Dealing with Fear

Been struck by blind panic, and was helped by the instructor very well. For years I worked at handling that fear through paddling circumstances I dared to take on. On our main river, the Waal (the Rhine), and on big flatwater. To challenge myself, to overcome tresholds in trusting my skills. At age 67 I started my white water career only on condition that I learned a reliable roll. Did that pay off! After two seasons including lessons in the French Alpes, white water is my passion. Over time, the horror of my fear has made me happier than I could ever imagine.

"Make hard moves on easy rivers". The best advice I have ever heard.

Its a Head Game, and its part of the package deal. cant WW kayak without it. I wouldn't do it if it wasn't for the Fear! I would stick to flat water paddling if you dont want the fear. thanks for the share.

I love this video, because it is SPOT ON! I'm on the tail end of my 5th season paddling and competent IV boater. Moving into V's with my son in 2022. Everything you covered in this video is exactly how I've learned to cope with fear, and put it in my little dry bag, and pull it out only when I need it. The common denominator for coping with fear is: CONFIDENCE. It's how you arrive at the "C" word. I love working IV rivers and creeks I am extremely comfortable and familiar with to try harder stuff, harder moves because I know it's ok to screw up. Also, the laughing part works most of the time. I got stuck on a hole and got worked, worst my 14 yo son ever seen, but as soon as I got my self in a side surf, I was cracking up and laughing out loud until it took me over again...that's when I was laughing soo hard upside down, I inhaled water and decided to take a swim...oh soo fun!!! Also, I think the worst and scariest part of trying new runs is the reputation and war stories people tell. The runs are never as bad as the stories and beta.

The tone of this video is on point. I think we need more of this kind of vibe in the sport.

Fear is strong. But gratitude is stronger. Be grateful you are where you are. Feel fear but be grateful for it.

I was forced to do pot holing/caving in the marines. The fear of getting stuck underground wakes me up in the middle of the night to this day. Whenever I get anxious on a the water I think of that and wish I was back there rather than attempting the next rapid. 😜

I discovered a helpful technique awhile back. Not sure if it will work for others but here goes: I was sitting in an eddy about to run a drop that scares me. I felt very afraid. Specifically, I noticed a powerful and unpleasant feeling in my abdomen. It felt like a big mass of fear. I observed it and noticed it starting to rise up into my chest and move towards my throat. It felt like it was about to travel up into my head, take over and make me mindless. I managed to take some big breaths and push it back down a bit. Once it was down to chest level, I sort of made a bargain with it. I allowed it to stay where it was and not fight it further - as long as it did not try to climb higher again. I let it come along for the ride, so to speak, but not control the ride. Ran the drop. It went great. Point is, you can not eradicate fear but there may be ways to peacefully coexist with it. Thanks for the thought provoking video!

Fantastic content. A year ago I nearly gave up on kayaking after I experienced the worst swim in my 9 years followed by a shoulder injury. The depression that followed was deep. Thankfully I am surrounded by and paddle with very uplifting people. I’ve been easing back into things, looking to stack up the small successes to earn back my confidence. Kayaking has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Never having been much of adventurer, it has showed things to me I would have never otherwise experienced. Your videos are so well put together. I hope you find putting them together just as rewarding as it is to watch them.

What an incredibly important and well-done video. Learning how to deal with fear has been my number 1 most important skill to learn. As a somewhat recent beginner, I am glad my path led me to all the info you just shared. These lessons were not always learned the easiest way. However, my self-confidence on and off the river has only been going up. On top of all of this, I deal with anxiety issues in my everyday life. The methods I have had to learn to manage it on the river have been incredibly useful off the river as well. I think at the end of the day the big secret to dealing with fear is learning how to trust yourself.

Great video! I've been working hard at overcoming fear that resulted from very poor instruction and being put into rapids well above my skill level. After working with some great instructors these past 2 years, my skills are finally increasing, however, I still deal with the fear. Its good to know feeling fear is normal. I've been trying to control it by taking slow, deep breaths and visualizing running the rapid successfully while telling myself "this is within your skill level, you got this". Many times I've looked at the features and thought, "what is the worst that could happen?" Usually it's an embarrassing swim. I like your suggestion of asking what is "most likely" to happen if you mess up a line instead of thinking what is the "worst thing". I will definitely be trying some of the other techniques you mentioned: laughing, taking the time to see the river, etc. Hopefully they will help me refocus my thoughts. Thanks for making this video !!!

This guy is just incredible. Thanks man. You’re a blessing. Keep it up.

This is very appropriate & timely for me ! I’ve been recreational kayaking for a few years now . At 53 years young I’m drawn to ww boating ! I readily admit I’m anxious , scared , nervous ! This coming spring I’ll be setting out in my new Zen 3.0 :) I’m in shape , though a bit beat up . I say what the hell , I’m doing it before I get much older . Thanks for this calm & very insightful video . EDIT : dang there’s my beautiful boat ! Yellow Z3

I'm a beginner in kayaking, and this has opened a window of understanding. It will help also with a professional decision I've recently made that requires me to leave the country, and honestly I'm super scared about it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic bro!

I have a boat that I started in and it came to me without a drain plug, and after some time I realized that wondering around put-in, looking for the right size stick helped more and more calm me down and get centered.

Great video. I have really been working on fear, I have good skills but for some reason I am afraid of rolling. I don’t roll often because I have have a great brace and I am good at lines on rapids but in the back of my head I am constantly worried about what happens if I do need to role. I have started purposely rolling in rapids to clear that from my mind and it has really helped. I would also suggest an amazing book that I have read recently called Deep Survival by Laurence Gonzales about survival, who survives, who doesn’t and why. The book does a great job breaking down a lot of the points that you shared like the difference between a logical and emotional brain and how we can utilize both to survive in any situation.

As a spry 55 year old man who’s in his first season of whitewater this video is priceless! Thank you!

Your video explains alot about how I feel. I recently went on a trip and was feeling scared of what thos river might bring, as I put on my spraydeck the fear went and the focus and joy started. I'm sharing this video. 🤟

Hey dude, just getting into kayaking at 46 and im fortunate enough to have a best friend as a seasoned instructor, like you hes calm and really good at explaing situations and what and how to deal with it. Your videos are so well thought out and presented, so clear and well broken down into stages. the rolling ones satiated some fears i had (yet to get in the pool) but made it look obtainable. Thank you for your efforts in explaining stuff realy well.

A friendly reminder that you promised to give a video of how to bomb proof your roll. I am still awaiting your perspective on this! :)