coaching

The year: 2004. The place: Fish Hoek Beach in a howling southeaster. Dawid Mocke says to me, “Go paddle upwind for a while.” So, I did. Quite a way upwind. Eventually I turned around and surfed the runs back to Fish Hoek. Dawid met me at the beach. “What happened to you?” he yelled. “The lesson’s finished now!” And that was my introduction to Surfski School…

Clearly I'm late to the game; this video was posted in March 2017 and has been watched over 51,000 times as at February 2018!  But if you haven't seen it; it's very highly recommended for anyone who wants to improve their technique...  

The coach is Ivan Lawler.  Ivan is a renowed British canoeist; he:

• Specialised in marathon paddling, winning five gold and two silver medals in world championships in a career that spanned 1988 to 1989
• Won a silver and a gold medal in K2 sprint medal in the 10,000m in 1989 and 1990 respectively
• Competed in three summer Olympics in sprint.
• Now owns and operates the company Ultimate Kayaks, selling boats (Epic Kayaks and Nelo) and paddles.  He also coaches and provides insightful and entertaining commentary at marathon and surfski events!

Peak Paddle Performance Podcast

I heard about this video on the latest Peak Paddle Performance podcast, which I thoroughly recommend.  The podcast is hosted by Nick Murray who runs TC Surfski in the USA.  Click here for a full list of the podcasts - they're also highly recommended and comprise a series of interviews with the likes of:

• Oscar Chalupsky
• Carter Johnson
• Austin Keiffer
• Sean Rice
• Boyan Zlatarev
• Pat Langley 

...and many more.  They're all entertaining, they're all instructive.  Download them from the website, or subscribe to "Peak Paddle Performance Podcast" wherever you get your podcasts. 

Now watch the video!