The paddle strokes that you learned are great for moving you around and they do a decent job at keeping you upright, but for some occasions, you will need to lean your boat, and to counteract the lean, you can use a technique called a brace. Bracing is also used during the normal course of boating to stabilize your boat when an unexpected current or object jolts the boat.
There are two types of braces, a low brace and a high brace. They are both used for the same reason, and your choice of strokes is usually dependent on the situation and your paddle position.
To perform a low brace, you want to extend out to the side and place the blade of the paddle on the surface of the water. Your non-extended hand should stay near your hips, close to the coaming. Now you want to make slow back and forth sweeps with the paddle (keeping the blade on the surface of the water)…this is called sculling. Now, you can start leaning the boat towards your sculling side. As you do this, you want to rotate your hips and lean the boat. Do your best to keep your body upright. You should be able to lean the boat far enough to dip the near-side coaming into the water. When you are ready to get back up, just use your hip snap.
The high brace is theoretically the same, except your paddle position will be different. Here, your paddle face may be in the water at a slight angle (and not necessarily at the surface). Also your non-extended hand will now be raised to about head level or above. This is not as supportive as the low brace, but when you are out there paddling, this is probably the most common brace. Here you want to practice quick corrections and hip snaps…sculling is more for low braces in steady state conditions.
Well, don’t just sit there….practice your braces…oh, and yes, you will flip when you push yourself too far. Now, collect yourself, and hit another roll. Don’t forget to practice bracing on both sides of your boat.
This completes Lesson 2: Learning the basic strokes and techniques for flat water kayaking. These techniques will need to be practiced numerous times before they become second nature. They are the building blocks for the future techniques and moving water exercises, so make sure you continue to work on these techniques, even as you get introduced to moving water.