One piece of feedback I got on my ACA instructor cert last year was "Learn to roll". Well, I have. At least to the extent that I have a sometimes combat roll in my Taureau (getting better all the time), and have rolled an Ovation on flatwater (fortunately haven't had to try it in WW, yet.)
I'm really interested in teaching people to roll, and will probably get lots of chances to do so next year, as I'll be back at a University with regular roll sessions for the outdoor club. Wondering what other people do to teach a roll, this is the method I used to teach myself, and think would be good to use with others as well:
1. Start the student going over to the on-side. Have a helper (instructor) hold their paddle blade so that they can practice the "high" low-brace of a canoe roll. Try it lots, backwards and forwards, slowly, to get the feel of the body position and work on good blade position (shaft hand to forehead), keeping their body low all the way through the roll, and using the abdominal muscles and hip-snap.
2. Once the student has some confidence, use a paddle float to give them an additional stepping stone. Still having them fall to their onside, straight into the C position at the beginning of the roll.
3. Once they know they can do it alone with a paddle float, remove it, and remind them that speed and keeping the body in the water as long as possible are the keys to successful rolls. (stay low over the gunnels at the end too! Going back to step 2 if they lose confidence)
4. Once they can do the C-to-C low-brace motion necessary to roll up from an on-side capsize, start working on the forehead-to-bow-> rotate-to-C setup for the roll. Have them roll to their on- or off-side, already in the setup position. Hold the blade for them if necessary, as they move from the setup position to the C position to initiate the roll.
5. As they get comfortable with the setup-to-C transition and rolling up from there, start them rolling over in positions they would actually be in paddling; forward stroke, rudder, cross-forward, etc... Focusing on getting to the setup position as a matter of muscle memory.
I am pretty fortunate being a thin, flexible guy, and can keep my head and shoulders on the water when my boat is nearly righted. I'm concerned that I don't really need a strong hip-snap, and therefore may underestimate it's importance for others. Certainly good flexibility helps a ton with a roll, but have you instructors had success with students that you wouldn't have expected to be able to roll?
Thanks,
Shep
Teaching Open Boat Rolls
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yarnellboat
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I'm no instructor, but here's my 2 cents...
Before even using the paddle you can have them practice the "hip snap", or "leg motion", while resting their hands on the pool side, a paddle shaft that you hold, or in your hands - this emphasizes getting the shoulders square and to the surface, and gets them initiating with the lower body. It can be good to introduce this boby-position stuff without the distraction of the paddle.
Other than that it's been more-or-less as you describe, but you'll have to different ways to describe some common correction to different people. That the difference with good instruction - finding the right element/correction to focus on, and describing it in a way that clicks for the student.
One problem I think some friends have been having lately is that in their rolling motion there's too much sweep and not enough downward oomphh. I've been trying to get them to bend at the waist, push their still-square shoulders to the bottom, giving enough downward purchase for their legs to get the hull rotating. With too much sweep and not enough downpush, it looks like a good roll, but they aren't quite able to finish it.
Something a friend used that clicked for me was the analogy of closing a Swiss rmy knife and having the body and the blade come together - when finishing the roll, it's part you getting your upper body back into the boat, plus part you putting the boat back underneath you.
So, you've got a good start, but from there it's matter of identifying what your students need to hear, and how it will make sense to them.
Plus, always tell them to keep their heads in the water longer and keeping looking straight down!
Pat.
Before even using the paddle you can have them practice the "hip snap", or "leg motion", while resting their hands on the pool side, a paddle shaft that you hold, or in your hands - this emphasizes getting the shoulders square and to the surface, and gets them initiating with the lower body. It can be good to introduce this boby-position stuff without the distraction of the paddle.
Other than that it's been more-or-less as you describe, but you'll have to different ways to describe some common correction to different people. That the difference with good instruction - finding the right element/correction to focus on, and describing it in a way that clicks for the student.
One problem I think some friends have been having lately is that in their rolling motion there's too much sweep and not enough downward oomphh. I've been trying to get them to bend at the waist, push their still-square shoulders to the bottom, giving enough downward purchase for their legs to get the hull rotating. With too much sweep and not enough downpush, it looks like a good roll, but they aren't quite able to finish it.
