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Sea Kayaks Techniques Bulletin Board
Re: What I learned in rolling today...
Posted By: Don Beale In Response To: Re: What I learned in rolling today... (David)
Date: Tuesday, 5 September 2000, at 12:24 p.m.
That sounds like really good advice. I do have to think about staying in the boat, and I do notice that concentrating on the hip snap works. Thats how I hit the several in a row on the left side. Actually, moving the foot braces up helped, it was easier to hold me in with the knees. Is that how it should be, or are the paddings a little loose? The hips are tight, but not uncomfortable so. The knees are braced but if I relax, they'll let me slip out. I had a laughable time for a few minutes, half-in and half-out, not wanting to leave the boat. I finally did a successful reentry and paddlefloat roll.
I have been leaning forward, not back. This must be wrong...
I'll stop over at Ebb and Flow today, pick up a foam paddle float, and ask about the outfit in Forest Grove. I'm pretty sure they have classes out at this same lake. It's really a good place, there is a nice big area of water about waist deep, and it's warm. Sure wish I could tempt a W. side Portland paddler to join me...
: Don
: Two things. One, Jed and Murray's advice is sound, try to get an instructor.
: The hip snap part of a roll is just not an intuitive movement, very hard
: to get the motor set working. To introduce it, I have students get to
: shallow water on a lee shore, working in partners. They plant their paddle
: on the bottom securely, and capsize their boat progressively further and
: further over until the hull is almost completely visible, then they push
: off the bottom to right the boat. The next step is to have them lie back
: on the boat and twist their hips sharply to get upright, this is a tricky
: stage of learning. All kinds of little tricks help, one that is very
: useful is to think of driving the knee on opposite side from the roll (if
: you are leaned over left, the left knee). Push the knee up, rather thrust
: it up, like kneeing someone. I teach karate, so I like to use this idea of
: punching the knee up hard, it starts the hip momentum. Think of kneeing a
: Neo-Nazi skinhead in the nuts, that usually gets them going. The real key
: is to remain lying back on the aft deck during the hip snap, it lowers
: center of gravity and it is an easier motion to get, twisting the body
: around, rather than thinking of flicking the hips. I have them do sets of
: 10 reps on each side. This also gets folks comfortable with the in-between
: zone, neither upright or capsized (the zone the Greenlanders love to play
: in).: Problem is, limited air supply, so it invites a powerful paddle motion and
: lots of muscling up, to get precious air, this invites sculling motions
: and basic panic dog paddles, and ultimately, a sloppy wet exit. There are
: so many things to synchronize, paddle angle, timing of hip snap, body
: position, head position...instruction is the ticket. And if the boat has
: alot of excess roominess in it, ie., poorly fitted, then rolling is a
: nightmare, you start to exit the boat unintentionally as soon as you go
: over, the PFD is pushing you hard up against the boat, so you need to use
: the ab muscles to stabilize the torso enough to set up the paddle. Lots of
: work and practice. I don't know how anyone learns on their own, but those
: I have seen, have alot of bad habits, and they take a long time to get it
: right. By contrast, I have seen students get the roll in one class (not
: reliably, and usually with an attached paddle float, doing Pawlatas) with
: instruction. My advice, take that cruise to WA and do some instruction
: with M. Hamilton, he sounds like he is a good teacher.: But the San Juans....personally, I find them to be a virtual Disneyland of
: tide rips. There are big tidal currents coming in from both the West and
: the North (Juan de Fuca and Georgia respectively). Tide rips all over the
: place. Don't like paddling there, read "Deep Trouble", so many
: incidents in the San Juans, part of it is stats, lots of paddlers, but so
: easy to get into trouble in those Islands. I suppose experienced WA
: paddlers know the way to get around in the San Juans in one piece, but
: personally, I can't stand paddling there without a guide who knows where
: the bad rips are. Just shooting my opinions off about the locations, have
: lost a couple of friends in there, never did get excited about them since.
: But I guess anything beats the damned Toronto harbour where our teaching
: season is about to come to close. Gotta' find a job teaching tele skiing
: now, as our blessed teaching gig is coming to a sad close....ah, Autumn,
: dry tops, bigger waters, colder waters....always sad when the last course
: finishes (next weekend)...: Anyhow, good luck with rolling. It is such a feeling of accomplishment when
: the first one works w/out paddle float, and you come up shaking your head
: to get the water off your face, like a happy little dolphin.: Last comment: all sunglasses disappear in the water, whether practicing rolls
: or just plain capsizing. The water comes up and fills the space between
: your eye and the glass, drips out, leaves a film of water droplets on the
: glass, you can't see anything, you pull the glasses off and they hang
: around your neck for about 2 seconds, then mysteriously drift off and are
: never recovered except by folks using small submarines or by deep sea
: divers. Seriously, all eyewear disappears kayaking in my experience, so I
: buy real cheap glasses and hope they get me through the season.: Cheers, David
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