Kayaking is a counterintuitive sport. For some people, it is hard to explain the very basic movements that occur on the river. It is no surprise that we occasionally offer erroneous advice to people learning the sport. Though well meaning words of wisdom, the advice may be over simplified. I wince when I encounter students who have developed bad habits resulting from well meaning words of wisdom. This has prompted me to examine the way we explain our sport and develop this list of some of the classic bits of advice that should be avoided (or at least adjusted). PADDLE! PADDLE! PADDLE! is frequently used to encourage beginning paddlers through their first rapids. This advice occasionally improves a beginner's odds of making it through a drop successfully. However, the tip encourages the bad habit of flailing, and taking too many strokes. The neophyte paddler is left unaware of the magic of proper stroke timing and placement. A better approach is a systematic explanation of the places where speed is useful, like punching a hole, or punching into an eddy once the boat is on the right approach path. In either of those cases, three strokes of acceleration are all that is necessary. Speed doesn't help very much in waves; in fact, rushing to fit in extra strokes often throws a paddler off balance. LEAN DOWNSTREAM is another overused tip, offered to keep beginner paddlers from getting violently flipped as they peel out of an eddy. It is good advice, if explained thoroughly. First, the paddler you are coaching has to understand the different types of leans. There is the beginner's instinctive lean, which leaves the boat flat, while the paddler leans his body forward and a bit out over the water. For most whitewater moves you actually want a boat tilt, which is accomplished by curling the body and head up over the boat, jutting out the ribcage. Understanding and practicing this sort of balance, without the paddle as a crutch, is the first step to less power flips on eddy lines. Next is the issue of how long to keep the boat tilted when entering the current from an eddy. I have diagnosed an amazing number of self-taught paddlers who have developed the habit of trying to lean downstream all of the time. WRONG! Not only wrong, but really hard to do. The proper boat tilt downstream only applies to a few moments in the transition from eddy to current, and in a few miscellaneous instants, like floating into a hole sideways. Imagine for a moment walking in an airport with a moving sidewalk. When you step from solid ground onto the sidewalk you need a few moments of balance, leaning, until you have adapted to the speed of the sidewalk. You would sure look funny leaning forward the entire length of the sidewalk. The river is the same, except the look is tippy and awkward, and not as obvious. You only want to tilt the boat for a few moments as you make a peel out, gradually setting your boat flat as you adapt to the speed of the current. KEEP THE BOAT STRAIGHT is a third oversimplification that beginning paddlers often hear, and follow to their own demise. It is the correct reaction for heading straight into a breaking ocean wave, but for a variety of reasons, rarely do whitewater paddlers keep the boat pointed straight downstream. Floating sideways is a valuable part of paddling. You can't get into eddies, or even avoid rocks, while keeping the boat pointed straight downriver. In fact, many of the best instructors teach spinning circles in current to improve the comfort level of students. The ultimate comfort comes from developing boat control so it is easy to be perpendicular for curling breaking waves, or for ledges. Next time you cheer for a friend bouncing through a rapid, try making noise. Pound on your boat, and make a racket. You are more likely to be heard, and less likely to start bad habits.