Video: Flatwater - Cartwheels - Adrian Tregoning

How tot make yourself feel dissy! and get a six pack! Good effort dude

Hahahaha, thanks Chris. Not exactly the best technique in the beginning but I was already tired. Not my boat that little red T2. I was trying to get as many on camera as possible but of course never works out that way. That was taken last winter (June/July 2006 for us..)

Nice one Adrian. Gave me something to do instead fof work or a bit.

nortis wrote:

Nice one Adrian. Gave me something to do instead of work or a bit.

Hehe, anything to get out of work hey Neil?

Thanks Adrian

I recently bough a Dagger GForce and i'm trying to learn some basic tricks...
I'm going to store this video on my PDA in order to take with me and see it frame by frame when i go to training @ lake and pool.

Ciao

Cool, glad you liked it.

But a word of warning. When I was in the red boat I was just trying to get as many ends as possible and my technique is sometimes pretty crappy. Just look at when I'm in the yellow boat, that's far better..

Keep on doing it in holes too otherwise your technique will only go one sided. Have fun!

(I found a clip of a guy doing 33 ends once and I watched it over and over and over and that's how I learnt to do it. Just by watching a video. I had never even seen anyone do one in real life as I had only one other paddling mate at that stage.. I hope this little video helps you too then in the same way that one helped me)

Thanks for your suggestion,

this summer at the Argentier Slalom field on Durance (France) i found a very small corner when finally i managed to do it for a couple of time.

Anyway it is still a long way...

R U at homestead in the yellow boat? Looks like it.

Always been skeptical of those weird mutant ducks!

Nice vid m8

Adrian (or anyone that may know),

I'm 5'10\" 167 mostly leg strength and weight but pretty good core...I'm in a LL Vis56...not the bigfoot. I have tried relentlessly to flatwater cartwheel but can't for the life of me seem to initiate...i have an incredible time trying to get my bow in. In the video it looks almost effortless for you...any tips? Is this a common problem for folks trying to learn? I've got my rolls and such...enough to enjoy a river, but with the new (new to me) vis I've wanted to do some playboating and figured wheeling was a good trick to start on. Any ideas that may quell my frustrations?

-Mark

I've got the exact same problem, I just can't get the bow in. I too think this would be a good trick to start with. In an S6, apparently easy to cartwheel

I used to have the same problem but here's what helped me fix it:

1/ trim the boat properly. Although it may be more comfy to put the seat back a notch, for learning purposes it may be better to endure some slight discomfort. Once you get the basics you can put the seat back.

2/ make sure you have a proper footrest. It helps to keep the nose down if you can use your legs.

3/ When double pumping, make sure your paddle is parallel to the boat, with some distance between the boat and paddle. If your paddle is at an angle chances are that you will not be able to tilt the boat properly or fall over.

4/ With the initiation stroke (used to raise your bow, first part of the double pump), make sure you pull the blade all the way back so you can use it in a low brace style to lean on. Do not try to do a high brace-ish stroke becuase your paddle will end up in the angle I mentioned in 3/.

5/ Rotate your head to look at where you want the nose of the boat to go. The boat will follow. If you start looking at the bow because it looks cool to see it move through the air everything will stop

6/ Keep practicing. Try alternating bow stalling with cartwheeling because cartwheeling can be pretty tiring (bow stalling can be tiring too but a lot less than wheeling). If possbile, have someone look at what you are doing so you can spot little technique errors more easily.

hope this helps,

Cheers,

Michiel

phildawg wrote:

Adrian (or anyone that may know),

I'm 5'10\" 167 mostly leg strength and weight but pretty good core...I'm in a LL Vis56...not the bigfoot. I have tried relentlessly to flatwater cartwheel but can't for the life of me seem to initiate...i have an incredible time trying to get my bow in. In the video it looks almost effortless for you...any tips? Is this a common problem for folks trying to learn? I've got my rolls and such...enough to enjoy a river, but with the new (new to me) vis I've wanted to do some playboating and figured wheeling was a good trick to start on. Any ideas that may quell my frustrations?

-Mark

Hi Mark,

You are in the bottom end of the weight range for the boat but you should be able to do it. When I first started I had a Wave Sport Big EZ and I COULD NOT get the bow down for a LONG time. I had no one to show me the tricks of the trade but I'm sure you could do it. Should I post a few slow motion takes onto a video of the double pump? I'm away this weekend but can post it next week.

Make sure you are reasonably snug in the boat. When you do the double pump do it slowly but using power. Most people I've taught do the two strokes too quickly. Take a foward stroke and put the boat on edge at the same time and also lean slightly back, only slightly. Then, keeping the boat on edge, (not too much, maybe 30 to 45 degrees) do a reverse sweep and put the paddle parallel to the water. By doing this you have a tremendous amount of control and power. You basically are pushing the bow down by pushing down with that reverse stroke.

