Metacognition and Heuristic Traps : Hell’s Mouth (F5/7 4.5 kt 1.5m)

 

As someone who has demonstrated and exercised an appetite for personal risk taking in other adventure sports such as climbing, I am always very conscious of keeping that ‘little devil’ tucked safely away when working with others in any leadership role. My goal is to try and create a safe space to fail fast for rapid performance growth. That is not just physical but obviously psychological too. If a client or peer’s confidence could be damaged, I try a different tact, even though we might benefit from the technical learning opportunity in front of us. But if our cognitive load is threatened then we have stopped learning and are just surviving. 

A recent morning out on the North Coast of Anglesey’s Hell’s Mouth reminded me of the omnipresent heuristic traps where things might seem all cool ahead but the actual reality of the oncoming situation would likely escalate outwith the remit of the day  

We were looking to set up for a return down wind run with the tide to create some manageable ‘on the water navigation’ in conditions. One of my peers made an observation ‘that I seemed “super cautious” from the conditions in the video. As he said it is hard to understand the conditions from video. Our immediate position was  reasonably tame but the future water and our intention to break into a long downwind run were likely beyond what we were looking for from the day if we were to push deeper up into the race. 

The objective risks were that any rescue would have eventually just washed out in the race pushing us back east but in no apparent real danger. But the danger of creating cracks in someone’s confidence versus any benefits of us knowing they can be rescued in that environment was high with little reward. Only a few weeks ago, our team of four had successfully executed a rescue in the group in the same location whilst out playing with similar conditions, all be it with opposing tidal direction. It would have been easy for us to slide effortlessly into that heuristic familiarity trap thinking circumstances were the same. 

What was different?

There were two of us not four. 

Our exposure to rescue drift in North Easterly F7 gusts and 4.5 kt tidal flow. 

Limited VHF signal in area. 

Our objective to build confidence in ‘on the water dynamic navigation’ for a 2 mile 5 kt downwind run back to Bull Bay.

I am always pleased when my ‘little devil’ is left on the shore when he is not required!

Heuristic Trap Identified	Environmental or Social Trigger	System 1 Intuitive Response	System 2 Metacognitive Intervention
Familiarity Trap	Operating in the race during a familiar tidal window.	Devaluation of risk because the environment feels known and safe.	Dynamic risk assessment to identify specific daily variances in flow and wind.
Commitment Trap	Pushing to reach a specific eddy to complete a technical demo.	Feeling the need to meet the session plan despite changing conditions.	Recognising the sunk cost and selecting a safer alternative landing or turn around point.
Social Proof	Observing another group take a high risk line through the surf.	Assuming the line is safe because other paddlers are currently using it.	Independent inspection of the feature to ensure it meets the specific group capacity.
Expert Halo	Peer group deferring to my decision without providing critique.	Accepting the lead role without inviting external validation of the plan.	Actively inviting peers to challenge the proposed route.

THE SCIENCE OF DECISION MAKING: SYSTEM 1 VS SYSTEM 2

In high consequence environments: the brain naturally relies on System 1 thinking. This is a fast: emotional: and intuitive process that allows for quick reactions. While essential for immediate technical survival: System 1 is highly susceptible to heuristic traps.

As a Coach: the goal is to employ metacognition to trigger System 2. This is a slower: more logical: and deliberate mode of thinking that can override the biases of the expert halo or the scarcity of a tidal window.

During a coaching session in the Menai Straits: a coach might feel the pressure of the scarcity trap as the tidal window begins to close. System 1 might urge the coach to rush a technical demo to maximise the learning time. 

By utilising System 2: the coach pauses to evaluate if the safety margin has been compromised by this time pressure. This metacognitive intervention ensures that professional standards remain the priority over the completion of a specific task.

#HeuristicTraps #RiskManagement #FutureWater #DecisionMaking #CoachingScience #PerformancePsychology #AffectiveDomain

The High Brace Project: Mapping the Path to Muscle Memory

 Moved my focus back from the complex domain of dynamic water to the complicated domain of another pool session to focus on the high brace project. I’ve worked through the full session without any hands on the euro blade paddle using the constraints of my paddle float and Greenland Paddle through the ‘form’ teachings from the storm roll. 

It feels like a good high brace works best when I commit more of my torso mass down the line of the diving paddle (including my head). This opens the hips to flick the boat up as well as holding the unrecoverd weight in the boyant support of the water until the final recovery transition from the paddle. When I begin to deconstruct a skill such as this, there is a moment when I know I have the correct methodology to begin to move it from associative to autonomous performance and in that moment it is now time to embed it to muscle memory through repetition… Lots of it!