Something a friend used that clicked for me was the analogy of closing a Swiss rmy knife and having the body and the blade come together - when finishing the roll, it's part you getting your upper body back into the boat, plus part you putting the boat back underneath you.
So, you've got a good start, but from there it's matter of identifying what your students need to hear, and how it will make sense to them.
Plus, always tell them to keep their heads in the water longer and keeping looking straight down!
Pat.
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Pierre LaPaddelle
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Hey Shep
Pretty comprehensive outline -- good plan!
Coupla minor tricks to help the hip snap -- some folks don't conceptualize this part easily:
1. "Pull up on the knee." (If your paddle side is 'right,' then pull up on your right knee.
2. "Push with your head." (As you pull the paddle across overhead, push your head in the same direction. This helps ensure the head is the last part of the body to surface.)
Good luck! It's always a treat to see the massive smiles on folks' faces when they nail their first roll!
Pretty comprehensive outline -- good plan!
Coupla minor tricks to help the hip snap -- some folks don't conceptualize this part easily:
1. "Pull up on the knee." (If your paddle side is 'right,' then pull up on your right knee.
2. "Push with your head." (As you pull the paddle across overhead, push your head in the same direction. This helps ensure the head is the last part of the body to surface.)
Good luck! It's always a treat to see the massive smiles on folks' faces when they nail their first roll!
C'est l'aviron. . . !
Hope people aren't scandalized to hear me say this, but a big "aha" moment for me was watching EJ's Rolling and Bracing. The part where he does a no-hands roll was a really concrete demonstration that it's ALL ABOUT THE BODY, and I realized that everything I ever heard about the head, etc, was really just different ways to trick people into keeping their center of gravity low/underwater until the boat was righted and then bring center of gravity back over the center.
yb and PLaP, I think the biggest thing they hammered on during my IDW/ICE was teaching to multiple styles at once and be adaptable. Your advice is great. It helps speak to the different ways people conceptualize the skills. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks,
Shep
yb and PLaP, I think the biggest thing they hammered on during my IDW/ICE was teaching to multiple styles at once and be adaptable. Your advice is great. It helps speak to the different ways people conceptualize the skills. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks,
Shep
One thing I find useful for teaching the roll is to start with low brace recovery practice. Have the student try to get their head out past the onside gunwale and as close to the water as possible. Start easy and work out farther. Really good students may be able to actually get their face wet eventually.
Have them keep the head low during recovery. They should try to nearly touch first the onside and then the offside gunwales with their nose. At the same time they need to concentrate on pulling the t-grip across the boat (gunwale to gunwale) basically following the nose. Basically you're trying to teach them the Fainting Goat technique made famous by Louie.
When they start to get irritated with this drill - after all you're supposed to be teaching them to roll - move on to the rest of your curriculum.
When they get to the point where everything is working except the finish - that's when you tell them that the very last part of a successful roll is the low brace recovery as practiced earlier.
I've seen the light bulb turn on a number of times with this realization.
I'm not a fan of paddle floats. I think it teaches putting weight on the paddle instead of driving the hips up over the boat. I agree with Pat that using the pool side or a paddle shaft that someone else holds is a good way to teach body position.
Dave
Have them keep the head low during recovery. They should try to nearly touch first the onside and then the offside gunwales with their nose. At the same time they need to concentrate on pulling the t-grip across the boat (gunwale to gunwale) basically following the nose. Basically you're trying to teach them the Fainting Goat technique made famous by Louie.
When they start to get irritated with this drill - after all you're supposed to be teaching them to roll - move on to the rest of your curriculum.
When they get to the point where everything is working except the finish - that's when you tell them that the very last part of a successful roll is the low brace recovery as practiced earlier.
I've seen the light bulb turn on a number of times with this realization.
I'm not a fan of paddle floats. I think it teaches putting weight on the paddle instead of driving the hips up over the boat. I agree with Pat that using the pool side or a paddle shaft that someone else holds is a good way to teach body position.
Dave
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Pierre LaPaddelle
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yb and PLaP, I think the biggest thing they hammered on during my IDW/ICE was teaching to multiple styles at once and be adaptable. Your advice is great.
. . . or maybe it's just that BC paddlers fall over more often, and the water's too dam cold to keep the head submerged for long. . .
