Gene Cosloy wrote:

would't the learning curve be quicker in
learning to brace quickly either side if you used an unfeathered
paddle? Same goes for learning to roll?

Absolutely. Learning these skills with an unfeathered paddle all but
eliminates the "on side, off side" phenomenon. Nearly all of the people
I've met who've had trouble learning to roll on both sides were using
feathered paddles. Most people have much less trouble learning to roll
on both sides when the technique is an exact mirror image. It's much
less confusing than having to think about "I'm rolling on my right side,
so I have to hold my wrist in this position."

Once one learns to roll or brace, the technique becomes automatic. It's
getting to that stage that's much more difficult with a feathered paddle.

Michael's method is very interesting and makes a lot of sense if you're
going to paddle feathered. Unfortunately, up until now I've never known
or heard of anyone who teaches that way.

One final word of caution. If you intend to paddle feathered, I suggest
that you learn to brace and roll with a feathered paddle. Learning with
an unfeathered paddle, then going out with your paddle feathered is a
good way to screw yourself up if you get into a capsize situation.