As usual, after watching videos of my friends creeking Class V, I went searching for some instructional videos on kayaking slalom technique because I know I’m weak in the eddy-catching / boat control department. After plugging around for a while I finally found this awesome site called Canoe Slalom Technique that has a big section of short video tutorials on K1 (one-person kayak) slalom techniques – just what I was looking for! You can click the photo below to go to the page with all the videos.
Each move is shown in regular speed, then broken down into slow motion and labeled – super useful. And while obviously some moves are not ones you’d do in a creekboat (like the reverse/bow draw pivots, in which your stern is underwater the whole time), pretty much any of these would go a long way towards making any kayaker better on all types of whitewater.
Looking at these moves I think you can see that quite a few of the components are also in that Eric Jackson ‘Strokes and Concepts’ video that I’ve recommended before. I’ve broken that one out again recently and am planning to head out to the lake to practice those drills too, but it’s awesome to find a bunch of videos that focus completely on slalom.
If you want to see some amazing boat control in action, check out this video of Campbell Walsh. (It’s a good example of what Eric Jackson talks about in his video – that every turn should be controlled on the inside of the turn.) I’m sure that’s not a new concept, but it’s amazing how long we can paddle without really learning some of this stuff – speaking for myself, anyway.
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