Perception of Skill and Just How Good You Actually Are

Eventually, if you're lucky enough, there will be a time that you paddle with someone who, directly or indirectly, shows you how little you actually know about kayaking in the grand scheme of things. And hopefully, that drives you to push yourself further. This can happen to nearly any level of paddler because there is almost always someone better than you. Nothing demonstrates this better than attending a high level instructional certification to run through rescues and strokes you are completely comfortable with to see that with minor variables everything can be different.

When paddling for a while towards the higher skill levels there comes a point that, paddling wise, there aren't major differences between high level paddlers and advanced paddlers. The difference comes with the ability to take these skills and seamlessly transfer them to whatever condition or situation is thrown at you and continue to make it look easy. I consider myself a halfway decent paddler and very comfortable with rescues. Comfortable to the point that when practicing on the flat water lakes it feels video quality. It's interesting to watch a video of yourself in the real world demonstrate them though and see the minor differences you don't feel during the rescue stick out while watching it.

On the flip side of things it's doubly interesting to be in the presence of people who think they know what they are doing but do not. I had two cases of this today with lessons this morning and afternoon. Thankfully the students were receptive and quickly adapted to the proper techniques. Converting someone's bad habits or watching someone doing the forward stroke finally rotate and see the light is a beautiful thing. Almost as good as learning it yourself.

The brave souls that stick out the heat in Southern Florida continue to do lessons and I'll continue to teach them. Meanwhile I continue to plan a more Epic journey for the early fall than the last one and hope to learn something from it. After all, that is the goal isn't it.

JR