Once it’s programmed into muscle memory then I can move the process to pressure test in the sea in moderate water then into dynamic conditions for the real test. Onwards!

Pool session:

Coaching Model / Focus	Date	Venue & Environmental Context	Ratio / Client Profile	Specific Theory Applied	Core Objective & Progression	Critical Reflection & Learning
LTAD: Skill Refinement / Training to Train	Feb 2026	Indoor Pool: Complicated Domain. Controlled environment.	Solo.	Biomechanical Deconstruction: Motor Learning Stages: and Constraint Led Approach.	High brace project using paddle float and Greenland Paddle constraints.	Transitioning the high brace from associative to autonomous performance. Committing torso mass and head position is the key to hip flick

#LongTermAthleteDevelopment (LTAD) #SkillsAcquisitionTheory (SAT) #ConstraintLedApproach (CLA) #Rolling #CynefinDomain #FailFast

Moving between Cynefin Domains: From Complex to Complicated and back to Complex

 

Trearddur Bay F7 2.5m Swell (Photo: Geth Roberts)

Moving from above (Complex Domain) to the pool (Complicated Domain) to drill into biomechanics of the offside roll using Constraints Led Approach (CLA) with an air bag and a Greenland Paddle (GP) can seem somewhat of a theoretical construct than a relatable shift from the ‘field’ to the ‘lab’ to improve performance in the ‘field’ again. But in my view for increased performance it is critical.

In the pool, my use of the process to part task or ‘chunking’ the Greenland Storm Roll technique accidentally opened the door for a lightbulb moment on building good form into my next goal: The high brace.  The realisation was simply to look down to the bottom of the pool (or towards the tip of the Greenland paddle) and by default, my body position was optimised for recovery. I had watched this video about twenty times and sunk in the pool attempts to roll.

It wasn’t until I practiced it through the lens of the high brace that I managed to do it. The full storm roll followed instantly. Giving myself the cognitive space to just think differently allowed this to happen with impact, and now, I will look to take this (from ‘associative’ to ‘autonomous’ performance) into moderate seas and try and embed it to muscle memory.

Pool Session:

Target offside hip flick via paddle float balance brace with focus on head drop. Storm roll deconstruction: focusing on the final high brace phase.

Highly productive session. Head staying down improved the storm roll form significantly. Interlinked CLA facilitated rapid technical gains.

#LongTermAthleteDevelopment (LTAD) #SkillsAcquisitionTheory (SAT) #ConstraintLedApproach (CLA) #Rolling #CynefinDomain #FailFast

Pressure Testing: Lost Paddle with Split Paddle Roll Recovery in Dynamic Water

 

(Video: Duncan Greene)

In the pursuit of the Advanced Performance Coach qualification, we often talk about skill acquisition as a linear process. We start in the pool, move to flat water, and eventually take the skill into the sea. However, proficiency in advanced environments requires a more robust approach. We need to test our skills at the point where technical precision meets psychological pressure. This week, my focus shifted to a very specific recovery scenario: the lost paddle and subsequent split paddle roll in dynamic water.

Step	Progression Stage	Task Constraint (T)	Environmental Constraint (E)	Theoretical Rationale / APC Link
1	Lever Reduction (Baseline)	Use a full paddle but choke up (hold the shaft halfway down).	Calm, shallow water (waist deep).	Skill Regression: Gradually reduces the lever to focus on the Kinetic Chain before removing the blade entirely.
2	Isolation (The Half-Paddle)	Switch to a single split-paddle piece. Hold it firmly in the "power hand."	Controlled environment (Pool or flat water).	Part-Task Practice: Isolates the roll mechanics without the cognitive load of retrieving the paddle.
3	Cognitive Integration	Start with the split-paddle tucked under the deck bungees.	Calm water, coach in close proximity for safety.	Cognitive Load Theory (CLT): Introduces "Extraneous Load" (retrieval) once the motor pattern of the roll is stable.
4	Environmental Scaling	Half-paddle roll in moving water (small eddies or slow flow).	Introduce minor "E-Constraints" (moderate moving water).	Representational Design: Testing the resilience of the movement in a low-consequence but dynamic setting.
5	Pressure Testing	Capsize where the student must find the split and roll up.	Dynamic water (3 kt flow or small surf).	Autonomous Stage: Validates that the skill is embedded in muscle memory and can be executed under high emotional/environmental stress.

