WATCH! First Ever Cliff Jump Kayak Backflip by 4x World Champion Eric Jackson

On June 14th, 2018, four x world champion whitewater kayaker and Olympian, Eric Jackson completed a move no one in the world has ever duplicated: A cliff jump kayak backflip with aerial entry, boat dive to bow squirt front flip stomp with head pump finish. Christened the "Stunt Double", it took place on a virgin run of Jackson Kayak's newest Freestyle Kayak Creation: the Rock Star 4.0.

This is a scary move. One that 99% of kayakers will never want to try it. It is also an extremely difficult move which most kayakers who do try may not have the skill to stick. It helped Jackson dramatically to have tested this maneuver in his newest kayak design, the Rock Star 4.0, which has more volume in the bow and doesn’t allow his head and shoulders to get all of the way under water which might stop his upward rebound. Jackson had tried this move many times over the past 5 years but was never successful, until his first try in his newly enhanced kayak.  

The process:
1. You need a perch above the water that is high enough that you can complete a backflip.
2. You have to commit to, and then learn the backflip, and then get good enough at it to land it at exactly the right angle and body position.
3. You have to know how to do a “front loop” in your kayak and be good enough to do it eyes closed because you’ll be completely enveloped in the water from the fall and the explosion of water from the landing, that you can’t see anything.
4. You have to keep your hands (paddle) way over your head, so it doesn’t go under water and stop your upwards momentum. 
5. You have to commit to a long rise up and out of the water with your eyes close and throw the loop at the right time to get big air and complete the front flip rotation.

Some other factors:
1. You have about a + or - 2 degree of angle margin for error to make it work on the landing. Notice he lands at exactly 90 degrees to the water with zero rotation speed.
2. You cannot have any side-to side-angle or you simply fall in and immediately your bow pops out to the side which would appear to be an epic fail.

Dissuading factors for others to learn it:
1. You have to keep the bow past vertical on the way down to achieve the trick and if you land slightly past vertical your bow doesn’t penetrate the water, but just kicks backwards and land in a belly flop with your kayak landing on your head. It is very painful. Wind gets knocked out of you and the sprayskirt typically racks your genitals. Most won’t try a second time in that event.
2. You have to inch up to the cliff with your posterier balancing on the very edge and in the process if you go 1” too far you fall off backwards on your head. If you are fearful and don’t go backwards far enough, your kayak would not be on the pivot point, This would “camber up” stopping the rotation and causing you to fall backwards.  

"Why I can do it and nobody else can? I understand what I was trying to do, why it did or did not work, and created the mental picture, as well as the equipment, neccesary to pull it off. I am willing to take my hits and keep on trucking -- having landed on my head plenty before sticking this successful attempt. I have created more freestyle kayak moves than anyone else in the history of the sport and have used that knowledge to help win four world championships. This trick won’t show up in those competitions, but I have plenty of moves that keep me striving to be the best there is.” - Eric Jackson, Four x World Champion Whitewater Kayaker

September 19-22 Filming TV Show (Fishing University)
September 24-27 JK Dealer Summit (House Party)
October Farewell trip to White Nile in Uganda (whitewater & environment trip)
October 21 Run Marine Corps Marathon with wife and daughter 
November/December Training for 2019 Fishing Season
January 5-13 FLW Tour Event #1- Brookland, TX
February 2-10 FLW #2. Kissimmee, Florida
March 2-10 FLW #3 Bainbridge, GA
March 16-17 USA Freestyle Kayak Team Trials- Rock Island, TN
March 23-31 FLW #4 Grove, OK
April 6-14  FLW #5 Jefferson City, TN
April 27-May 5 FLW #6  Dayton, TN
May 10-20 Training for World Freestyle Kayak Championships
June 22-30  FLW #7 Plattsburg, NY  
July 2-7 World Freestyle Kayak Championships- Sort, Spain

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ERIC JACKSON, Eric “EJ” Jackson is to kayaking as Laird Hamilton is to surfing and Tony Hawk is to skateboarding or Kevin VanDam is to bass fishing. Dedicated to the sports since his father first turned him onto it when he was just a teen, EJ – with the support and encouragement of his best friend and wife, Kristine – has followed his passion for more than three decades, accumulating along the way an unprecedented number of competitive titles and recognition including Olympian, World Champion, and inductee, International Whitewater Hall of Fame. Never content to settle for the status quo or take conventional wisdom too seriously, EJ innovates on and off the river. On his way to becoming the winningest kayaker in history, EJ invented such staples of the freestyle boater’s bag of tricks as the Splitwheel, McNasty and Lunar Orbit. Off the water, he – along with longtime design partner David Wright – has been designing some of the sport’s best-selling kayaks.

EJ sincerely believes in better living through kayaking. To make sure more people, especially kids, have access to kayaking, in 2003 EJ and business partner Tony Lunt launched Jackson Kayak. With the widest range of boat sizes and trademark emphasis on comfort, durability and ease of use, Jackson Kayak quickly became the best-selling brand of whitewater kayaks for all ages and abilities. In 2010, Jackson Kayak debuted its first kayak fishing boat. The Coosa became an instant hit among anglers spawning an expansion of the line to include hot selling environment-specific boats designed to increase enjoyment and success on any inland waterway or offshore fishing outing.

When the iconic athlete turned 50, he still continued to pull down Top 10 finishes and remain a perennial threat at the world's biggest competitions. His lifelong dedication to a level of fitness  allows him to continue to be a threat in every competitive venue has also been recognized by the likes of PEAR Sports, where EJ has provides workouts for the innovative real-time fitness coaching app. His fiftieth birthday also marked a full quarter century that EJ's been a member of the USA Canoe Kayak National Whitewater Team and perhaps more importantly, it was his silver wedding anniversary to his wife, Kristine. EJ is among the most prolific authors of instructional books and videos helping others learn everything from basic strokes and concepts to the most advanced freestyle moves. Among his proudest achievements, EJ co-authored the next generation of kayaking champions and innovators – his daughter Emily, a two-time World Champion, son, Dane arguably the top whitewater kayaker in the world today and son, KC, a budding kayaker-to-be. EJ and Kristine are also proud grandparents to Tucker, the son of Emily and her husband Canadian National Champ and another World Champion titleholder, Nick Troutman.