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(William R. Watt) typed:

the claim I have been countering has been that a person needs instruction
by a certified instructor to be able to paddle a canoe or kayak. certified
instructors demand payment. Since we agree people can be self taught
payment is no longer required. We agree payment is not needed.

Hmmm, I've been certified by the ACA for four or five years now, as a
Swif****er Safety and Rescue instructor. I have taught over a dozen
safety classes in that time. I do not demand payment.

The two largest paddling clubs in the Washington DC area each offer
paddling instruction (canoe and kayak) by ACA-certified volunteer
instructors who do not demand payment.

I agree people can be self-taught. And, as with anything else in this
world, only the naturally gifted will approach the skill level of
those who take the time to receive instruction from a qualified
instructor. It is truly absurd for you to suggest that the average
individual, by trial and error, can accumulate anything like the
accumlated wisdom that has been built upon by successive "scholars" of
the sport. And it is truly absurd to imagine that a fine level of
physical skill can be acquired without some measure of coaching,
inasmuch as it is impossible to observe one's own "form", even if one
has gleaned from books or videotape, or by observing experts, what
"good form" is.

You get what you pay for. Wanna be the best paddler yer physique will
permit? Hire a professional instructor. Wanna be a fair paddler?
Take free or price-of-insurance amateur instruction. Wanna be a
mediocre paddler? Teach yerself.

Understand me; mediocrity is entirely acceptable. If all one will do
is float about a calm pond and chuck a fishing line into the water, or
piddle around the marshes watching birds, or float a class I/II stream
to enjoy nature, there is no value in spending time and treasure to
become an expert paddler. But you need to be sure, before you tell
someone that he has no need for instruction, that he understands that
he will never become a technically proficient paddler if he follows
yer advice.

-Richard, His Kanubic Travesty
--
================================================== ====================
Richard Hopley, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
rhopley[at]earthlink[dot]net 1-301-775-0471
Nothing really matters except Boats, Sex, and Rock'n'Roll.
rhople[at]wfubmc[dot]edu 1-336-713-5077
OK, OK; computer programming for scientific research also matters.
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