I finally got around to taking rolling lessons! That was my biggest priority this summer but every time I signed up for lessons, they had to be canceled for some reason or another (car problems that needed to be fixed at the Rossport Symposium, bad weather at the North of Superior Symposium, etc).
I took a pool lesson with Joe O’Blenis and was able to roll within the two hour lesson. It’s definitely not smooth or bomb-proof (yet) as you can see in the video below but I was able to pull off 6 rolls on my own before getting too tired and bailing on the seventh attempt so I’m pretty happy. Joe’s a great teacher with a lot of knowledge and patience which is the main reason I was able to do a roll my first time.
We started with practicing hip snaps by holding the edge of the pool and honestly, after 20 minutes of this, I was doubting that I would pull off a roll that night. It’s harder and more tiring than it looks (and my beer belly doesn’t offer very much flexibility). After that we did a few assisted rolls with Joe making sure everything was in proper position and going through all the motions slowly. Joe spotted me on a couple more rolls and realized that I could pull one off on my own so I took a quick break and attached the camera to the bow of my kayak.
The first roll is a little sloppy but knowing that I pulled it off on my own was one of the best feelings I’ve ever had (notice the ear to ear grin on my face in the video). The last few seemed fairly easy at the time but looking at the video, I can see that I didn’t have the greatest form and was putting my paddle too deep. I think the sixth roll was my best. On my seventh attempt, I brought my head up too soon, could sweep myself up and went back under. I was too tired so I didn’t even make a second attempt at it and bailed. I was still happy with the overall progress so bailing didn’t bother me at all.
If you’re interested in learning to roll or just want to improve your technique, the Rolling Clinic in the Twin Cities is the place for you. The clinics are free and held at various lakes in the summer and indoor pools in the winter. Alex Pak is the main instructor but the members of the clinic collectively help one another improve their rolling skills.
The Rolling Clinic website has several video clips demonstrating various rolls. There are videos for everything from the standard Greenland roll to hand rolls to behind the head rolls.
If you’re going to be in the Twin Cities, make sure to sign up on their website for a rolling sessions.
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