Kayak Rolling Training Exercises -

The angle of tip and the speed of movement can be progressively increased until the boat is being tilted as far in each direction as the movement of the waist joint allows. This is a good practice for the "C to C" roll in which the shoulders and upper body remain square to kayak.

Rotation of the upper body can be added to the exercise in preparation for the fully-articulated screw roll.  The paddle is held out in front of the paddler, and as the left knee and hip are raised, the torso is rotated to the left, and the right arm extended across the centerline to a position outside the left knee.   At the same time the body curves forward at the waist and spine.   As the kayak is rocked in the opposite direction the body unwinds, passes through the upright forward facing position, then winds up in the opposite direction, finishing with the left arm extended over the right side of the kayak, and the body bent over to the left.  This exercise begins to give the paddler a sense of the timing and sequence of movements in the screw roll.

In the next exercise, the purpose is for the paddler to find the best recovery position. For a right-handed paddler, the recovery will normally be on the right side of the kayak. The aim is to immerse as much of the torso as possible in the water while moving it the shortest distance from the centerline. The angle of roll of the kayak is controlled with the knees and thighs to maximize the righting buoyancy force. To reach this position, begin by lowering the right arm deep in the water. Bend forward at the waist and rotate to the right.  The left side of the face should brush over the spraydeck and finish on against the side of the kayak adjacent to the right knee.  At the same time the right hand reaches deep into the water pulling the shoulder and upper body under the surface. The hand may help with support by sculling. Most paddlers will find that, with a little experimentation, they can get their face in the water. Those who are more advanced and flexible will be able to progress to whole head and second arm immersion.  Ultimately, this exercise can be developed into a complete hand roll.

In this next exercise the body lies face-down in a horizontal position with the hands holding palm-down on to the side of the pool, the bow of the instructor's boat, or any other reasonably firm support at water level. To reach this position a right-handed paddler must first rotate at the waist fully to the right, then hold the support and capsize to the right. It is important for the learner to realize that the face and body must be in the water for the exercise to be effective; again the range of movement should be built up until the paddler is stretching the waist in each direction as far as possible, pulling the kayak over with the left knee, then rolling it by pulling the right knee through under the kayak. Initially this should be repeated several times with the body lying passively at the surface - no attempt should be made to bring the body out of the water until the hip flick can be performed almost without thinking.

There is a tendency for the bow of the kayak to drift out from the side of the pool forcing a rear deck recovery.  It is important that the paddler keeps the bow close to the side of the pool so that a recovery with the face close to the knee can be practiced. Pushing out with the rear hand and pulling in with the front hand will help with this. Once the hip flick can be done consistently with both hands providing support, it should be practiced again using only the control hand, since only one hand provides support during the paddle rolls.

The Body Follow Through -

The next stage in developing the complete action is to add to the hip flick (just described) the recovery from the water: as the boat passes through the on-edge position the spine starts to bend forwards from the base; this keeps the head and shoulders in the water, generating buoyancy, until as late as possible in the recovery; the shoulders and face leave the water last, with the face close to the middle of the thigh.  This exercise, too, should be repeated a number of times. The diagram shows a recovery in the "C to C" position. Ideally, the paddler's face should be closer to the side of the kayak as it comes out of the water. In order for this to happen, the paddler needs to be bent forward at the waist in a more face-down position than shown here.

If the pupil has difficulty in achieving this flexibility of the spine, then alternative methods of lifting the body from the water can be tried. Many kayak rollers finish by lying along the back deck with no rotation at the waist; this causes less strain to the beginner, but is less effective for two reasons. Firstly, the body clears the water and the torso buoyancy force is lost much earlier in the movement; secondly, the laid back position is a very poor one for resuming paddling on rough water since the paddler is disorientated, looking up at the sky, and is in a weak position to brace with the paddle. If the roll fails when he is in this position then his face is very exposed to rocks and other obstacles.  From this position, he has to pull himself upright with the stomach muscles, expending valuable time and energy, before he can do anything else.

If this is the only method learned for kayak rolling, then in some boats with high rear decks the body is prevented from leaning very far back, and so finishing the roll is difficult. When paddlers have learned to roll in a pool, they often find that wearing a buoyancy aid in the laid back position pushes the center of gravity significantly further out from from the boat and this effect often contributes to difficulties in converting a pool roll into a river roll. One possible way around this for the stiff-waisted paddler is to lean forward. Particularly in large-cockpit boats the face lies close to the front of the spray cover, and the center of gravity can be brought very close to the axis of rotation. If the boat has a small cockpit, then the head ends up on the raised part of the foredeck and again the center of gravity is forced further out. The forward position is better than the laid back position because the paddler's face is much better protected and he can sit up into a strong paddling position quickly after rolling.

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