Exercises in orientation can become totally bampot from this position. Normal everyday tasks such as pouring water & object stacking within, beyond, left or right of the body arc, rolling the Norsaq or paddle around the torso. When unfamiliar with its surroundings, this motor process is capable of hindering any series of complex & traditional qajaq roll or reverse paddling. It asks us to question subtle coordination engraming. Immersion in a naturally occurring or sequencial change of perception gives a more confident approach to problem solving when you most need it. With enough buffered understanding of your own wiring, you'll get pitted in an opaque sea throwing surf over your head & relax, breathe & self right, rather than stiffen, thrash & scream for rescue. When a kayaker has it in hand, getting flipped & staying under can sometimes be great way to get a bit of peace & quiet from the surface barrage. A way to take a look around, nose to nose with a jellyfish, while an insane orchestra of squabbling bubbles sound off. After a while, work these coordination tests blindfold, then try wet rolling blindfold, or at night, or with a disorientating strobe, using the Norsaq, or just a stick from the forest. In the end, the tool is your body, not the perepheral item - lifes a toolbox, use what works for the job at hand. You don't take a spoon to a knife party aye... Becoming familiar with the inner feel of a roll, the key triggers that tell you where you are within the sequence is all but essential as you adventure into phenomena at your limit - especially if you intend to go it alone.. Training inner gyroscopic balance while starving out visual referencing, will reward a great confidence advantage & core stability. Invent, experiment, & discover joy inside what was alarm.
I have a dynamic version of Urdhva Dhanurasana set up in the tall trees - a great place to practise & a Sgitheanach off-ramp version of the horizontal Qajaasaarnaq, pronounced, kiya-sa-nook. Amongst the leaves & occasional deep beams of sunlight that blind you momentarily on a spin, you forget the world beyond the enclosure & work on momentum, sets, alternatives, & the rope creaks with gentle familiarity on complex sequences, until rain starts to filter through the canopy...There was a faint smell of autumn in there today, the first time it slipped through & I found I had green dust from the trees on my face & under my eroded nails. Time had shifted silently into late morning, the bacon under the grill was cold, & the collie was developing a twitch from staying in one place too long...
This rope arrangment is different from my setup of Qajaasaarnaq horizontal twins, its mimicry is more through a vertical axis, almost forcing the body to accelerate from the hips outward, like an uncoiling whip, while constantly pushing off balancing the exercise & testing your lateral response engramming. I used to apply this knowledge in very technical climbing, with results of physical ingenuity that baffled others high in their field. Experience & doing, is everything. Weakness teaches with an equal veracity to strength & questioning is healthy. If you can swing into Urdhva Dhanurasana on the ropes & exercise some control over the momentum, you are doing well. If you're not doing well, that's ok also. Not everyone has to be an expert at everything. In a world of willy-waving idiots, not enough people tell eachother that what they have achieved, is a success. It's an intense if not funny way to spend the morning anyway, even if it goes wrong. I'm still not sure how I got tea up my nose...twice. Being an insatiable conquistador, I'm doing everything I can to distraction from this insistant itch, clawing me to rodeo the new Quaarsut 550 in an Atlantic storm surge...gimme gimme gimme..
When you do get it wrong though, ropes & storm surge alike, & we all do from time to time, you will find movement & centre mocking Descartes & his wisdom with the phrase: I think - therefore... I am confused about who I am.