The Technical Challenge: Biomechanics of the Split

When you lose your primary paddle in a tide race, the immediate technical requirement is to access your splits and execute a roll. This is a significant test of your biomechanics. Unlike a standard roll where you have a long lever, the split paddle provides much less leverage. This forces a total reliance on the kinetic chain.

The power must come from the lower body. The knee drive and hip flick must be timed to rotate the hull, while the upper body maintains a rigid power box. If you attempt to pull with your arms, the blade will likely dive, and the roll might fail. In my recent sessions, I have been focusing on the catch phase of the split paddle. Ensuring the blade finds ‘grip’ (laminar flow) before applying the flick and has been the difference between a successful recovery and a wet exit. This is a good example of managing fluid dynamics under stress.

The Psychological Component: The Affective Threshold

The biggest barrier to this skill is not physical but psychological. Capsizing in a turbulent tidal flow without a paddle in your hands immediately spikes your arousal levels. If you cross your affective threshold, your fine motor skills degrade, and your urge to exit increases.

My strategy for this goal has been to intentionally stay below that threshold by practicing in progressively larger water with trusted partners. By removing the fear of consequence, I can keep my cognitive load low. This allows me to focus on the technical cues of the roll rather than the environment around me. Each successful recovery demystifies the situation and builds a deep well of confidence that is essential for any coach working in advanced water.

Strategic Coaching: The Adaptive Lens

From a coaching perspective, the split paddle roll is more than just a self rescue tool. It informs how I approach the coaching box in dynamic environments. Understanding the struggle of a paddle less recovery makes me a more empathetic and observant coach.

This skill also links directly to the hand of god rescue and my focus on adaptive coaching. If an athlete has a physical adaptation that limits their ability to roll, my ability to remain calm and position myself for an immediate uprighting rescue is vital. We want to avoid the exhausting process of a traditional deep water rescue whenever possible. By refining these high level recovery skills, I am better equipped to support the performance of every student, regardless of their physical requirements.

Long Term Athlete Development

This journey toward the APC is a personal exercise in Long Term Athlete Development. It is about recognising that at every level, there is always room to refine the basics and push the personal boundaries of what feels possible. 
My next focus now, is on these four linked goals; surfing commitment, tide race coaching, specialised rescues, and psychological composure. In this, I am building on the coaching foundation that is hopefully technically sound.

#LongTermAthleteDevelopment (LTAD) #SkillsAcquisitionTheory (SAT) #ConstraintLedApproach (CLA) #Rolling #CynefinDomain #FailFast

Skill Acquisition: The "Fail Fast" Approach

 

I’m trying to burst through a few specific goals laid out above. The first is to simply improve something that I know has lots of scope for easy gains in my current performance. My surfing lacks commitment to my edging (I think) and to drive more edge means for me, to find the point of failure and then try again quickly to refine what I learned. Failing fast like this leads me to utilising my edge better and ultimately surfing better (I hope!). 

Why have I chosen to go to failure in this? 

Well, strengthening my roll in the tide race is continuous development and each successful roll de mystifies things and removes consequence from a failed surf and speeds up my learning as well as relieving cognitive load. This will eventually allow me to concentrate and try out technical adjustments to the practice of surfing technique than worry about recovery as much. 

Number 2 in my goal hit list supports my ability to coach others in dynamic environments such as a tidal race. Again, it’s also feeding another goal which is to practice a particular rescue that I want to develop to support others safely in bigger water. 

Number 3 is to try and get practice using the ‘hand of god’ rescue in dynamic water. This is difficult to practice because few paddlers are willing to throw themselves upside down without a paddle in a fast bumpy tide race, so I am forced to stock my paddling buddies in the tide race to see if I can position myself to quickly aid a failed roll before they do a wet exit. No 3 is also directly linked to my strategy to drive and support performance in an adaptive environment, where an ability to upright an athlete/student to support their recovery immediately avoids the sometimes more difficult traditional methods when a physical adaption is restricting that approach

Number 4 is just the final stage of building self rescue confidence and requires the right day with the right people to facilitate the calm required to capsize with no paddle in the tide race and operate calmly underwater below my ‘affective threshold’ to get the job done. 

In my view, all these four goals are all linked in to bigger objectives in my APC journey. My personal Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD), strengthening my ability to coach others in dynamic water (Coaching Box) and my ability to build trust in rescue and recovery in advanced waters (Split Paddle Rescue and Dynamic Group Rescues). 

