Review: the Mocke Surfski Coaching Videos

Dawid swears that I said, “Thanks for the session!”. I thought I was just warming up.

“We kinda just pushed you out there and let nature take its course,” laughed Dawid. “Those were the early days! And that southeaster must have been at least 30kt!”

Courses and Certification

Even in those early days, the Mockes were already developing a system of teaching the basics of ocean paddling, which became their Ocean ABCs course. A little while later, the ABCs were supplemented by an “Ocean Paddler” course that built on the basics.

They were instrumental too in developing surfski proficiency certification, which is required today for any race run under the auspices of Canoeing South Africa.

Hard at work making the videos!

Video Courses

So why the video courses?

“My brother Jasper and I have done hundreds and hundreds of coaching sessions,” says Dawid. “Not just at Surfski School, but at races and events all over the world.

“There’s a set of recurring questions and themes that come up time and time again.”

And hence the videos.

“The idea was to summarize a body of knowledge in one place,” says Dawid. “We’ve included the critical information that you need.”

There are many surfski videos on YouTube, good, bad and indifferent on many aspects of paddling. But these courses are the only place you’ll find a complete sequence from start to finish of the basics of learning to handle your surfski.

Cost

The videos were costly to make; the Mockes hired a helicopter to take the aerial footage. (To minimize the impact on the environment, though, they arranged to extend the flight of a tourist helicopter that was already in the area!)

“But we’ve kept the cost to the paddler really low,” says Dawid. “The heart of it is to reach as many people as possible.”

The Masters of Surfski course costs $20, The Downwind Pro course is $15.  AND there's a combo option - both courses for a total of $30...