If you’re thinking of getting into kayaking then I’m sure your wondering how hard it is. Not only how hard it’s going to be on you’re body but also to learn the needed skills as well. This would be the case with any new sport someone was thinking of taking up. It’s normal to have questions about something you’ve never done before or that your new to doing.

Kayaking isn’t all that hard to both do and learn. There are a few skills you will need to perfect to get the most out of the sport. But it’s going to take time and practice to perfect them and that only going to happen if you get out there and do it.

Here are my top five things you can do to help you prefect your kayaking skills. This way you can spend more time out on the water enjoying yourself and not think of if your doing something wrong. Or even worse hurting yourself and having to go home early.

5 Tips to Get Better at Kayaking

Learn to roll

If there’s one thing you should know before you head out on the water is how to roll you’re boat. Now this is only going to apply to people that use sit in kayaks and not sit on. So if your planning on only every using a sit on then you don’t need to worry about this.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about then let me explain what it means to roll a kayak. When some one is talking about doing a roll in a kayak it the act of flipping the boat upside down and then right side up again with out them ever leaving there seat.

So you might be asking yourself why would someone want to do this. The answer is simple. What if you’re boat gets overturned by a wave or in some rapids or any other thing you weren’t planning on happening.

Knowing how to right your boat in the water is something that might save you’re life. It’s not as hard as it sounds, but it’s something you should know before heading out on the water. You can practice doing this near the shore or even in a pool.

Choose The Right Boat

If you’ve been looking into kayaking then I’m sure by now you know there a lot of different types of boats. There are boats for all different types of water. Weather your going to be using it on Lakes, Rivers, or Ocean there’s a kayak made for it. As well as for different hobbies like White watering, Fishing, or just paddling around on calm water.

All of there boats come in different sizes as well. There are so many different types of kayaks it’s not going to be easy to pick one. The best way to start is to look and see if there’s any rental shops around you. This way you can try out a few styles and see what you like and don’t like about each of them.

If there’s no place to rent a kayak in you’re area then you can make a list to work off of. Start by looking at were your going to be using you’re kayak. what your going to be doing when your out on the water. What features you would like it to have.

This will help you narrow the boats your going to be looking at. Next go to the store and check them out in person. Ask if you can sit in them and see how it feels. Ask lots of questions tell the salesman or woman what your plans are. They should have lots of knowledge on the boats and can help you pick out the one that’s best going to suit your needs.

Who knows you might find out what you thought you needed was wrong and completely change your mind on the type of boat you want. Just keep in mind your not obligated to buy it then and there. It’s ok to go home and do some more research first then go back and ask more questions or buy.

Set up a training schedule

Just like everything you’ve ever learned in your life. If your not doing it then there’s no way your going to get better at it. If you want to get better at kayaking then you need to be out on the water in a kayak. It doesn’t matter if it’s yours or one you rented or borrowed from a friend. The more your out kayaking the better your going to get at it

You should have some kind of a schedule or at least a plan on when your going to go out and kayak. Having some kind of a plan will make you want to make the time to go do it and not just think about going out. Try to get out on the water once a week even if it’s only for a little bit.

You don’t need to be out on the water everyday. Although I would love to be it’s just not practical. I try to get on at least once on the weekend. For me I like to go in the mornings so there’s not as many people around. Even if it’s only for a hour or two.

It still practice and time on the water and I still have a lot of my day left after I’m done for other things. One thing I do to save time, and you can if you want to, is load everything in the truck the night before. This way I can get up eat breakfast and head out.

Know Paddling Techniques

There are a few different style’s of paddling as well as a few different types of strokes you should know. Learning good paddling technique will help you avoid lower back pain. There’s more to paddling then just pulling you’re paddle through the water.

For good paddling technique you need to draw power from your core. The basic of paddling is to lower one side of your paddle in to the water and twist in that direction. Now while turning yourself back straight push with your lower hand and pull with you’re upper hand.

As far as paddling strokes types go there are three main strokes you should know the first is forward which we just covered above. Next is the sweep stroke. To perform a sweep stroke lean forward as far as you can comfortably. Put one end of you’re paddle in the water and bring it all the way around the back of your boat. You’ll use a sweep stroke to make course corrections.

Last is the reverse stroke. It’s pretty much what it sounds like put one end of your paddle in the water now with your lower hand push forward and with your upper hand pull back. The reverse stroke is good if you need to stop your kayak or back out from the shore.

Take a course

Ever thing I’ve just gone over you’ll learn in most all kayaking classes and you’ll get to try out some boats as well. There will be an experienced person there to give you pointers and help you with any questions you may have as well.

Look for course in you’re area and ask around and see what people have to say about them. See what they offer and see whats included in the course.