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| rolling |
| Written by rookie | ||||
| Saturday, 07 June 2008 00:00 | ||||
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Thought it was time to learn to roll. Easy. My paddling is starting to click a bit, and I've read the books and seen other people roll plenty - just stick the paddle out of the water, swish it round a bit, and up you pop ........ W-R-O-N-G !! My first shot was at the local club session, where I was talked very patiently through the process, but after a couple of nastily poor attempts (including drawing blood on the instructor's face with my flailing paddle - SORRY!) I thought i'd better try a more solitary approach. So off i went down to the practice area at the Barrage and dug myself in for a serious 'learning experience'. Now then, i'm sure no text books or clubs or instructors would advocate learning to roll on your own, but when i've got something under my skin i've just got to horse-on and get on with it. I did prepare myself though - nose clip, ear plugs, air bags (my gtx holds about 20tons of water without them) and swimming goggles. No doubt i looked a complete kn*b (do i sound like i care?) but i wanted to see what was happening. I've been told it can take quite a while to get it right, and after my first poor attempts at the club i decided it would just have to take as long as it took. However, i'm counting how many goes it takes (sad, i know), just for the record. Winding myself up for the first attempt was the hardest, but after the first ten it was time for a cuppa and a bit of a think - "Well at least my wet-exit and boat-emptying are coming along nicely!". And after the next ten it was time for another cuppa and a bit more think - "At least my paddle's coming up out of the water properly now, plus i'm confident enough to reset and have a second go when the first one doesn't work'. And by that time i was sh*gged, and it was time to pack in for the afternoon.
Now, i had originally told myself that i didn't care if it took a hundred or even a thousand goes, i was going to do it eventually. But a thousand goes sounds like load of wasted effort if you're not doing it right, so i figured i'd better do some serious thinking about where i was going wrong. And as luck would have it the latest CKUK was on the mat when I got home, with a bit in it about honing your whitewater skills. "Boat - Body - Blade - Brain - Backgound" - not specifically about rolling, but I suddenly had a light-bulb moment ..... I'd just expended a shed-load of energy (and imbibed a bit too much of the Tees) trying to roll with just the 'Blade'. I can't see that working - I'll have to put more effort into the 'Body' and 'Boat' next time.
Wish me luck.
P.S. I wasn't completely on my own - the staff at the Barrage clearly had an eye on me - thanks for the tips lads
Comments (2)
  written by toon, July 09, 2008
hiya mate , i 'am no expert but i often practice rollling alone . I did find it easier if someone was with me pointing out where i was going wrong . I help a friend roll in two sessions on the eamont . check out lou ham rolling on u-tube . If you want a hand or someone to go to the tees with i 'am free most mondays and have transport . We all started at one point and i found kayaker's a helpful lot .
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 21 June 2008 13:55 ) | ||||
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I remember it well. It felt totally imposible to start with!