I said:
Just noticed (from your introduction) that you like kayaking. Do you find it affected by your dyspraxia much?
The reason I'm asking is that I did a BCU 1 star award a while back and I was certainly the dunce of the group even though the instructor was wonderful! Learning all these subtle movements was a bit much in such a short time.
otis_b_flywheel said:
Thank you very much for sharing your experiences.It really is quite fascinating stuff. It sounds as if you have achieved an extremely high level of proficiency that is beyond my wildest dreams. I must say I'm impressed that you attained the senior instructor qualification even if you aren't using the qualification. I imagine looking after a bunch of novice kayakers is quite a stressful business.I could probably write a book in response to your query about kayaking, having been doing it for 30+ years! No doubt it'll feature in my blog if I ever get that off the ground.
It's good to know that you got your 1-star. I don't know how long you've been paddling, but like other skills it takes a while to master and is worth persevering with if you enjoy it. I suppose the degree to which dyspraxia affects kayaking ability depends on gross motor co-ordination, and perhaps processing can be a problem when you're bouncing down a big rapid, you have little control over the speed of events (versus e g rock climbing) and the fact that confused white water can be quite disorientating. I think I've coped OK with the personal skills required over the years - beside the occasional episodes of clumsiness - but when it came to gaining instructor qualifications and looking after others in what can be quite hazardous situations, I didn't really cut the mustard as there was definitely too much to process. I did actually gain my Senior Instructor (inland kayak) qualification at the third attempt, but eventually realised that it was more of a personal crusade than anything else.
Good luck with your paddling if you carry on with it!
I had done a bit of very basic kayaking in the sea with very simple non-sport craft.I had a wish to up my game a bit by doing the BCU 1 star and 2 star course, so I could go on some sea kayaking holidays in Scotland or Cornwall.
However, I found using a more sporty canoe on a river to be a far more difficult business. I was struggling with all the subtle little moves on the course such as the sweep turn, draw stroke, low brace turn, bow rudder, stern rudder basic support stroking and the turn on move. I really felt it was the dyspraxia kicking in because some of the other learners were complete novices, and were not struggling as much as me.
I also have a common dyspraxic problem of weak ankles, so the braced position that the more sporty canoes have was quite a strain on them.
I still do a bit of basic canoeing in the sea at the weekend when the weather isn't windy enough for sailing. Perhaps I should go onto youtube and swat up on the techniques of the above mentioned moves. And then try to put them into practice.
I don't think I'll ever get up to white water level. But I would be pleased if I could get just about proficient enough to join a low level sea kayaking tour without being the weak link of the group.