Easiest roll technique to learn

the “easiest” roll
an instructor can often quickly assess which is the “easiest” roll for you.



For some it’s the sweep

Others it’s pawlata

Still others something else.



It has to do in part w. your body (torso), your flexibility, the boat, etc.



So while everyone is chiming in here w. their easiest roll, it might not be easy for you.







Pick one, study it on video or youtube.



There are some dry land modelling vids out there too. A DVD by Ben Lawry is all about a dry land model. Dr. Ben’s Rolling Elixir haha.



Helps develop muscle memory so there’s less to think about upside down.



For practicing in water,I don’t find goggles a good idea & have never used them. For me, it was better to get the feel of the roll and where the body and blade were in relation to the boat w. eyes closed. Sometimes the water ain’t that clean or is cloudy. YMMV. It’s not etched in stone.



Try using foam blocks or inflated floats on one blade while learning to keep the blade from diving and give the paddle more buoyancy, which gives you more time to perfect your body and head positions.



A lot of instructors teach w. them too.



Start decreasing the volume of an the paddle float every few repetitions. Remove one or both of the foam blocks. Get it down to where they are off entirely.



As said above, for god’s sakes keep your elbows in. If you haven’t already checked out the meaning of the “paddler’s box” find it and stay in it.

Dive Mask
I think the dive mask might be a good idea for one or two roll sessions; then you need to chuck it. A buddy of mine got way too dependent on goggles.

Alot of good info
Thanks everyone. I got alot of good info. If I can find a way to stop working long enough, I’ll get my boat to the water & start practicing. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Where are you?
Send me an email if you are in Georgia. I can have you rolling in 15 minutes. If you are struggling with being upside down in the water it may take a little longer.



You will not need a paddle except for the very end. People that get hung up on paddles to roll make me leary. We will leave the paddle on the shore, learn how to roll with a float bag then will insert the paddle into the roll you already have. It really is that simple.



Let me know.

Chuck them after a while
I wouldn’t base it on how many sessions the person has done, but instead on how consistently he or she is rolling. Then it’s time to close the eyes (still wearing the mask…psychological thing) and try rolling. If that goes well, then it’s time to ditch it altogether.

Personality Types and Comfort Levels
A buddy of mine just will not push himself out of his comfort level. He has a reliable roll; if he’s in a warm swimming pool; if he has his goggles on; if he has time to set up and take a couple of deep breaths; onside only.



I guess my point is this… goggles or no goggles, this guy is unprepared to roll up out in the real world. The goggles really didn’t do him any good. I’m sure some people can wean themselves off the mask but he sure didn’t.

yes need to ween, but…
two main reasons to start with a mask is a) to help you follow the blade helping to ensure body rotation and b) to make one more relaxed at first. One of the biggest problems for many at first is just not being relaxed. You may not be panicking but not fully relaxed either at first and a mask helps. But in bits and pieces ween yourself. You may do great for a couple days without then lose your roll and put on the mask again until eventually you never need the mask. I don’t know your friend but I suspect whatever in him makes him resist rolling without the mask would have prevented him ever rolling at all without the mask at first.

+1 on The Kayak Roll
Sweep rolls come naturally for many people and take less force than a C-to-C. I can think of easily a dozen people here on the West Coast who learned their first roll from The Kayak Roll DVD. This Is The Roll is an amazing video, but I’d argue that it’s better for those who already have one non-Greenland roll.



However, there is nothing, NOTHING, better than getting an instructor and a 2-hour session to get started. Doing it indoors in a pool is also less stressful and more comfortable for many.

Sculling roll
If you’re looking for a “combat” roll in the surf or whitewater, this ain’t it. If you’re looking for the easiest roll in which to build skills/techniques/confidence, the sculling roll with a Greenland paddle is the way to go. Yeah, I have a GP bias, but for a reason. With a GP, you can litterally start out above water in the sculling position, face plant and continue all the way around to sucking air on the other side. From here, it’s technique like others have stated depending on your flexibility, and the boat’s dynamics. If you flub, scull back up, get air and try again. I learned to roll in an old surf kayak this way, then learned to roll my sea kayaks, my Pungo, by bud’s Critter, and just recently another bud’s WhisperCL tandem…solo. The roll gave me the confidence I needed plus no wet exits, and then let me learn how the boat rolls differently than others on my terms. Once I had it down, I could do a pawlata/extended paddle roll, which is just one sculling sweep instead of many. Then I moved to non-extended sweep, etc. Look up Matt Johnson’s video on youtube. Good illustration in action.



You can do this with an EP/wing, but you can’t quite extend to the point that the inboard blade’s not hitting the hull; it’ll take more reach/flexibility.



Jim

Rolling
Odd, no one has mentioned using a Greenland paddle or at least using a Euro unfeathered. Makes life a lot easier. Also, there are fabulous new videos from Turner Wilson and Cheri Perry, Dubside, USK, and great stuff on the web from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VqTwnAuHws and Chris Crowhurst, among others. I’d take any of these over EJ or Kayak Roll. Noseplugs and a divers mask help a lot when starting out. If you’ve got a buddy, learn the eskimo rescue so you don’t have to come out of the kayak if your roll fails–that’s the tough part: exit, drain, get in, try again. Once you get an standard Greenland layback, you’ll have made practicing a lot easier!

I taught myself the sweep
I am self-taught. I learned to start with a sweep then continue into a layback. The sweep was a fluid movement for me from the setup and the layback seemed to continue that same movement while having my body low on the back deck to lower the center of gravity of the boat.



I read bits from books and watched a few videos and then rehearsed it in my head for a few weeks before trying it. That helped a lot.



I learned in shallow water when the paddle diving deep actually helped because it hit the bottom. Getting the roll this way the first time gave me a huge amount of confidence.



Sweep to a layback was the combo for me. You may feel more comfortable with some other set of movements and you will need to rehearse them in your head to see what feels right.



Dave

Agree
I don’t think anything beats the GP for rolling.