C1 Technique: Small waves basics

Lets face it... everybody likes to surf a big and regular wave... but not all of us have the opportunity to do so every day, so we must content ourselves with what we´ve got.

A small wave is surely a better place to learn the basics than something like Buseater or Hawaii, that´s for sure.
A good article on wave riding has been recently posted on the Riot blog
Big thanks to Adam Johnson for writing this article...

Ok so what basic skills does a C1 boater need while trying to do his best on a small wave? It is quite essential to spend some time practicing just the movements on the wave.
The first essential skill is carving. Before you start to try some moves you need to know, how does your boat respond to any shift of your weight. On a C1 every slight change of weight center has a much more profound impact on the movement of the boat, this is because the weight center of a C1 is a lot higher than on a K1. Carving is controlled by weight shifting and of course by paddle corrections. This video shows you how you can move from one shoulder of the wave to another.



Important thing is that you need to keep your balance while carving to your offside. The perfect way to do this is to support yourself with the palm of your offside hand.


If you want to do almost any move on a wave you have to get to the top of the foam pile so you can accelerate down the face of the wave and get some speed that you need to perform the move.
Getting to the top of the foam pile isn´t always easy. The important thing is that you have to get as high as possible without flushing. It is essential to actually feel the water under your boat and this comes only with practice.
One of the ways how to get to the top is to carve straight to one of the shoulders of the wave and than back to the other side. This should get you higher on the wave, and possibly to the foam pile. If you feel you are beginning to flush just lean forward and do a few quick strokes. If you manage to get up there you are half way through any move you want to do. This video shows you how to get to the foam pile and speed down to land a blunt.



That´s all for now. Tomorrow morning I am leaving Prague and by Sunday afternoon I´ll be on the Hawaii. I am still a bit ill but nothing can keep me from trying that wave...
Cheers people and I hope I can post some fresh pics straight from Lyon...

I am going to Lyon... CONFIRMED

So now it is for sure... On Saturday me and some of my friends are going to Lyon. I managed to settle my employment so I can go. Awesome.... We are also going to spent some time at Platling and Bremgarten. We will be back on 8.4. The article on the trip coming soon after...
So long

I am going to LYON

On Saturday I am probably going to Lyon. The only thing is that I have to persuade my employer to let me go.... It will be decided tomorrow evening so cross fingers for me....
BTW I teach english to those who know it worse than me...

Stay tuned for Lyon photos...

Early spring sessions on Troja slalom course

Rising temperature and sunny weather made me go paddling... These pictures were taken almost two months ago. A friend of mine, Pavel, also went paddling.
We spent most of the session on a local wave. Although the wave is small and painfully shallow it is quite fast and with some effort you can bounce well enough to land vertical blunts or even almost aerial backstabs...
Some of the photos were taken a week later...
Thanks to my sister Mary and my girlfriend Jane who took the pictures... Warming up on the flatwater.

Pavel getting some speed on his Ronin.

Me trying to bounce hard.

A smile for the camera during a blunt :)...

I love aggressive carving...

It was quite warm for that time of year.
These sessions were the first ones on my new boat-The wavesport Project 62, an article on my boats coming soon...

So long fellas

My blog is about to start....

Hi everybody...
This is supposed to be my blog, however I want to create also a useful page for all paddlers interested in C1 paddling, especially freestyle.
What are you going to find here?? Mostly videos and articles on C1 technique, freestyle events and destinations. I will of course post some info on me and my development... I hope I will manage to talk some of the more experienced paddlers into contributing.
This site began it´s existence thanks to the flu I´ve recently caught...

So that´s all for now... I am going to edit the site in couple of hours so I can make it public...