I am seconding John F.'s comments on fear - you may recollect I jumped in earlier on this issue of fear and rolling. After 30 years of paddling, I can tell you that I still have that panic response as a first reaction to going over. I have a really good roll - the reason I occasionally miss is that its working or not is totally dependent on "where my head is" (figuratively speaking) as I go over. If I'm doing endos in whitewater, on purpose, I'll roll every time. I have come up after a third, or even fifth roll attempt, in horrendous conditions. That is, successfully rolled up, not wet exited out. I have also popped out on really unchallenging situations. Having a good nose clip helps; having a face mask is even better. But I don't have to have either to roll successfully - I just have to be in control of the panic response. While learning the roll, we used to do races with the Penn State Outdoor Club in an indoor pool. I can do 3 rolls in 9 seconds. It's not technique that gets in the way. Only other suggestion I can make is to make a point of doing a roll almost every time you get in a boat. I'm not saying that I do, but I notice that if I practice on a fairly regular basis, it helps to remember and not panic. Natalie Wiest Galveston TX *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.4.0 : Thu Aug 21 2025 - 16:33:27 PDT