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From: PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au>
subject: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 21:26:35 +1000
G'Day,

I've started moving on from my stock standard get out of trouble every time
Pawlatta roll to a C to C roll, which seems easier than the Pawlatta and I
can sometimes do it on both sides. Now I've moved on to a sweep roll, which
is supposed to be more useful and is our club standard, but I am finding it
quite difficult.

 I've had a lesson in the mechanics of the sweep roll so I know roughly what
to do: - roll my wrist forward, push both hands above the water facing
upwards, sweep out watching the blade and rotate torso and knee up against
the deck still watching the blade until rolling up facing down. I usually
have to finish off with a forward sweep low brace.

Are there any clues to where I need work in the fact that the C to C seemed
easy (pulled it off first time without instruction) and yet the sweep roll
seemed difficult, I've only managed to get it right twice and blew it half a
dozen times, though granted it was the first lesson?

All the best, PeterO
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From: Jeff Bingham <kayakjef_at_bellsouth.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 08:28:21 -0400
Peter,
Reads as if you've got the mechanics of the roll down. As soon as you feel
the paddle take a bite on the water...roll your hips. Just reach (keeping
the paddle on the surface) and roll your hips. Your torso rotation (going
from face up to face down) will do the sweep part. Just reach and roll your
hips.
All the best,

Jeffrey Bingham
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From: Michael Daly <mikedaly_at_magma.ca>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Sun, 10 Apr 2005 16:50:27 -0400
On 10 Apr 2005 at 21:26, PeterO wrote:

>  I've had a lesson in the mechanics of the sweep roll so I know
>  roughly what
> to do: - roll my wrist forward, push both hands above the water facing
> upwards, sweep out watching the blade and rotate torso and knee up
> against the deck still watching the blade until rolling up facing
> down. I usually have to finish off with a forward sweep low brace.

I'd just like to clarify this for myself.  I take it that you're not 
finishing with a layback, but rather switching directions in the 
paddle sweep towards the end of the roll so that you sweep forward 
and end in an upright (sitting) position?

Mike
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From: PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 07:07:37 +1000
Mike wrote

I'd just like to clarify this for myself.  I take it that you're not
finishing with a layback, but rather switching directions in the
paddle sweep towards the end of the roll so that you sweep forward
and end in an upright (sitting) position?


G'Day,

That sounds about right.

My recollection was that when finishing the roll succesfully I was slightly
leaning back, maybe 30 degrees from vertical (not really sure) looking down
at the water and then I sat upright with a small low brace, forward sweep. I
don't have a good recollection of what was happening when the roll was
unsuccessful.

All the best, PeterO
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From: Michael Daly <mikedaly_at_magma.ca>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 00:33:56 -0400
On 11 Apr 2005 at 7:07, PeterO wrote:

> My recollection was that when finishing the roll succesfully I was
> slightly leaning back, maybe 30 degrees from vertical (not really
> sure) looking down at the water and then I sat upright with a small
> low brace, forward sweep. I don't have a good recollection of what was
> happening when the roll was unsuccessful.

Can you do a sweep roll with a high success rate if you do a full 
layback?  If not, I'd work toward that first.  Basically, you'd be 
doing a Pawlata but without an extended paddle.  This assumes that 
you can do a full layback - I know that some folks can't due to the 
seat/coaming/aging spine/etc.  

Doing this would ensure that you are actually doing the basic screw 
roll correctly.  Then, it should be easier to transition to an 
upright recovery - first with a layback followed by a sit-up (and a 
forward low brace), then successively less layback until you find the 
minimum amount that you can lean back and still get up.  With less 
layback, you'll likely also be leaning over your paddle a bit more, 
so the forward sweep isn't going to be just for form.

Is it possible that your forward sweep is with a bad paddle angle - 
hence poor support - when you fail?


Mike
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From: PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 20:07:29 +1000
Mike wrote>
>This assumes that you can do a full layback
>I know >that some folks can't due to the
>seat/coaming/aging spine/etc.

G'day Mike and Peter,

You're right about the Pittarak coaming it's a bit too high to comfortably
do a full lean back, even with a torso as long as mine. Its the only thing I
don't really like about the Pittarak.