. . . or maybe it's just that BC paddlers fall over more often, and the water's too dam cold to keep the head submerged for long. . .
C'est l'aviron. . . !
The way I taught myself to roll was to simply brace lower and lower and lower... eventually, I could go over to my offside so far that I could be stationary, 180 degrees upside down, and I could still brace myself back up. At that point it's basically a roll-- from there all I needed to do was wrap my head around how to get the paddle into that position when I flipped to my offside or didn't see it coming.
This is a good way to teach I'd think simply because it worked for me.
In retrospect though there are also some specifics that could have helped me learn sooner:
I now think of the "hip snap" or body motion as "putting the boat on top of the water first, then following it up". This intuitively is what makes sense to me. If someone is told to put the boat on top of the water first they know what to do-- the trick is to help them learn how. When I was being (unsuccessfully) taught to roll a kayak, I was told to use a "hip snap" or to "pull up on your right knee while you push down on your left", etc... these things confused the hades out of me. Once people have a basic understanding of hip motions and which knee you pull on to make the boat go which direction, certain students may benefit more from a general description of the purpose of the hip snap-- putting the boat back up level and than following it up-- when they'd be overwhelmed by the many tiny details of what they're doing. When I thought too closely about using my paddle correctly, my hip snap would fail. When I thought too closely about pulling up on the right knee for the hip snap, my head would come up too early. Only once I was able to see the roll as one motion could I actually do all of the smaller things it entails-- in fact, once it clicked as one smooth motion all of the smaller details (exact paddle angle, head down, knee torque) came naturally to me.
This is a good way to teach I'd think simply because it worked for me.
In retrospect though there are also some specifics that could have helped me learn sooner:
I now think of the "hip snap" or body motion as "putting the boat on top of the water first, then following it up". This intuitively is what makes sense to me. If someone is told to put the boat on top of the water first they know what to do-- the trick is to help them learn how. When I was being (unsuccessfully) taught to roll a kayak, I was told to use a "hip snap" or to "pull up on your right knee while you push down on your left", etc... these things confused the hades out of me. Once people have a basic understanding of hip motions and which knee you pull on to make the boat go which direction, certain students may benefit more from a general description of the purpose of the hip snap-- putting the boat back up level and than following it up-- when they'd be overwhelmed by the many tiny details of what they're doing. When I thought too closely about using my paddle correctly, my hip snap would fail. When I thought too closely about pulling up on the right knee for the hip snap, my head would come up too early. Only once I was able to see the roll as one motion could I actually do all of the smaller things it entails-- in fact, once it clicked as one smooth motion all of the smaller details (exact paddle angle, head down, knee torque) came naturally to me.
Yes - some (most) of these have been said already.
A couple things that I do or rather try when teaching... as we often don't practice what we preach
Never have tried this for someone else, but I once learned to roll (a K1) using a kayak polo ball. This might be incorporated someway... maybe a piece of fun part.
And yes - some of these have already been said... especially not practicing what we preach.
A couple things that I do or rather try when teaching... as we often don't practice what we preach
- Make sure they know, there is more than one way to roll. But you are only showing one particular method, and to forget whatever else they've seen for the moment (just do these little parts for now).
- To take their paddle away, and make them go through the motions using as little pressure as possible to roll - finger tips
- First thing first - I like to make them flip, count to ten, and then let me right them a few times (increasing the length of time - if they will)... this is really key to gaining their trust... while illustrating they have way more than enough time to roll
- Patience is key, yours and theirs. It's the little steps that make them not rush, memorize the steps, and think while upside down. Which I stress over and over, slow down and think.
- Teach it backwards - last step first, to next to last, and so on...I think this helps as people will have practiced the hardest part more. So as we progress, it helps to have that feeling of knowing the next steps (they're more familiar).. so they tend to not rush. It seems a lot of people keep practicing/repeating/reinforcing their failures over and over, doing the first steps to the point of making the ending seem far removed and elusive. Just like Dave (dafriend) said.
- And finally try to make it fun - helps with those who get easily frustrated
Never have tried this for someone else, but I once learned to roll (a K1) using a kayak polo ball. This might be incorporated someway... maybe a piece of fun part.
And yes - some of these have already been said... especially not practicing what we preach.