Finally, I got it! by Tilly Knight

I have always thought the “blunt” in freestyle kayaking seemed like a really fun trick to see and do. And so for a long time I had my eyes on learning this trick. Before Keeners I spent hours searching on YouTube a “how to blunt” video. However when I got to Keeners these YouTube videos came to life and became my own one on one coach, which was something I had never had before. One morning during my second week of Keeners while surfing at the powered up Garborator wave, I decided to commit all my rides to attempting and hopefully finally getting a left blunt. Every surf I mustered all my strength to cycle over and over on the right edge of the wave in an attempt to get that acceleration necessary for a blunt. But each time my boat slid fast down the wave by gravity, my attempt at the blunt only resulted in some air bumps. Quickly I grew tired to the point where rolling after flipping became a burden. After one surf as I floated up the eddy by Garb with my hands resting in the water beside my blue and yellow plastic boat, one of my coaches Tyler Curtis, waves me over. Over the roaring water he says to me: “Tilly, I can see that you are getting stuck in your blunt, but if you stop taking that right paddle stroke you are doing as you drive your right edge you will have more time to twist your torso and complete the blunt.”