Also I like to face forward after a roll as the only time I've needed to
roll is in surf. One day I'll surf waves bigger than a metre without tipping
over - but not yet.

It sounds as if given the lean back difficulty the advice given by Jeff
Bingham might be the way to go. "As soon as you feel
the paddle take a bite on the water...roll your hips.". I might have been
leaving this too late as a hangover from the C to C where I tend to wait
until the paddle is positioned before rolling.

What do you think?

All the best, PeterO
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From: Steve Cramer <cramersec_at_charter.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 08:26:29 -0400
PeterO wrote:
> It sounds as if given the lean back difficulty the advice given by Jeff
> Bingham might be the way to go. "As soon as you feel
> the paddle take a bite on the water...roll your hips.". I might have been
> leaving this too late as a hangover from the C to C where I tend to wait
> until the paddle is positioned before rolling.

Jeff is definitely pointing you in the right direction. Where the C-to-C 
is a 3-step maneuver (Set up. Sweep out. Snap.), the sweep is more of a 
single motion (SweepRotateSnap). You don't gotta lean back to make it 
work if you rotate some.

Try to get ahold of Kent Ford's DVD "The Kayak Roll." Great teaching 
progression and that roll really works.

-- 
Steve Cramer
Athens, GA
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From: Michael Daly <mikedaly_at_magma.ca>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 13:06:55 -0400
On 11 Apr 2005 at 20:07, PeterO wrote:

> It sounds as if given the lean back difficulty the advice given by
> Jeff Bingham might be the way to go. "As soon as you feel the paddle
> take a bite on the water...roll your hips.". I might have been leaving
> this too late as a hangover from the C to C where I tend to wait until
> the paddle is positioned before rolling.

I forgot about that part.  As Steve says, this roll is not done in 
phases, it's one continuous motion.  I teach folks to start the kayak 
rotation with the hips/knees at the same time as you start the sweep. 
Given the difficulty in trying to layback, you'll have to get the 
kayak mostly upright before you've swept to 90 degree.  If you can do 
that, the remaining sweep/reverse sweep phase will be to brace your 
body up over the already-righted kayak.

Mike
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From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 14:15:16 -0400
At 01:06 PM 4/11/2005 -0400, Michael Daly wrote:
>On 11 Apr 2005 at 20:07, PeterO wrote:
>
> > It sounds as if given the lean back difficulty the advice given by
> > Jeff Bingham might be the way to go. "As soon as you feel the paddle
> > take a bite on the water...roll your hips.". I might have been leaving
> > this too late as a hangover from the C to C where I tend to wait until
> > the paddle is positioned before rolling.
>
>I forgot about that part.  As Steve says, this roll is not done in
>phases, it's one continuous motion.  I teach folks to start the kayak
>rotation with the hips/knees at the same time as you start the sweep.
>Given the difficulty in trying to layback, you'll have to get the
>kayak mostly upright before you've swept to 90 degree.  If you can do
>that, the remaining sweep/reverse sweep phase will be to brace your
>body up over the already-righted kayak.

A good exercise for this is to practice rotating the kayak with your 
hips/knees while holding onto the bow of someone elses boat or the side of 
a pool.  When I'm teaching beginners how to "hip snap" I have them do the 
following.

Grab onto the bow of another boat or the side of the pool and lean over 
until your head is in the water. Then try rotating the boat over as far as 
possible with your hips/knees.  Then, without taking your head out of the 
water try to rotate the boat back upright as much as possible.

In order to get the feeling of rotating the boat rather than "snapping" it 
back upright, I'll have them count to three as the boat goes from an upside 
down position to right side up.  I find that having them turn the boat over 
with their hips, rather than think of "hip snapping" actually helps them 
keep their head down.  When the focus is on a sharp "hip snap" often the 
snap is more of a "pull down hard on the paddle" than a quick rotation of 
the hips as they try to bring their head out of the water.  
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From: Steve Cramer <cramersec_at_charter.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 14:34:03 -0400
John Fereira wrote:

> A good exercise for this is to practice rotating the kayak with your 
> hips/knees while holding onto the bow of someone elses boat or the side 
> of a pool.  When I'm teaching beginners how to "hip snap" I have them do 
> the following.
> 
> Grab onto the bow of another boat or the side of the pool and lean over 
> until your head is in the water. Then try rotating the boat over as far 
> as possible with your hips/knees.  Then, without taking your head out of 
> the water try to rotate the boat back upright as much as possible.

