Question:

| Oh, and I still can’t understand the difference between a | c-to-c roll and a sweep roll. | | –Joan | I think that the book ‘The bombproof roll’ explains the difference between the two rolls. The main difference, in my mind, is that it’s the order of how you do things that differentiates the two rolls: With the sweep, you sweep across the water applying leverage and hip snapping all at the same time; i.e. you start rotating the kayak up from the start of the sweep. With the C-to-C, first you rotate the paddle into place. Second, you lean up to the side that you are rolling towards. At this point, no effort has been made to right the kayak. Then, apply a brace on the water and hipsnap. The C-to-C can be broken down into a series of steps that can be executed one after another. The sweep (at least the way I do it), seems to rely more on a fluid succession of moves occuring at roughly the same time. Hope this helps, — Paul Scrutton – My views may not agree with those                 of employer.

Response:

Although I didn’t participate in the original round of advice, it sounds like your getting a good handle on the problem. Indeed, forget about your left knee and, as I always tell my students, kick yourself in the head with your right knee. And, yes, if you’re not uncoiling your torso during the sweep, you are losing power and probably not getting much of a sweep in any event. That likely explains why your paddle isn’t getting out to the side. If the body isn’t "sweeping out" then the hands and paddle probably aren’t either. As for your right hand, you don’t need to extend it a "bit" over your head; you need to extend it a LOT! If you can keep that right hand completely out of the water throughout the sweep and until the moment you are ready to brace, you’ll get all the purchase you need off the surface of the water. Don’t forget to leave that left hand in contact with the boat as you do your hip snap. If you bring your left hand across your body as you come up, you will counteract the hip snap. It’s almost the same as lifting your head. As for the difference between the C-to-C and the sweep roll, Paul Scrutton’s previous post is right on the money. Continued good luck. Larry K.

Response:

Well, I can’t say for certain that everybody’s helpful advice has helped me nail my paddle roll, but I thought I’d update/summarize the wisdom I’ve acquired… Thanks for all the input. First the problem: I have a dandy on-side hands-roll. I can roll over, stop, and then come up. I’ve been told it’s downright graceful. Now, I do tend to come up leaning forwards toward my bow, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem. Unfortunately, I cannot consistently roll with my paddle in place. Yes, I keep my head down. Yes, I have watched (several times!) _Grace_Under_Pressure_. Yes, I keep my front blade flat on the water. And, yes, I do have a friend helping me out. The solution(s): Well, thinking abut my knees was a great suggestion. I was pulling on both of them, so my left knee was part of the problem. It had nothing to do with my head, which was glued to my right shoulder where it should be. As for muscling my way up … well, this is something I just can’t do, so it’s not easy for me to develop bad form. I’ve seen lots of men in the pool muscling their way up, spazzing with their bodies, necks, and paddles. They often complain about shoulder pain the next day, not suprisingly. But they also get the satisfaction of thinking they can roll. Consistency with advice has been tricky. But I think part of my problem has been keeping my body tucked forward on my left side, near the water’s edge, even after I sweep. It seems now like you’re supposed to start out "kissing the bow," and then, with the sweep, your body moves out and away. I wasn’t doing that. I was staying tucked, which is how my hands roll works. Ah-ha. Another thing I noticed is that I wasn’t pulling my paddle out to the side at all. I’m not sure if I can explain this, but, basically, with my short 198 paddle, I wasn’t getting any leverage off of it at all when the left side of the paddle was far on top of my boat. I did need to extend my right arm a bit over my head, to begin basically what becomes the brace. No, I don’t have a bombproof roll, or anything close to it. But I’m working on it. Thanks for everyone’s suggestions. Any feedback to this would be great. Oh, and I still can’t understand the difference between a c-to-c roll and a sweep roll. –Joan

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