by Juliet
I always struggle with the generalization that women struggle with fear/men don’t when it comes to whitewater kayaking. I know some guys who have to deal with some pretty heady head games when it comes to kayaking. I am not so sure that there is a way to categorize fear into one gender or another
But on the other hand….do I frequently say that women “think too much” about just about anything–including kayaking. Oh yes! We have a great imagination whether it comes to what our boy friend is doing when he does not call like he said he would/what happens if we screw up in a rapid. So I do sometimes encourage women I am paddling with to “think like a guy” when it comes to paddling. But maybe that is a little vague. So when I read a quote from Adriene Levknecht–whom many will say “thinks like a guy” when she paddles for sure, I could totally agree with the way Adriene put it:
“Women have a harder time letting their past go and visualizing the future. We wrap our heads around things that have already happened that we can’t change.”
Example: you mess up a rapid and end up swimming. And so you avoid running that rapid again because the same thing might happen. Might happen. Might not. But avoiding running the rapid means you never give yourself a chance. SO next time you are struggling with a rapid that gave you a hard time, maybe give it another chance. You might ace it this time!
Read more about Adriene and the rest of the “river maidens” of western North Carolina.