How to Stomp

Whether you’re trying to use a landing angle transition to cushion the impact from a waterfall or you accidentally boofed a little more than you wanted, the boof to stomp is one of the more useful waterfall techniques to know. At the same time, it is also one of the most dangerous to learn because of the back breaking potential for landing in the wrong position, even on smaller drops. The stomp is specifically the technique for bringing your bow back down for a safer, softer landing through the use of core control during freefall, an essential skill for any waterfall kayaker’s repertoire. It’s also both stylish and fun! Be careful though; learning the stomp can be quite dangerous and late stomp on a hard boil, tall drop, or into green water can cause serious injury including a broken back.

A lot of experts play with the timing to maximize exit speed from the landing transition, but it that’s where it really gets risky. It’s pretty common to see seasoned paddlers landing still unhinged but in the process of getting back forward, ie still unhinged when the bow hits, but tucked forward by the time the stern lands. Being off on that timing though, is a path to serious injury. For that reason, I recommend making sure you’re always tucked forward for landing until you really have it down.

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