Feel the motion and timing.
I don’t self talk, exactly. I focus on what I should feel, and I’m observant about timing.
Starting from upside down.
I want to feel my stomach and side muscles curling my torso up toward the surface.
I want to feel my paddle blade break the surface. Ideally I want to feel my hands reach right out of the water.
As I sweep out, I want to feel my blade glide along the surface almost effortlessly. If I feel my blade plowing on the surface, I want to rotate my wrists back to lower the leading edge some to “shed resistance.”
As I sweep out, I want to feel the following as a smooth continuous motion, one aspect transitioning into the next. I want to continue to feel my side muscles curling toward the surface, my hands coming toward my shoulders into the chin-up position, my torso rotating into a lay back position on the water. This feels all very smooth and flowing, taking two to three seconds.
The recovery is a smooth transition from the sweep, and depends on whether I’m doing an Eskimo roll, or modified sweep to C, or something in between. I usually do something in between. I don’t feel as stable laying all the way back on the rear deck on recovery as I do sitting up as I’m recovering. I’m admittedly sloppy on the recovery from a sweep roll, partly because I have a lot of margin built in from the sweep itself. Something for me to work on. I’ll leave the description of exactly how the recovery should feel to others.
I resonate with those who say they can only concentrate on improving one or two things at a time. I also agree a key is to relax, have fun, and experiment a little. On trying new rolls, including when I was learning the sweep roll, I sometimes go over without the expectation of rolling up at all, intending to try a little different timing or position.
Slightly OT, but I’m much clearer, for example, on how the recovery feels and should feel on a GP shotgun roll, where I can’t muscle it, so not as much margin for being out of form ;-). I’m not yet clear on how a hand roll should feel as I’m still trying to feel and engrain the difference between a successful and unsuccessful hand roll. As far as I can tell, a relaxed sort of finesse has something to do with it.
Paul S.
Head up hips down before the snap
I do think it is useful to coach yourself with some words before if not during a practice roll. And I agree with Angstrom that with the C to C roll you should focus on keeping the head high (near the surface)and the hips low (the coiled spring) prior to the hip snap. This allows you to effectively drive the hips up and drop the head toward the water as you roll the boat upright beneath you.
I agree
What works for me is to remember to sweep fast (otherwise my paddle stalls and then dives) and also to rotate my inboard wrist back until it is very uncomfortable (my GP is not feathered).
If I remember those two things, I’m back in the world of air breathers.
If I don’t, I get one quick inhale before going back to the water.
Thanks to All!
I found your advice to be extremely helpful. You’re right. I focused on basics, and haveing fun and enjoying the water. I got 5 rolls in a row yesterday morning, and passed my BCU 3 star in the afternoon. Relaxing helped my high recovery well. See you on the water,
Michael
Beginning v. Got It Stage
No coach am I, but I noticed a couple of things in pool sessions over the winter where I was at least keeping anyone from drowning that may argue for a slightly different focus when getting to that first roll than after.
Newbies often are very lagged in their responses. So when they try and do the sweep-snap thing, they often have swept to pretty much the rear of the boat before they go for the snap. If they are trying to come up towards the middle of the boat, which may better match the kinesthetic memory they just worked on at poolside or off the front of someone’s boat, it messes up their chances.
But if a climbing blade angle has been emphasized and they are doing it, they at least have a prayer of lurching up onto the back deck from there. A diving blade can be added when the timing of the snap is set, but right at first that timing often isn’t there. When we had them going over with the paddle set out at 90 degrees, I asked a couple of guys to try and snap just before putting any weight on the paddle. It was a short time after that at least one of them got up. Barely, but up is up.
The other thing is that so many - being sexist here I know - guys are too stiff to feel and have a good rotation at first. They are going to be using the heck out of the paddle for support, and the question for one of these becomes do you get them going so they can put more on the paddle at first, just to buy that earlier success, or insist on really good rotation. The latter is probably better for the longer haul, but I’ve seen a lot of guys walk away from trying to get a roll if it doesn’t happen in the first couple of sessions. It may be better to use whatever that get them up early just to make sure they stay the course. (It seems that women either don’t try at all or gradually plug thru it, to me anyway.)
Again, not a coach. Just a thought about the paddle thing.
Good points
When it comes to a delayed ‘hip snap’, which is easy to spot, I emphasize doing it as soon as they start to sweep. The timing can be sorted out with a couple of ‘false’ roll drills. That way you get the timing and the efficient blade angle.
I really like to teach people correct technique from the beginning. The way that you first learn something is what you go to when you get panicked or stressed. This is HUGE - If you learn an inefficient roll at first then you will go for the inefficient roll when you need to roll the most - unless you spend a lot of time retraining your body.
As for flexibility, when I first learned how to roll I was so stiff I could barely get my hands to the surface of the water. If setup on my leftside I would have to pull with my left knee just to get my hands up. My other favorite ‘stretch’ at the time was to lunge forward when sitting in my kayak and hook my paddle shaft over the front of the cockpit coming. I would hold it for a few seconds then repeat. I could barely reach the front of the coming with my hands and the front bungees were out of the question (it was a Caribou, not a large cockpit rec boat in case you were wondering).
People only use the paddle for support when they think that is what you are supposed to do, simply re-educate them. I completely de-emphasize the paddle.
I teach rolling 3 different ways…
- for people who want to learn how to roll on both sides for playing in surf or whitewater (both sides at the same time using good technique and mind set from the very beginning)
- for people who want to learn how to roll (one side using good technique and mind set from the very beginning)
- for people who want to check it off their life’s list of accomplishments (pawlata type roll).
If it is up to me I teach the first way. It usually takes a bit longer (10-20 minutes more) bringing the usually teaching time to 30-50 minutes. Learning both sides at one time eliminates the need to ‘think’ about which side to set up. It also eliminates the ‘on side/off side’ mentality. Often my students get confused about a right or left handed roll. “is it left handed because I setup on that side, or finish on that side?”. I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Congratulations, Michael!
Sounds like it was a good day. I haven't been through the program, but as I understand it, passing your BCU 3 is quite an accomplishment. I'm sure your rolling will get better and better, too.
Paul S.
Look at
http://www.exchile.com/KayakSchoolRollIdentifier.htm
You can download some good instructions there, especially the “common threads” video. Free.