Some people will tell you to push your legs down. I tried that advice and it didn't work for me at all. By trying to push your legs down you tend to tense your stomach muscles and that seems to actually prevent your legs from actually 'pushing down'. Just relax your body. Visualise what you want to do, over and over in your mind. Those two strokes on the double pump and their timing is critical. Be powerful in applying them. Too fast and mistimed strokes won't even get the smallest of boats vertical.

Any more questions, shoot.

michielv wrote:

I used to have the same problem but here's what helped me fix it:

1/ trim the boat properly. Although it may be more comfy to put the seat back a notch, for learning purposes it may be better to endure some slight discomfort. Once you get the basics you can put the seat back.

2/ make sure you have a proper footrest. It helps to keep the nose down if you can use your legs.

3/ When double pumping, make sure your paddle is parallel to the boat, with some distance between the boat and paddle. If your paddle is at an angle chances are that you will not be able to tilt the boat properly or fall over.

4/ With the initiation stroke (used to raise your bow, first part of the double pump), make sure you pull the blade all the way back so you can use it in a low brace style to lean on. Do not try to do a high brace-ish stroke becuase your paddle will end up in the angle I mentioned in 3/.

5/ Rotate your head to look at where you want the nose of the boat to go. The boat will follow. If you start looking at the bow because it looks cool to see it move through the air everything will stop

6/ Keep practicing. Try alternating bow stalling with cartwheeling because cartwheeling can be pretty tiring (bow stalling can be tiring too but a lot less than wheeling). If possbile, have someone look at what you are doing so you can spot little technique errors more easily.

hope this helps,

Cheers,

Michiel

Thanks michielv, I'll give all that a try this weekend:) The S6 doesn't have any footrests though, so I might borrow my mate's EZ to get started with. Thanks again.

With the modern 'spud' playboats it help to visualize that you are actually pushing your butt up and over the boat instead of driving the bow down with legs.

That said, the most important things to successfully initiate the bow are edging and the proper wind-up before the back stroke. To learn the balance point of the bow practice bow stalling.

Psymon, you should put some foam in the front of your boat then. If you're desperate just throw in an old towel and see what a difference it makes. I'd go so far as to say that one the biggest reasons why beginners can't get the basics wired is that the outfitting in their boat is poor. Buy some foam and some contact adhesive and get cracking, you won't be sorry. It gives you so much more control in playboating and also every other type of paddling.

I can't even count the number of people I've seen trying to learn how to paddle and I can fit a hand in on either side of their hips. It's unbelievable.. Get a snug but comfortable fit.

And there I was wondering what I was going to do with the numerous foam blocks that came with my boat
Apart from that though, I'm pretty snug in my boat, I'm 5'11' and have the 190, I'm more or less the max. size.
Thanks Adrian. I don't think I said either, nice video

Psymon wrote:

And there I was wondering what I was going to do with the numerous foam blocks that came with my boat
Apart from that though, I'm pretty snug in my boat, I'm 5'11' and have the 190, I'm more or less the max. size.
Thanks Adrian. I don't think I said either, nice video

Hehe, well now you've got a job to do for the weekend!

You will get it right, I have no doubt about that. It is really simple. Just visualise what you want to achieve and don't give up. That's the most important thing in paddling and in life too.

Wise words I'll do my best to make you proud

Wow...lots of response on this...or rather lots of REALLY HELPFUL response. I'm pretty sure you nailed one major factor and that's fit. I had a recent knee surgery so I loosened everything up a bit for the playboat...the previous (Lil' Joe) was a MUCH different fit. This weekend, it seems, will consist o shaving foam blocks to size and flailing around in the neighbors pool (they're out of town for labor day...WOO HOO). Adrian and all the other contributors, thanks a TON for all the useful feedback!!!

-Mark
childrens-art-walk.com

Hi, I can cartwheel a G-force 5.9 but I've not tried in any other boats and I'm hiring a Riot astro 54 for the weekend I'm 5.6 and weigh 55 kilos will I be able to cartwheel it?

The only way to find out is to trynd find out! Again if your technique is good then you should ne able to but 54 gallons is alot of volume and you seem very light, but it depeds on the displacement of the volume in the boat. Have fun trying

Chris

Geee Adrian, you got nothing better to do than imitating a drowning duck in a pond???

donmarty wrote:

Geee Adrian, you got nothing better to do than imitating a drowning duck in a pond???

Of course Mr Lagendijk.. It's my favourite past time You know that