise timing for the initiation of the boof while tracking your line and than don´t miss it! You´ll thus stay on the surface after you land, the boat will be more controllable and you can work on what´s in front of you straight away. Boofing is also safer in a C1, it doesn´t hurt even from high jumps ( 8 or more meters into foam). An essential thing is that you have to lean forward a lot just before the landing. This helps to absorb the impact. The 10 inches of foam under the butt can absorb impacts quite well. It is useful to learn the crossdeck boof. Sometimes you have to do the last stroke on your offside. It is essential to gain experience in jumping. At first try to do loads of jumps on low and less difficult jumps. Only when you won´t be making any mistakes and the rides will be reliable you can try higher jumps. For instance find a nice safe jump and ride it a few times in a row. A 100% boof is, according to me, absolutely essential.
3. The roll- without a „bulletproof“ roll no one should ever go on a difficult whitewater. You´ll be using it far more often on a C1. That´s reality. It has to be REALLY fast, screw roll, back roll, simply roll up anyhow you can just be quick, look around, orientate yourself and go on. An advantage is that the second blade doesn´t interfere and the grip of the C1 paddle can be held much stronger ( I appreciated this when I was getting a serious spanking under a waterfall).

If you want to be a good C1 paddler it is best to paddle with the kayakers. Not only that a fellow C1er is difficult to find but you won´t be as motivated in a group of C1ers than you are with the kayakers. You should keep up with the others and perfect your abilities with them. Great differences in abilities between paddlers can cause a problem. But if there isn´t any difference there is no reason to get better, isn´t there… Just don´t play hero and don´t paddle on the utmost verge of your abilities. There is no shame in carrying the boat along a difficult spot and anybody that laughs at you is an idiot not worth paddling with. Good paddler rides safely and has fun… Good paddler doesn´t cross his limits on terrific runs just to be like the others…

Photos: Peter Kment -the author of this article- at some nice drops.

Czech version

Před časem mě Honza poprosil, abych napsal článek o pádlování na řekách. Pochopitelně na singlovce. Moc se mi do toho nechtělo, napadaly mě samý všeobecný kecy, nic co by se vztahovalo opravdu čistě na C1. Nakonec jsem se teda pokusil něco sepsat, tak uvidíte, jestli se vám to bude líbit. Rozhodně ale nečekejte oslavu singlovek. Je potřeba se smířit s tím, že na některých řekách s kajakáři budete držet krok, na některých ne (minimálně to je moje zkušenost).

Pokud začínáte s ježděním a chtěli to zkusit na singlu, tak byste si to měli dobře rozmyslet. Volba singlovky je do budoucna značně omezující a lidí, kteří pádlovali s větví a teď jezdí s vrtulí je na řekách víc než si myslíte. Přešli na kajak proto, že narazili na hranici svých možností. A na kajaku jsou ty hranice o něco dál. Jinými slovy, se stejným talentem toho na kajaku dáte víc, případně dáte to samý, ale snadněji :-) V takovém případě je lepší začít jezdit rovnou na kajaku.

Nevýhody singlovky jsou vidět na první pohled. Vyšší těžiště a především to kanoistické pádlo bijou do očí. Výhody jsou trochu schované, ale taky jich není málo. Teprve když je budete ovládat, tak budete s kajakáři držet krok. Je pravda, že loď nedokážeme rozjet tak, jako kajakář, ale pokud jde o jeden silný záběr, tak na tom jsme líp. Klíčové samozřejmě je ten záběr perfektně načasovat, na opravu už většinou není čas. Snad ještě větší výhodou je možnost hodně měnit těžiště lodi. Předklon i záklon ve správnou chvíli udělají zázraky. To samozřejmě dokážou i kajakáři, ale tak moc ne. Ono nakonec není až tak špatný to, že v lodi člověk klečí. Proti kajakáři má singlíř o dost větší rozhled a na překážky můžeme reagovat dřív. Je to určitá kompenzace nižší rychlosti. Výhody se dají asi nejlépe využít na technických řekách všech obtížností. Naopak vodnatka s velkým tahem, i když není brutální, může dát hodně zabrat a nevýhody budou mít navrch.

Je spousta věcí, které je potřeba se pro úspěšné ježdění naučit. Platí zpravidla stejně pro K1 i C1, ale kajakář má zpravidla větší možnost následky chyby dohnat a napravit. Singlíři tedy nezbývá jezdit víc na jistotu a chybám se za každou cenu vyhýbat. Tři techniky jsou ale naprosto zásadní a bez jejich perfektního zvládnutí to je těžký:

1. Naučit se číst vodu a mít pro ni cit. Stopa, kterou si najdou kamarádi na kajaku ještě nemusí být ta pravá pro singlíře. Vodu nepřeperete tak snadno, náklon se vždycky dělá líp na ruku. Není ostuda často prohlížet a hledat si svou vlastní stopu, která se od ostatních liší. Snažte se najít cestu, kde budete moci maximálně využít vodu, ne proti ní bojovat. Taky ježdění přes vracáky (pomocné smyčky) je šikovná věc a já osobně ho provozuju často. Často to pomůže získat před klíčovým místem správný úhel nájezdu. Pro všechny obecně platí, že je dobré hledat si stopu proti proudu. Začít u konce celého úseku a postupně si rozmyslet kudy to celé projet.

