I couldn't do any flat water moves at all until about a month ago. Then I tried something which changed everything...and I thought to myself: Wow! Why didn't anybody tell me to do that?

Now I'm going to tell you, and hopefully it will make as much difference to your paddling as it has to mine.

A few weeks ago I was playboating at my local gayspot when my friends started showing me their newly discovered bowstall. I have always tried to learn all the flatwater moves but never found the patience... the whole process seemed to be quite alien and way too difficult to bother with.  During that session I decided to put some water in my boat.... and it changed everything. Of course with water in my boat I could easily bowstall, but the point was that it allowed me to get a feel for the action. It wasn't that I had never known the theory behind the whole thing...it was the fact that I rely on feeling and therefore could not act upon the theory until I had a rough idea of what it was supposed to feel like.

From that day on, I took the water out of my boat and progressed quickly. I found that the ability to bowstall was swiftly followed by the progression of all my other flat water skills. The best thing about the whole process was that my whitewater paddling also improved.  The main thing I've noticed is that my control over the angle of my boat is a lot better. Playboating has given me an understanding of exactly how each of my movements effects what my boat does. I feel that everything about my paddling is better.

If you can't already bowstall then try chucking some water in your boat..... Or just fill it with cans of beer, you might be surprised!