{"id":18733,"date":"2019-02-08T12:00:42","date_gmt":"2019-02-08T20:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/community.nrs.com\/?p=18733"},"modified":"2019-02-11T11:14:09","modified_gmt":"2019-02-11T19:14:09","slug":"insights-from-china-how-to-teach-sup-abroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/community.nrs.com\/duct-tape\/2019\/02\/08\/insights-from-china-how-to-teach-sup-abroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Insights from China: How to Teach SUP Abroad"},"content":{"rendered":"

I found myself on an urban paddling adventure in the \u2018small\u2019 city of Hangzhou, population eight million. The third-ranked university in China had invited me to teach SUP yoga courses and American Canoe Association (ACA) SUP Instructor Certification courses. I had never been \u2018confined\u2019 to an urban environment before. And even though I speak three languages, Chinese isn\u2019t one of them so, for the first time ever, I had to rely on a translator.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Have you ever dreamed of getting paid to travel the world and contribute to others by teaching your passion? I\u2019ve been doing it for over 14 years, but my latest teaching adventure in China left me with profound insights. Here are some things I learned that may help you snag a gig teaching SUP abroad, set yourself up for success while you\u2019re there, and recover when things don\u2019t go as planned.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Put Yourself Out There
\n<\/strong>In the past, I assumed if I just did my thing and did it really well, opportunities would fall on my doorstep. I assumed wrong. The traveling\/working gigs I\u2019ve gotten are the result of proactive steps taken in the paddling world. For example, my first guiding gig in Mexico happened after I cold-called the owner of the rafting company and asked for a meeting.<\/p>\n

The invitation to teach in China came at the U.S. American Canoe Association National Conference. I participated in the pre-conference L3 SUP Surf Instructor Course and Ge Wu, a Chinese paddling instructor, stood in as my practice student. After working together and showing him my Yoga for Paddling<\/em> book<\/a>, he asked if I would be interested in coming to his university in China to teach.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t need the course for my day-to-day work. I took it because I\u2019m really stoked on SUP surfing right now and wanted to improve. Over the years, I\u2019ve found that investing in and following my passion often creates results in unforeseen ways\u2014like the invitation to teach in China. My advice to you is, take a course you\u2019ve been wanting to take or attend a conference where you\u2019ll meet people who are leaders in their field and share similar passions. It\u2019s worth the investment and time.<\/p>\n

And when you\u2019re there, tell people what you do and what you\u2019re passionate about. People don\u2019t know what you\u2019re up to unless you tell them. I always keep a copy of my book with me to share for this very reason.<\/p>\n

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Be Prepared to Travel with Gear<\/strong>
\nThe university in China had a large fleet of inflatable SUPs, but when I first arrived a lot of them didn\u2019t have fins and some of them didn\u2019t hold air so well. The paddles were heavy and plastic. Could I have managed using their gear, yes. Was I stoked I had brought my own? Yes!<\/p>\n

And not just for myself. Turns out, after we ordered more fins and patched some boards, we had just enough usable boards for the number of students taking the courses. I would have been disappointed to know I had taken a board that a potential student could have used, especially since it\u2019s so easy to travel with an inflatable SUP.<\/p>\n

Inflatables fall within the restrictions of a regular checked bag, so they accrue no extra charge. I own a wonderful three-piece carbon breakdown paddle that fits perfectly in the bag with my board. There\u2019s plenty of room for my leash and inflatable PFD (although be aware that some security checkpoints won\u2019t let you fly with a CO2 cartridge even in your checked bag).<\/p>\n

From the standpoint of stress reduction, traveling with your own gear is very helpful. Although, the extra stuff and questioning from TSA can feel briefly stressful, knowing that I have everything I need to get on the water and teach regardless of what\u2019s going on with my host\u2019s gear is very affirming, and one less thing to worry about.<\/p>\n