The Pod at Rhoscolyn 

So my strategy to try and achieve these session goals has been to develop a ‘pod’ of like minded peers, who are seeking to drive their personal skills without judgement and adopt a fail fast approach to our sessions. The Pod tries to create safe places to fail in dynamic conditions in the knowledge that we are spotting the paddler for recovery, but is less focused on leadership (as it is taken as a given) and more focused on gaining further Performance Integrity and Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD).

#LongTermAthleteDevelopment (LTAD) #SkillsAcquisitionTheory (SAT) #ConstraintLedApproach (CLA) #Rolling #CynefinDomain #FailFast

The Recipe for Performance Improvement: TTPP

(Photo: Gethin Roberts)

Following on from my last post about the daunting yet exciting leap into the Advanced Performance Coach (APC) pathway, I have been thinking about what actually makes a kayak move well. In my climbing days, we used to talk about "the flow" where movement feels effortless despite the vertical world. In sea kayaking, especially when the water gets lively, that flow is a specific recipe of ingredients.

If we want to progress beyond just "surviving" the conditions to truly performing in them, we need to look at the TTPP model (Technical, Tactical, Physiological, Psychological) through a professional lens:

Technical Precision: The Physics of Efficiency

Technical performance is essentially a game of managing fluid dynamics. When we looked at those laminar flow diagrams, the message was clear: air is the enemy of drive.

Biomechanics: We stop thinking about "paddling with our arms" and start thinking about the kinetic chain. Efficiency comes from using the large muscle groups of the legs and core to drive the blade through the water. The arms are simply the struts that connect the engine to the paddle.

The Catch: This is the most critical phase. We must ensure the blade is fully submerged before we apply any power. A "noisy" catch introduces air and turbulence, destroying that beautiful laminar flow and wasting your energy.

Consistency: It is easy to have a perfect stroke on a pond. The real challenge is the ability to replicate that precision when you are sitting in the middle of a confused sea state or a fast moving tide race.

Tactical Intelligence: Decision Making Under Pressure

In advanced environments, even the most refined technique will fail if your tactical plan is poor. This is where we stop fighting the sea and start using its energy.

Environment Reading: This is about developing a deep understanding of tidal flow, wind fetch, and swell patterns. Instead of gritting your teeth against a headwind, tactical intelligence finds the "conveyor belt" of an eddy or the shelter of a rocky outcrop. 

Anticipation: A high level performer is always seeing the "next move" three steps ahead. Whether it is timing a surf landing or positioning for a ferry glide across a race, anticipation reduces the physical effort required. This aligns perfectly with the BCAB focus on leadership in dynamic water.

Psychological Fortitude: The Inner Game

I mentioned feeling like an imposter in my last post. While that feeling is common, how we manage it determines our performance.

Pressure Management: When the stakes are high, our technique often reverts to old, inefficient habits. Maintaining technical integrity when the waves look big is a psychological skill that requires practice and self awareness.

Growth Mindset: We have to reframe our "failures." Every missed line or unexpected capsize is not a sign of poor skill but rather a vital data point for improvement. In the APC journey, we learn to love the "messy" learning process.

Physiological: The Engine Room

If technical skill is the steering and tactics are the map, then the physiological component is the engine. In advanced water, we are often asking our bodies to perform high intensity work for extended periods.

Core Strength and Power Transfer: This is about more than just "six pack" muscles. It is the functional strength required to maintain a rigid "power box" between your shoulders and hips. This allows the energy generated by your legs to reach the paddle blade without "leaking" out through a soft torso.

Aerobic and Anaerobic Capacity: Sea kayaking in advanced environments often involves long periods of steady state paddling interspersed with explosive bursts of power to cross a move or catch a wave. Your physiological readiness determines how quickly you recover from those redline moments. 

Flexibility and Range of Motion: A high level of performance requires a significant amount of spinal rotation and shoulder mobility. If your body is tight, your stroke length decreases, and you begin to rely on smaller, weaker muscles which leads to early fatigue or injury.

Nutritional Strategy: You cannot run a high performance engine on empty. Part of the physiological pillar is understanding how to fuel your body for a six hour day on the water. 

In singularity, each element has impact but of more note is the cause and effect that one may have on the other leading to as an example, a poor (tactical) choice in the environment can lead to a drop in energy or fatigue (physiological) which then can lead to a cognitive overload (psychological) and result in an overall poor (technical) performance.

