I leaped into my canoe and tried to emulate his technique. I've been trying ever since with less than perfect results. The reason is obvious. It's as simple as that. Like riding a horse, you can learn to stay on the horse in a few hours, but it can take a lifetime to look like you belong there.
Life is transmitted to the canoe by currents of air and the water upon which it rides.
Anyone can handle a canoe in a quiet millpond, but in a rapids a canoe is like a wild stallion. It must be kept on a tight rein. The canoeist must take the canoe where he or she wants it to go, not where it wants to go. Given the chance, the canoe will dump you overboard and continue on down the river by itself.