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The Hip Snap
Now we'll add the next step: the hip snap to recovery. After all, the goal of the low brace is to return your kayak to a stable, balanced position after you've started to fall toward a capsize.
To practice the hip snap in your boat, make sure your legs are firmly braced against the inside of your cockpit and your feet are comfortably planted on the footpegs. Now, find an object, like a dock or a rock, that you can hold onto while in your boat.
Pull alongside the dock and stow your paddle. Rest your near hand on the dock for support, as in the photo below. Now you can safely practice tipping the boat and bringing it upright again.
To begin, tip the boat toward the dock. You don't need to go too far -- perhaps until the spray skirt is just touching the water. Then, drive the knee closest to the dock upward, pressing against the cockpit. This snap of the hips should bring the boat quickly back to a level position, as seen in the photo series below.
Notice, too, the movement of the head. This movement, from head held high to chin against the shoulder, helps you drive with the correct knee. You can try this motion while sitting in your chair, and you'll notice that as you swing your head, your hips snap almost automatically.
Putting It Together
Practice the hip snap several times against the dock, then retrieve your paddle and prepare to add the hip snap to your low brace.
Once you are off-balance, the hip snap drives the return of the boat to a level, stable position. The push of the paddle blade on the water gives you the leverage to hip snap. Therefore, you must wait until you feel the force of the water on the paddle before beginning the hip snap.
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Try it out! Begin by moving the boat only slightly off-balance. Once you are, submerge the flat blade, begin the hip snap by driving your knee, then twist your wrist and slice the blade out. You should find your boat flat on the water.
Practice regularly and work up to more challenging recoveries. For the low brace to save you in a real-life moment of imbalance, the motion must be a reflex. Therefore, as you paddle along during your kayak tours, play around by practicing the low brace.
Revisit the step-by-step photo gallery to ensure that you understand each step before you head out on the water.
The High Brace
The low brace is designed for use in most circumstances. The high brace is used in conditions like waves, where the nearby water level is above the paddler's waist and a low brace paddle would already be under water.
Examine the photo of the paddler executing a high brace above. Pretend that the dock is a wave. You can imagine even higher waves where the low brace would be completely impossible and the high brace is the only solution. In fact, performing a high brace on flat water is almost impossible.
To practice the high brace, therefore, find a dock or other object that you can brace upon. Assume the high brace position: elbows down, knuckles up, paddle blade flat, paddle shaft horizontal. Examine the photo series of the high brace to follow these instructions step-by-step.
Now, roll the boat until your paddle rests on the dock. Once the paddle strikes the dock, hip snap by driving your knee upward. As you right the boat, twist your controlling wrist backward to bring the paddle blade to vertical.
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