This roll thing is tough

[yourrealdad]

Without seeing what you are doing it is hard to say whats wrong but to echo every one else I would say to keep your head down.
One way to do this is to bite the lowest part of the shoulder strap on the lead shoulder of your set up. i.e. if your right hand is in the front of your boat for the roll bite your right shoulder. Make sure to keep all confluence water out as its use in waterboarding is the only reason why that technique is seen as torture.

As for your hip snap, you are really doing more work with your thighs than hips. I like to think of myself trying to knee Gilbert Goddfrey in the balls. Take the opposite knee than your side that you are setting up on, so if you set up on you left with right hand forward (which is what most do) pull your right knee away from the thigh brace a little. THen with a quick and driving force throw your knee into the thigh brace as hard as you can.

Hope this helps I have a graduation party to attend. Free beer and food.

[WhiteChocolate]

Originally Posted by yourrealdad

Without seeing what you are doing it is hard to say whats wrong but to echo every one else I would say to keep your head down.
One way to do this is to bite the lowest part of the shoulder strap on the lead shoulder of your set up. i.e. if your right hand is in the front of your boat for the roll bite your right shoulder. Make sure to keep all confluence water out as its use in waterboarding is the only reason why that technique is seen as torture.

As for your hip snap, you are really doing more work with your thighs than hips. I like to think of myself trying to knee Gilbert Goddfrey in the balls. Take the opposite knee than your side that you are setting up on, so if you set up on you left with right hand forward (which is what most do) pull your right knee away from the thigh brace a little. THen with a quick and driving force throw your knee into the thigh brace as hard as you can.

Hope this helps I have a graduation party to attend. Free beer and food.

appreciate it man, i hate the gilbert goddfrey fool.

dude who told me i'll die if i don't learn to swim, i have a sick life jacket that protects me. it has one of those flaps on the back that channels water around me, so i figure i am good. doggy paddle has been getting me by so far

respek

[KSC]

Yes, death might be an exaggeration, but in all seriousness, I would highly recommend you work on your swimming. If you really want to get into the sport, one way or another you will end up taking a rough swim and being a comfortable, strong swimmer will be important.

Originally Posted by WhiteChocolate

appreciate it man, i hate the gilbert goddfrey fool.

dude who told me i'll die if i don't learn to swim, i have a sick life jacket that protects me. it has one of those flaps on the back that channels water around me, so i figure i am good. doggy paddle has been getting me by so far

respek

[carvedog]

Originally Posted by goldcamp

Learn how to swim or you will eventually die.

+1 on that.

If you think laughing while learning to roll is hard, wait until your buddies are laughing so hard at your swim that they can barely paddle to help you get your shit together.

It's happened to me. One of my best river buds did that to me, but I probably deserved it. I was standing on the bottom of the river being held down by a weird hydraulic and he floated right over me. Said he could see the top of my helmet a good four feet under water. I don't know why that made it funny, but you can't let them get to you.

[prozoned]

Whitechocolate, don't worry about learning how to swim well. it has no importance in this sport and i couldn't think of any situations where that skill could help you. Just focus on getting your role down and beatin on dem bikers. if you do that, you should pick it up in no-time.

[J]

I'd be willing to go down to Connie or wherever and help you with your roll. I'm just getting back in a boat for the first time in a few years, so I'm not sure my roll will be a good example (assuming I still have one), but i can tell you what you are doing wrong. PM me if you are interested - I'm looking for people to boat with.

Oh yeah, keep your head down. Of the many counter-intuitive things in kayaking, this is probably the toughest one. Also, its not uncommon to spend your first season doing a lot of swimming. EJ's video is good... that's Eric Jackson of Jackson Kayak.

[l-dot]

sup wc? rollin' ain't easy, but it keeps your pimp hand stong. So if any dem stoopid bike path gapers be laughin. You just smack their punk asses back to the ranch.

[Paul B]

A different way to think about your roll, or the action of rolling, might help as well - at least will underscore the importance of keeping your head down. When you roll up you are not really "rolling up" what you are doing is rolling your boat underneath your head and then sitting up. I know kind of esoteric, but that is what is really happening.

[ibyakn]

You've gotten some good tips from people so I'll just add a couple more.

1. The first thing you need to do is relax. If you're focused on thinking how tight or loose the boat is, or uncomfortable with the water up your nose if you don't have nose plugs, or worried about being laughed at by people on shore, then you won't be loose and able to snap your hips or lift your knees effectively. Before you go over just take a deep breath and relax. Visualize coming up and impressing everyone with your newly found role.

2. You've heard all sorts of people tell you to keep your head down. One way to help accomplish this is to turn your head down into the water and slowly blow bubbles. Keep your eyes following the front blade of your paddle. I'm not saying you have to open your eyes, but pretend that this is what you're doing. And blow bubbles slowly... Might sound a bit weird but trust me, it works.

3. Last thing. Especially for men, we try to roll too quickly. The roll is dynamic and has energy but it's not like a time bomb going off. The critical thing is that your sweep and hip snap are timed correctly. In my experience, when learning men try to sweep too quickly and so their hip snap can't keep up with it and they end up falling back into the water because they're only 50% up but the sweep is already complete. Again, relax, slow it down a bit. Oh, and keep yer head down!

Good luck. You'll get it and be rocking and rolling in no time.

Mark

Originally Posted by WhiteChocolate

I just started this crazy sport over the winter, tryen to hit my roll but i keep loosens my patience. any tips for how to make my hip snap more effective? i am getting about half way, maybe my boat is too big or somethin

if one moreperson laughs at me down at confluence i am going to loose it. it's those damn peeple that spectate, mostly bikers, you can't be laughin at someone because they are tryen real hard at a new sport. i swear i will break someones jaw next time they laugh yo.n you guys ever loose your cool on someone down there?

any tips would b.a., really want to get this figured out so i can compete in some races this year.

peace

WC

[clearh2o]

I came to the world of kayaking from surfing. I was used to getting thrashed around in the water but never with my legs lock in a plastic boat. I had slim to no patience when I was in my boat.

My method to cure this was pool time or a lake. I removed the float bags and swamped the boat with water. Sitting about chest deep in water in my boat I would practice bracing and dunking my head under water. Every time I would let my head stay under for longer periods of time. Everything happens slow when the boat is swamped so think of every brace look at your paddle and this will keep your head down. Also let go of your paddle and practice with your hands. Goggles and nose plugs are a crutch but if they help get you over the hump give it a try.

This was my method to cure my anxiety about 15 years and I have been paddling all over the world on many different rivers since then.

Hang in there

JW