Easy Rolling

[Gcosloy]

I've been paddling with a GP for a couple of seasons now and prefer it over my Euro paddle for a number of reasons which I won't go into now. However an additional and perhaps major benefit of the GP comes with rolling. The GP is extremely forgiving. When I roll with my Euro I need to keep in mind all of the snags that could cause my roll to fail like bad angle, not reducing the angle throuout the sweep, head not kept low, no decent layback and more. With the GP and this must be said; my form is horrible, I come up every time, whether it is the standard extended GP position or even a combat roll when the paddle is held similar to the Euro paddle. I don't need to adjust the angle during the sweep nor worry about where my head is or even attempt a serious layback. One and only one thing needs to be observed and that is the angle of attack which is achieved either extended or combat by cocking both wrists backward. Other than that hardly anything can ruin the roll. I do think the additional buoyancy of the GP has a lot to do with this forgiving character. One more thing: since I broke my back last spring I'm stiffer and less flexible than formally and find it difficult to extend the paddle up and over the water during the initiation of the roll; no problem with the GP, my rolls are just as successful when I'm sweeping somewhere below the surface. 

I write this not to review my own experience but in the hope that for new paddlers trying to learn the roll, they might make greater progress with a GP.

[prudenceb]

Anything that helps you get rightside up is a good thing!  Glad you've found something that works for you.  I'm still searching for reliability!

pru

[Dan Foster]

Pru, come to Walden next Wednesday and we'll have you rolling in no time. Bring a goose decoy if you have one.

[prudenceb]

Gonna be on vaca, Dan...but Walden is not the answer.  I already have what I call a  "100% Walden Roll". Anyone can roll at Walden...it's the lively ocean that has other plans for me!

And you know what...I actually have a duck decoy...that I found on an island in the middle of Sullivan Falls... one of those places where my 100% Walden Roll has been known to fail me!

[billvoss]

Pru, it is possible to significantly improve a roll beyond a "100% Walden Roll."  Remind me next time we are both there, and we can practice some of the bomb proofing your roll exercises I'm scheduled to mentor at Delmarva this year.

As the white water paddlers say, we are all just between swims.  However, it is definitely possible to to make them far less frequent.

[prudenceb]

It'll be a few wks before I'm there, but I would love some help!

[billvoss]

Christopher Crowhurst has taught "Bomb Proofing Your Roll" at Delmarva in the past.  I'm scheduled to mentor it this year because Christopher is not certain he can attend, and I was his "unsinkable" student in 2014.  I asked him to write up the key points to refresh my memory, and he produced this Bomb proofing your roll post.  It describes what I plan to do with you Pru.

For white-water paddlers, I should also mention that the AMC Boston Paddlers has been offering a River Rolling 202 session which I've attended three times as a student.  It took me that long before I completed the course without a swim.

[Pintail]

Gene, old friend -- with all due respect -- I believe (and you know you can always count on me to be contentious!) you are barking up the wrong tree -- even talking a load of old codswallop!  What is all this talk of angle of attack, for starters? 

What happens to a typical Greenland paddle when you hold it under water (whether made of wood or modern fancy stuff)?  It floats to the surface!  If you try to reduce your dependence on your arms (and brute force), putting more effort into the rotation of your hips, then you will begin to find that what you do with the paddle matters less and less.  I understood this (rather than being taught it, specifically) many aeons ago, when Cherie came to Walden to join forces with The Scum and give NSPNers a session with "the illuminati".  Dan Segal made me slow down my (layback) roll until I was doing it <very> slowly: this has the effect of emphasizing the hip action and <reducing> arm force-on-paddle -- as far as I perceive it to be -- and this means that the paddle is free to float across the surface!  It does not require or demand of you <any> pulling or force on the jolly old paddle!  Hips and torso win the day.

Now, I am not saying that it will be exactly the same with a Euro paddle; but, once you can roll with less effort on arms and paddle, then it will become easier with the Euro, too, even though here the angle of paddle blade on the surface matters somewhat (the answer here is to check it visually, surely?)

B*gger that infernal C-to-C roll that so many folk teach: an easy lay-back Greenland roll is the way to go!  Certainly easiest on the body.

Come and join me one Sunday in Lanes Cove...

 

 

Edited July 28, 2016 by Pintail

[Gcosloy]

Christopher,

I agree that the body part is most significant and nothing I said contradicts that however you can easily screw up a good roll if your paddle dives or stalls, so angle of attack is important too. I learned to roll by making my hip snap involuntary, I'm not even aware that I do it-I just sweep the paddle either euro or GP and the rest is muscle memory. Because I didn't mention or provide proper homage to the importance of the hip motion doesn't mean that I rely on any but trivial effort on arms and paddle. Love to paddle with you-it's been too long!