# Keeping cool under stress



## carvedog (May 11, 2005)

srichte3 said:


> How do you keep Jerry safe and also motivate them to paddle under stress?


Who is Jerry? Besides me.....


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## seantana (Mar 5, 2015)

carvedog said:


> Who is Jerry? Besides me.....


Where there's a Jerry, there's probably going to be a Wallace.


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## Managan (Mar 9, 2015)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzmlnH8vDQHoEb2TrC0WDCg


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## shoenfeld13 (Aug 18, 2009)

Practice, practice, practice. It doesn't matter what your doing, rock climbing, rafting, kayaking, etc, you need to practice enough that your body just reacts without needing to think.

After flipping on day 3 of my first GC trip I was stressed at every single rapid. It takes a lot to overcome fear, real or imagined.


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## lhowemt (Apr 5, 2007)

Practice having carnage, so dealing with it is as familiar as boating.


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## tetoncounty (May 19, 2016)

Live long enough, and get in enough trouble while doing so that, whatever happens, your first thought is "Here we go again".


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## Blade&Shaft (May 23, 2009)

tetoncounty said:


> Live long enough, and get in enough trouble while doing so that, whatever happens, your first thought is "Here we go again".


Yup. 

Nothing can replace experience and time. Get ready for carnage and deal with it. It comes with the territory. You'll find out soon enough if you can handle it or not.


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## Mountainsandrivers (Mar 26, 2015)

Practice, practice!
Don't expect a lot out of your paddlers. They will let you down, hold their paddles up and scream when they should be working. Know that and plan for it.
On May 31 I was rowing the Taos Box on a big trip for a friend's memorial. Big hit in Sunset Rapid at the end, slow motion flip. I looked around, my swimmers were good, another boat hooked up to us and pushed us to the takeout. I just swam in, bowed to the crowd we had, flipped the boat over and slammed a beer through my bootie. Glad I stayed calm, it was a pretty funny show!


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## panicman (Apr 7, 2005)

Remember to breath.


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## trevko (Jul 7, 2008)

Blade&Shaft said:


> Yup.
> 
> Nothing can replace experience and time. Get ready for carnage and deal with it. It comes with the territory. You'll find out soon enough if you can handle it or not.


So true - it's a balance between keeping it light and knowing when to change the pitch of your voice to let folks know it's serious. 

There is nothing like scouting a rapid like Hance or Lava and walking back to the boat with your stomach doing a flop or two. To relax my body I would hum and sing a little diddy from the Beat Farmers...Of course I didn't have to worry about peeps paddling to make a move or two...

Happy Boy


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## UriahJones (Aug 10, 2015)

All others said, its pretty much all about experience. This is true for each and every sport. 

Now I'm fairly new to rafting, and haven't done anything more than Class IV yet, but I know from other sports that experience is the only way to stay calm in those stressful situations. 

Basically, your body will react with stress in most new environments. Whatever sensory overload you are experiencing it will seem stressful. But once you've had enough experiences, it will be 'normal' and your body won't react with stress signals. 

So here is my most successful tip for rafting. Swim the rapids. Not the killer Class V stuff (or at least not intentionally) but swim lots and lots of Class III-IV's until you feel super comfy taking those swims. Once you know that when the 'worst' happens and you'll still be A OK then there will be a lot less stress. 

Obviously, be safe and don't swim alone. But nothing is better preparation in my mind than practicing the swim and re-flip. I built so much more confidence from the times that I have swam rapids. Way more than just be-bopping down in the raft.


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## tetoncounty (May 19, 2016)

here ya go:


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## mattman (Jan 30, 2015)

Yell, let out your war cry. Gets the carbon dioxide, and nerves out of your lungs before a big rapid, so the oxygen can get in. Focusses the chee and all that shit to, which helps.


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## Koffler (Aug 4, 2015)

tetoncounty said:


> here ya go:


Yeah, that!!!


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## Leliel (Mar 19, 2021)

In sports like this it is always important to keep calm. Maintaining a good atmosphere makes the whole experience more pleasant. Of course, it depends on the personality type and how one handles stress, but I’m just pointing out essential things. For me personally, this was challenge. I don’t work well under pressure, and I often lose control and get anxiety attacks. At the beginning I thought it’s just the way I am, but then I did some research and discovered that this can actually be qualified as a personality disorder. I used this online platform Personality Disorders | Causes & Treatment | Conditions We Treat to get over my insecurities and issues. After some months, I completely got my anxiety under control.


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## sonofdad (Jul 21, 2015)

Blade&Shaft said:


> Yup.
> 
> Nothing can replace experience and time. Get ready for carnage and deal with it. It comes with the territory. You'll find out soon enough if you can handle it or not.


experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes -oscar wilde


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