Adding to the last sentence of John's comment, I've found it useful to 
stress rotating the boat to upright and ignoring bringing the body and 
head out of the water. The C-to-C encourages a model of the body 
movement as physically analogous to grabbing the end of a hammer handle 
and bringing it from horizontal to vertical by a twisting motion of the 
forearm. In other words, the torso moves through an arc in a plane 
perpendicular to the line of the kayak. If you can stop worrying about 
getting your body up (yes, I do realize that that's the purpose of the 
exercise...) and leave it there supported by the water, the boat can 
rotate better around its long axis and pull you our of the water. That's 
how it feels when you do it right.

I love this advice by accretion model...

-- 
Steve Cramer
Athens, GA
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From: John Fereira <jaf30_at_cornell.edu>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:11:58 -0400
At 02:34 PM 4/11/2005 -0400, Steve Cramer wrote:
>John Fereira wrote:
>
>>A good exercise for this is to practice rotating the kayak with your 
>>hips/knees while holding onto the bow of someone elses boat or the side 
>>of a pool.  When I'm teaching beginners how to "hip snap" I have them do 
>>the following.
>>Grab onto the bow of another boat or the side of the pool and lean over 
>>until your head is in the water. Then try rotating the boat over as far 
>>as possible with your hips/knees.  Then, without taking your head out of 
>>the water try to rotate the boat back upright as much as possible.
>
>Adding to the last sentence of John's comment, I've found it useful to 
>stress rotating the boat to upright and ignoring bringing the body and 
>head out of the water. The C-to-C encourages a model of the body movement 
>as physically analogous to grabbing the end of a hammer handle and 
>bringing it from horizontal to vertical by a twisting motion of the 
>forearm. In other words, the torso moves through an arc in a plane 
>perpendicular to the line of the kayak. If you can stop worrying about 
>getting your body up (yes, I do realize that that's the purpose of the 
>exercise...) and leave it there supported by the water, the boat can 
>rotate better around its long axis and pull you our of the water. That's 
>how it feels when you do it right.

Exactly.  When practicing "boat rotation" at pool sessions I'll suggest 
looking at the bottom of the pool and keeping your face in the water until 
the boat is rotated upright.  Another aid I've found helpful is to use one 
of those foam kick boards.  Try rolling up while holding onto a foam kick 
board (an inflatable paddlefloat works as well) and you pretty much have to 
rotate the boat upright before you can lift your body out of the water.
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From: Peter Treby <ptreby_at_ozemail.com.au>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 15:13:53 +1000
Peter O,
I think you might have to adapt whatever rolls you do to the relatively 
high back coaming of your Pittarak. It's difficult in a Pittarak to get 
the back of your head near the back deck.
Cheers, PT
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From: Erik Sprenne <sprenne_at_netnitco.net>
subject: Re: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2005 22:25:28 -0500
Another way to say the same thing (for the sweep roll), that some might
visualize better, is to ask the student to keep their upper body (waist
up) parallel to the sweeping paddle while using their knees and hips to
roll the boat under their butts as far as they can before the upper body
rises.
Of course, this presumes that the boat is well (ok, at least reasonably)
outfitted for rolling.

Erik Sprenne
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From: PeterO <rebyl_kayak_at_iprimus.com.au>
subject: RE: [Paddlewise] Pawlatta, C to C, Sweep roll
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2005 21:42:34 +1000
G'Day

Thanks everyone for the analysis and hints on the sweep roll.

I was going to take a four day break at Disaster Bay but
http://facs.scripps.edu/surf/gblpac.html and
https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/CGI/ww3_area.cgi?color=b&area=spac suggest 4
meter waves and 25 knot winds which is way too much for me. These are great
sites for anyone interested in sea conditions. Probably saved me 4 days
stuck on a beach as our local Met forecast gives just four days advance wind
predictions.

Anyway I'll now get a great opportunity to practice rolling and surfing in
the relatively benign coast near Myrtle beach on the south coast.

All the best, PeterO
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