Building Rolling Confidence & Reliability by Boyd Ruppelt | Jan 23, 2024 | Featured Post, Instructional, Playboating, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesIs there really such a thing as a bombproof roll? Many people say it’s a myth, and they’re right that we’re all still in between swims. The truth is though, you can develop bombproof technique, unwavering confidence, and strong reliability with your...
How to Hand Roll: Rolling a Kayak Without a Paddle by Boyd Ruppelt | Dec 6, 2023 | Featured Post, Instructional, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesThere are a lot of ways to hand roll and this only includes one or two of them, but my goal here is to give you a foundation for learning the skill on your own using a technique that works. You can also learn with hand paddles and webbed gloves if you need to get the...
The Backdeck Roll & Safety in Shallow Water by Boyd Ruppelt | Dec 5, 2023 | Creeking, Featured Post, Instructional, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesEven if you know how to backdeck roll, you’ll want to watch this video for a modified version. The rule is simple, stay in the box and keep your elbows down. If you do that, the backdeck roll is faster, safer, and even better for shallow water and rocks than any...
Improvement Guaranteed: Do this Warm-Up every time you paddle by Boyd Ruppelt | Dec 3, 2023 | Creeking, Featured Post, Instructional, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesOne thing I’ve found over the years is that the top kayakers in the world all have certain skills and regular practices in common. Do this warm up, listed below, every time you touch the water and your boat and edge control will improve drastically. For the more...
Building 3-Dimensional Edge Control with Quadrants by Boyd Ruppelt | Nov 30, 2023 | Featured Post, Instructional, Playboating, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesWhen most people think of edge control in kayaking, they only think about using edges on a single axis, right and left. The problem is that whitewater rivers rarely allow for the use of a single axis weight transfer or edge. Typically, there is some combination of...
How to Teach Rolling: A Video for Instructors by Boyd Ruppelt | Oct 31, 2023 | Creeking, Featured Post, Instructional, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesFor nearly three decades, I’ve taught rolling for private clients, universities, outfitters, clubs, organizations, events, camps, demos, paddle schools, companies, and on three continents from every background imaginable. Along the way, I’ve worked with...
Boyd Ruppelt’s thoughts on the new Flow by Boyd Ruppelt | Sep 9, 2023 | Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW DisciplinesComing from the Gnarvana medium, at 160-165 lbs, I’ve found myself getting into the Gnarvana Small on southeastern US dam release runs to spice things up. I love paddling the Antix 2.0 as a playful river runner and it can handle anything I throw at it, but...
Stakeout by Boyd Ruppelt | Jun 17, 2023 | Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW DisciplinesIt’s hard to believe with over 30 years as a whitewater kayaker and more than two decades as a sponsored paddler that I never made it up to Canada until last year. The Ottawa River alone holds some of the best freestyle features on the planet and is without a...
The 5 Golden Rules of Whitewater Kayaking by Boyd Ruppelt | Apr 20, 2023 | Creeking, Featured Post, Instructional, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesWhether you’re just getting into whitewater kayaking or you’re a long time river veteran and looking to raise your paddling game, these 5 golden rules are the fundamentals to get you there. I don’t necessarily think these are all inclusive, but when...
Rolling Basics – How to Roll Your Kayak by Boyd Ruppelt | Apr 15, 2023 | Creeking, Featured Post, Instructional, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesWith nearly 30 years of experience teaching people how to roll and over a decade of teaching experience, I decided it was finally time to put my instructional experience to use for a new rolling series. This is not all inclusive, but this is a solid start for learning...
Gnarvana first impressions and sizing by Boyd Ruppelt | Nov 21, 2022 | Creeking, Featured Post, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, River Running, Whitewater, Whitewater Feature, WW DisciplinesWhen I found out Jackson Kayak was doing a high-rockered modern twist on my favorite boat ever, the Nirvana, I was stoked! Once I tried it out, I was not disappointed. Since I sit in a critical weight range, at 168 lbs (76 kg), I wanted to hop into my new medium...
Dealing With Fear by Boyd Ruppelt | Nov 18, 2022 | Featured Post, Instructional, jacksonkayak.com, JAdventures Main Banner, Playboating, Whitewater Feature, Whitewater Instruction, WW DisciplinesFear. Out of skydiving, scuba diving, shark diving, snowboarding, surfing, caving, biking, skateboarding and everything else I’ve taken a moment in my life to enjoy, kayaking is the biggest mental challenge I’ve taken on out of every extreme sport. I have...