2. Druhou zásadní technikou je boofování. C1 se obecně boofuje dobře, právě díky možnosti silného záběru spojeného s výraznou změnou těžiště. Když to uděláte šikovně, tak se odrazíte klidně i ze šikmých skoků. Najděte si při prohlídce ten správný okamžik kdy se odrazíte a pak ho už jen nepromeškejte. Udržíte se tak hned při dopadu na hladině, loď bude ovladatelná a rovnou můžete řešit to co je před vámi. Boofování je na singlu taky bezpečnější než na kajaku, nebolí tolik ani z docela vysokých skoků (klidně 8 a více metrů do našlehané vody). Nedílnou součástí techniky je hluboký předklon při dopadu, který pomáhá absorbovat náraz. A co jsem to psal o předklonech o pár řádků výše? Nakonec i těch 20 cenťáků pěny pod zadkem tlumí docela dobře. Je dobrý se naučit boofování i na přesruku. Občas se stane, že ten poslední záběr musíte udělat na druhý straně, než pádlujete.

Nezapoměňte, že je potřeba ve skocích získat jistotu. Napřed toho co nejvíc naskákejte na nižších a snadnějších skocích. Teprve když na nich nebudete dělat chyby a jízda bude na jistotu, tak se odvažte na vyšší. Najděte si třeba dobrý a bezpečný skok a ten si dejte několikrát za sebou. 100% boof je podle mě naprostou nutností! I tady platí, že zvládání určité úrovně je vstupenka do vyšší.

3. Eskymák – bez eskymáku na jistotu by neměl na těžké vodě jezdit nikdo, to je jasný. Na singlu ho ale použijete častejc. To je realita. Musí být hodně rychlý, zepředu, zezadu, prostě jakkoli, hlavně být rychle nad vodou, zorientovat se a jet dál. Výhoda je, že se neplete druhý list a hlavička umožňuje pádlo pevně držet (to jsem ocenil vždycky, když jsem dostával čočku pod vodopádem).

Pokud to chcete na vodě někam na singlu dotáhnout, tak je asi nejlepší jezdit s kajakáři. Nejen že se singlíř do party hledá blbě, ale hlavně pak člověk nemá takovou motivaci. Je dobré s ostatními držet krok a zdokonalovat se s nimi, velký výkonnostní rozdíl zavání průšvihem. Pokud ale není žádný rozdíl, tak není možnost se zlepšovat, že ano :-) Hlavně nebýt hrdinou a nejezdit na úplné hranici svých schopností. Přenášení není ostuda a kdo se ti bude smát je blbec, se kterým je lepší na vodu už nejezdit. Každému vyhovuje něco jiného, něco najedeš ostatním ty, něco najedou ostatní tobě, vždycky ale dobře zvaž svoje schopnosti! Dobrý vodák je ten, který jezdí bezpečně a kterého to baví, ne ten který se staženou prdelí jezdí těžký prásky jen proto, aby se vyrovnal ostatním.

Na závěr bych chtěl zmínit jeden detail, který singlíře omezuje v cestách po světě. Je to absence sériově vyráběných lodí. Jasně, zvykli jsme si na to, že je potřeba předělat kajak a klečení si udělat. Dá se sehnat spousta kajaků, které jsou jako C1 vhodné. Problém ale nastává když si zapádlovat letíte a loďsi chcete půjčit na místě. To pak nezbývá, než si klečení dovízt a loď předělat. Taky kritický scénář, když loď utopíš a jediná náhradní loď je kajak, není příjemný. A co třeba když zlomíš na řece pádlo a jediná skládačka je kajakářská? Nic moc...

Zdravotní aspekty myslím nemá cenu příliš rozebírat. Ježdění na vodu s sebou obecně nese spoustu rizik a je jedno na čem jezdíte. Na druhou stranu jasný, že jednostranné zatěžování svalstva tělu dobře nedělá. Ale to platí jak pro řeky tak pro freestyle, takže se tomu Honza někdy určitě bude věnovat sám.

Jasně, těch nevýhod je docela dost a výhod tak moc není, jenže singlíři nevymřou. Víc nás už nikdy nebude, ale míň? To už snad skoro nejde :-) Stejně jde hlavně o to si dobře zapádlovat a strávit čas s dobrými kamarády.

Action photos

Huh, here are some photos of me paddling... Thanks to all the people who took them...