Tai Chi, Head Games, and Kayaking

These three things have all gotten jumbled up in my head lately, so bear with me while I try to explain.
It all started with a couple of tough paddles and a post-paddle conversation on the deck of Java Madness. Tim mentioned something about kayaking being, in large part, a head trip. He was making a point about how much there is to learn about kayaking and that he is constantly learning new things about technique. My mind went off on a completely different track with the comment however.
I think that a big part of kayaking is a mind game you play with yourself. How much of learning to roll is about technique and how much is just a matter of convincing yourself that you are OK for a little while under the water? How much of staying upright in trying conditions is about having good balance and a strong brace and how much is a matter of confidence and focus? How much of learning to really edge a boat is a matter of technique and how much is a matter of having the confidence to accept that you may capsize? How much of a successful rescue is about the hours of practice and how much is it about staying calm and projecting that to the swimmer?
A few weeks ago H and I started taking a Tai Chi class through Newton Community Ed.. Two of the major points of Tai Chi are that all movement comes from the core and the idea of focusing on the movement. Since, I'm obsessed with kayaking, I immediately started making correlations between what we were learning in class and what we learn on the water.
The idea that all movement originates from the core is key to kayaking. The core is the drive shaft of the forward stroke. It is also the major player in most boat handling strokes. Plenty of people try, and succeed to a certain extent, to paddle without their core engaged, but they always tire out and have trouble swinging a kayak around. In a forward stroke, the rotation from the core drives the paddle through the water and your arms act as a guide for that force. When stabilizing a kayak, the motion of the hips is all centered around the core. A powerful sweep turn uses the core to pull the boat around the paddle, while the arms are providing a brace. Even a rudder turn comes from the core because it involves some rotation, some balance, and the use of the legs/hips to turn the boat. The core grounds and drives the whole endeavor.
The concept of focused, purposeful motion feeds back into the idea that kayaking is largely about the head games you play with yourself. Your motions become fluid and natural not because you don't need to think about them, but because they are purposeful. When you make a movement in Tai Chi you are supposed to focus on the movement and directing the energy of your body. The same is true of a paddle stroke. You focus on directing the paddle through the water and driving the boat forward. When you turn, you focus on directing the boat towards its destination. The focus on movement also forces you to focus on staying in the moment. You cannot worry about what might happen, or what just happened. Paddling becomes about what is happening. You feel the boat as it reacts and only look a few waves out. The voices in your head quite as your concentration becomes focused on the moment and the movement.
Paddling = Zen?