Last night I had my third of four kayak rolling sessions. Things finally came together for me. In my first session my instructor told me that I have an explosive hip snap (it sure felt like a bomb went off under my ribs the next day!), which is a great help. Unfortunately I was relying too much on that power and not enough on technique. I was able to right the boat on occasion but it was not smooth, reliable, or pretty. In the second session I felt that I took a step backwards as I couldn't complete even one roll, but it forced me to take a good look at what I was doing. For the third session I started right back at the basics, the paddle float came back out and I practiced my hip snaps for almost an hour, all the while watching and listening to Jed working with another student. When I felt that I had worked enough on my "muscle memory" I decided to take the next step. First try and the roll was almost effortless! After several more rolls to prove that it was not a fluke I decided to take a rest and let a friend try my kayak. The things that made the biggest difference to me were seemingly small instructions. The biggest was to watch the paddle blade throughout the roll, it sets your head up more naturally. I hear that the Australians teach this method. The second most important was to watch my blade angle, I had been getting a lot of paddle dive previously. Finally was SLOW DOWN!! When I slowed things down just a little I was able to correct mistakes as they happened. On the second roll I started to get little paddle dive so I just sped up my hip rotation a bit to compensate. The result wasn't pretty, but it got me up. Others last night were even more successful than I was. Jed's son took all of about 15 minutes of instruction to learn his roll, and one woman had her first onside and first offside roll last night. All in all a great night for everyone involved. I would like to thank Jed Luby, another Paddlewiser, for organizing these pool sessions, and for his patient and tireless instruction. Without his efforts none of this would have happened and I would still be looking for a place to learn to roll. Mike -- Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are visible, your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a great blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a mussel-shell beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your passage home seems as much back through time as it does through space. Mark H Hunt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Michael R Noyes wrote: >Finally was SLOW DOWN!! Best advice once you've learned how to roll. When I know my roll technique is off, I practice as slow as I can. Then one more time even slower. You know if you're going slow that you're minimizing the lift on the paddle and you have to rely on your hips, layback and head-out-last. Mike *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
** really bigggg grin ** Mike, thanks for the kind words. As I'm sure you know the other two "instructors", Dave Cook and Jeff Brent and I get all warm and fuzzy watching someone when all the hints and language finally click. When the roll, as you found it last night is so smooth with so much power left in reserve. Since we are all volunteers our satisfaction is in seeing the expression on a successfull rollers face as they realize they've made it into the somewhat select group with good form and a calm and deliberate approach and in knowing we've helped make one more paddler just a little bit safer. I wish I could take credit for your success but we both know you knew how to roll mentally and only needed to find the right timing and flow to find that sweet spot that makes it effortless. I wish you a long and happy carrer rolling to cool off, to recover, to check out the fishies or just for the sake of rolling. This is where the fun begins as a whole new world of possibilities presents itself to you. Celebrate your skill and share your knowledge. Paddle On! Jed (Who doesn't "teach" rolling but loves to guide friends to find their roll.) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Jed, Now that I have essentially, "given up" on sea-kayaking per se, I think it important to note that I still have a "recreational" kayak [Loon] and I still have a w/w boat which means... I still want to learn how to roll... After all, that is what I did in my coma...<g> [paddled and rolled the length of Lake Washington...<g>] Mike-Congratulations! I really enjoyed your letter! Take care, Tom <gadfly_at_tscnet.com> homepage: http://www2.tscnet.com/~gadfly/ *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Just wanted to thank Mike Noyes for his report on his rolling lessons. It is a big help to us beginners, and, I believe, a source of enjoyment for veterans as well. Josh Teitelbaum Ra`anana, Israel At 22:57 27/02/00 , Michael R Noyes wrote: > Last night I had my third of four kayak rolling sessions. ============================================================================== Dr. Joshua Teitelbaum, Research Fellow Tel: [972] 3-640-6448 Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and Fax: [972] 3-641-5802 African Studies Tel Aviv University Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv 69978 Israel E-mail:teitelba_at_ccsg.tau.ac.il www.dayan.org ============================================================================== *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Joshua Teitelbaum wrote: > Just wanted to thank Mike Noyes for his report on his rolling lessons. It > is a big help to us beginners, and, I believe, a source of enjoyment for > veterans as well. > You are quite welcome. I hear frequently on this list that the input of those of us who are learning helps everyone. I enjoy this list because of the diversity of opinions and skill levels. I may never be able to handle what Doug Lloyd can, I'm not sure if I would even want to, but I can learn a great deal from him and the other Old Salts. It is this sharing of information that I like so much. Not just the I went here and had a good time trip reports (although I love them!), but the I screwed up royally and this is how it happened reports. I feel we learn more from having someone tell us what almost killed them than we do from almost any thing else short of making the same mistake ourselves. Personally, I am happy to let others make the mistakes for me as long as I can learn from them. Mike -- Paddling along through fog so thick that only one's thoughts are visible, your reverie is abruptly shattered by the ancient cry of a great blue heron as she lifts uncertainly from the brilliant blue of a mussel-shell beach witnessed only by the brooding, wet spruce....your passage home seems as much back through time as it does through space. Mark H Hunt *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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