#Anglesey #AdvancedPerformanceCoach #Performance_Coaching #Paddlesport_Training #TTPP

Double Sessions: Accelerating the Performance Curve

 In the world of elite athletics, the double session is a staple. It is a gruelling yet effective way to condense high volume training and accelerate skill acquisition. I recently applied this same rigor to the sea.

Today was a perfect example of how we can use contrasting environments to drive technical growth. We spent the morning in the ‘Complex’ dynamic water of Rhoscolyn tide race and the evening in the controlled ‘Complicated’ calm of the pool. When driving performance my experience in climbing has taught me a few things:

1. Your body adapts aggressively if fuelled and given the right levels of recovery to recruit the muscle fibre

2. Training Strength or Power (dynamic strength) when fatigued can be more injurious and unproductive (unless controlled intentionally- perhaps through a ‘Dual Factor’ periodic training regime

3. Psychology is 80% of the challenge

4. Don't get injured

5. Don’t get injured!

So when driving increased performance in the context of elite level environments,  the goal is weirdly to rinse as much increased productive performance gains in the shortest of time. This facilitates more time for more progression!

However without a cyclical program that allows for both physical and mental burnout, then there is a clear danger of long term performance reduction. Double sessions in Sea Kayaking at a recreational level or even non competitive advanced level could be digested by most if the specific skill acquisition is serviced by attaining muscle memory or deconstruction and reconstruction of a specific skill like rolling perhaps.

The body and mind simply responds to change through adaption and well constructed double sessions can accelerate the performance curve substantially and support a strategy for breaking through a performance plateau.

Our morning session focused on paddling skills and risk management in complex dynamic water in gully's managing surges and frothy, bumpy water. Conversely my pool session hardly involved a paddle and focussed on my asymmetric issue that I've isolated effecting my offside hipflick using a float supported balance brace. So both my physical and psychological loading were very different between the two sessions and complimentary for performance growth.

#DoubleSession #TrainingCycles #RecoveryIsPerformance #PerformanceCurve

The Invisible Barrier: Managing the Cognitive Storm

 

In the North Stack tide race, the constraints we face aren't just the physical rush of the water or the wind against the hull. The most significant barrier is often invisible: the Cognitive Load. When the environment shifts from "Complicated" to "Complex," our brains can become overwhelmed by sensory data, the roar of the race, the shifting clapotis, and the constant demand for split-second decisions.

For a coach, the challenge is to move beyond the physical and address the mental architecture of the paddler.

Performance integrity in advanced water relies on a concept called Attention Switching. As a coach, I am constantly toggling between two distinct channels:

• Internal Focus: This is the biomechanical "how." Is the blade at the right angle? Is the laminar flow established? Is the kinetic chain from the hip to the blade intact?

• External Focus: This is the environmental "where." Reading the next wave set, monitoring group safety, and identifying the "exit" in a shifting race.

The moment an athlete's internal focus (like the mechanics of a roll) is compromised by the external noise of the environment, performance begins to leak. My goal is to help students automate their internal mechanics so they can free up cognitive "bandwidth" for the environment.

In my first post, I mentioned the "Imposter Syndrome" that often accompanies the journey to becoming a specialist coach. Looking at it through the lens of cognitive psychology, I’ve learned that this "Imposter" feeling is often just a symptom of high cognitive load.

When we are pushed into the Chaotic or Complex domains of the Cynefin framework, our brains struggle to categorize the data. We feel like "frauds" because we haven't yet built the mental frameworks to make the "unknown" predictable. It isn't a lack of ability; it is simply the brain's way of telling us that the environment is currently out-pacing our processing power. By acknowledging this, we can stop fighting the feeling and start deconstructing the environment.

This brings me back to my roots in adaptive coaching. During my years with the GB Paraclimbing Team, I learned that you cannot coach a "technique" in isolation; you must coach the person's unique interaction with the challenge.

In sea kayaking, "coaching the boat" is easy; you tell someone to edge more or paddle harder. But "coaching the person" means dialing down the noise. If a student is gripped by fear, their biomechanics will fail regardless of their skill level. By applying an adaptive lens, I look for ways to reduce the cognitive load.

Maybe we move from the "Complex" race back to a "Complicated" eddy to re-establish that laminar flow we discussed last time. By lowering the environmental volume, we allow the student to find their Flow State, that sweet spot where the challenge matches the skill, and the "Invisible Barrier" finally starts to dissolve.

#CognitiveLoad #AttentionSwitching #AdaptiveCoaching #CynefinDomain #PerformancePsychology