RE: [Paddlewise] rolling

Hi Jim,

	Congrat's on finding your roll and thanks for the examples of techniques /
images that clicked for you. I have always maintained that rolling a kayak
is any easy thing to do but can be difficult to learn and challenging to
teach. The problem appears to be finding just the right images that will
allow the student to perform the correct movement with a minimum of input.
Detailed descriptions rarely to more than confuse the student, they often
offer too much detail to remember.

	A wise coach is fond of reminding me that "Practice Makes Permanent" as
opposed to perfect. A new roller would be well served to practice correct
form only and avoid repeating ineffective technique lest the ineffective
technique be committed to muscle memory.

	Jolie's comments echo a common sentiment. When we make our first attempt at
rolling we are narrowing in towards correct form, form that rewards us with
more than just a righted boat. Proper form will emphasize grace and
efficiency over raw power. Proper form is something that I believe is not
possible to learn from external sources but rather must be felt by the
student themselves. This is the challenge is teaching rolling, how to allow
the student to feel the correct form while avoiding filling their head with
all sorts of foolishness that can only describe non-essential components of
the roll. This correct form is so effortless, so devoid of direct feedback
that we only know our form is correct by the absence of resistance felt at
the paddle and the minimum of effort required to roll. (And of course the
fact that our boat is upright!)

	To the extent we correctly understand perfect form, our rolls will be
repeatable and reliable in all manner of conditions. If on the other hand
our model of perfect form is not quite on target, then our roll will vary in
effectiveness as minor variations bring us closer or further from the ideal.
I believe this is the cause of "the lost roll" that many rollers report.
Finding their roll again often involves little more than a return to the
basics and suddenly everything is as it should be.

	Learning to roll is a process. Your first successful rightings of the boat
are just the starting point. As you practice, find ways to minimize your
effort and maximize you effectiveness. Many people with very reliable rolls
find that learning the many varied types of rolls is helpful and rewards
them with an even clearer understanding of perfect form. When you get to the
point where you feel that rolling a kayak is as easy as rolling over in bed
than you will be close indeed. Enjoy the process. Confidence, increased
safety at sea and tons of fun are just a few of the rewards for solid
rolling technique.

Jed Luby, Team North Atlantic
jluby_at_teamnorthatlantic.com

PS
Jolie wrote: It is my contention that any paddler who tells you they have
never "lost" their roll is full of it.

	According to Jolie's contention, I must be just "full of it".
	So please take my above comments with a grain of salt.  ;-)


-----Original Message-----
From: jfarrelly5_at_comcast.net

    Just learned to roll.  I was taught the C to C.  (snip)

    I went out the next day to practice.  It wasn't as easy as I had hoped.
I had to think hard about what I wanted to do.  I succeeded every time but
it was tiring.  Hopefully a summer of practice will drive a  furrow deep in
my brain.

-----Original Message-----
From: Jolie Smilowicz

(snip) Since then, I have come to believe that a good roll
does not belong to us, but is something the Gods lend to us when they feel
so inclined.  When the Gods change their minds about granting us a roll,
they can, and DO, quickly take it away again.  I have played "lost and
found" with my roll since I first learned it, about a year and a half ago.
It is my contention that any paddler who tells you they have never "lost"
their roll is full of it.

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