It was Scout camp in the early 80's, Canoeing Merit Badge specifically, where I learned the basic strokes and after paddling freely around the lake at Camp Two Bear in WI, acquired my love of the freedom that paddling brings.  Several trips on the Wisconsin and Kickapoo rivers enhanced those skills and then more down the south fork of the Shenandoah years later as a Scout leader revived that lust for the freedom of paddling.  That led to the first wilderness trip in '99 with Scouts into the Quetico.  It wasn't until then that I really honed the basics and began to get into a rhythm that began to feel natural and developed that muscle memory that ST spoke of.  The Shenandoah has a few Class I and II's and I can read a bit of river, but nothing extensive.  I prefer flat or mostly flat water paddling, but would take a remote river trip with perhaps a few folks with some more whitewater skill and a bit of practice on my part.

pd

I also don't recall any instruction on paddling. On my first trip, as a teenager, I just started paddling. I'm sure I watched and learned from other paddlers, but mostly just figured out what worked. Over the years, I have encountered weather conditions of all sorts. I take fewer chances than I did when younger, but still enjoy the freedom and control a paddle gives.

in the early 80's took a pe class with my brother at a local community college. it was fun and informative.  they taught j stroke, diff between lake and river paddling. pull out and catch an eddy. stuff like that.

I grew up with boats so I can't say when I started paddling.  Early teens, I suppose.  I recall a canoe trip on the Whitewater River in SE Indiana (no whitewater on that trip, thank god).  Four people, two aluminum tanks, and lots of turns. I followed Yogi Berra's advice that "you can learn a lot just by watching."  It wasn't pretty but we tracked well and didn't get slammed into the banks.  That was in 1972, a year out of college.

In later years I paddled when I could, doing a lot of trips on local lakes and the Kickapoo River in western Wisconsin with my ex and eventually our kids.  I borrowed and rented boats and continued to learn, slowly, by watching.

Then in 1993 I borrowed a friend's Blackhawk Nighthawk, 13'4" of twitchiness, a dump just waiting to happen.  For two days on the winding Kickapoo River I learned how to paddle a solo canoe without dumping.

In 2000 I finally bought my first canoe, a solo/tandem model, and soon afterwards got a copy of the book, "Paddle Your Own Canoe" by Gary and Joanie McGuffin.  I studied that book - and a few others - backwards and forwards and learned a lot.  I probably unlearned more bad habits than I learned good ones.  I got a Royalex tandem and started doing Class I and II whitewater.  I've had about a dozen boats since then, but I have only five left, two tandems and three solos.

In 2012 I got certified as an American Canoe Assn. moving water canoeing instructor and taught for three years until an autoimmune problem sidelined me, hopefully only temporarily.

My first BW trip was in 2009 with my son.  The learning process was similar: read up on it, listen to people who've been there before, and learn from mistakes. 15 trips later I'm not about to quit.

So I guess the short of it all is that I taught myself through experience, books, and a few friends who were only too happy to help me along.

I watched a Red Rock Wilderness store video on how to do the "J" stroke.