C-Forum

Hi All,

I am looking for some fun stuff to practice in the pool while the rivers are all frozen.

I am fooling around with a back deck roll, but am having some trouble. My paddle keeps diving and I end up with my hand rolled over. Is that clear? Any suggestions on how to fix it or other fun stuff to try?

I am in a converted airhead btw... Cheers.

Dan.

Commit to the move. The clip is a CU fly but the tecnnique has evolved from doing this in my Zoom...I have found that it works best when I actually pull the boat through as much as possible with my hips keeping the paddle out of the water until it needs to go under the boat....

http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb53 ... ckdeck.flv

Yep. The video does a good job of showing the back-deck roll, from above the water. What you may not get is that your "t" grip hand is actually deeper to keep the blade toward the surface. That may make a difference for you. I always think to myself that I'm falling on top of the paddle as I'm going to the offside and toward my back deck and feather the blade so it stays toward the surface and use the pressure on the blade to start the roll as I'm still sweeping forward. The REAL trick is to try and see how much of your forehead you can keep above the water. I've been able to keep my eyes above the water--but then again, the water that day was about 35 degrees! BRRRR! Good incentive, yes?

KNeal

I have a question about the back deck roll. Is the roll all from the power face of the blade or do you switch to a low brace once you clear the deck? If it is all power face how is it on shoulders?

When I do the back-deck roll, it is entirely on the back face.

I plant the paddle before I flip all the way over and the blade never leaves the surface of the water. It's basically a huge low brace that is initiated on the off-side.

a helpful way of initiating the back deck roll is to tuck your t-grip hand in to your hip, and swing the blade as high as you can around your body that way. then when your'e underwater it will make sense. the way i learned to get to it really quickly was pivoting, and over initiating the offside edge, and flipping, and just throwing your body with it. it's super fast, and you basically never stop the movement of your body around the boat or vice versa...
-isaac

It's really hard to follow on-line descriptions of how-to-twist-which-hand-and-where-to-tuck-it, it's even hard to see live, but it's something you can play with in the pool...

I always finish my roll on my low brace (and assume most people do), and from the off-side I've always gone under my boat with a high-brace grip, only turning my blade when I'm ready to roll.

Playing with coming under the boat with either grip (power-face up or power-face down) is something to to try. It's amazing how a relatively subtle adjustment from whatever you're used to can get you lost!

I like the all-low-brace roll under the front, it's faster and keeps you tucked better, but the high-brace sweep-under felt most natural when learning. (Dan, there's also a long thread with Al about this on CCR.)

I haven't tried a low-brace sweep-under on the back deck.

Anyway, since it's hard to tell what people are writing out, just try both blade orientations.

I guess trying rolls on your high-brace - probably not uncommon for the back-deck - is something to try too, but I'm cautious with my shoulder and haven't tried.

Before I get out of the pool, I always try a hand roll too. Not even close!! But you might as well try if you're getting out anyway.

PY.

eh. the good news is I get to start rehab.
-isaac

Heya man...
If u plan to go surfing bigger waves try flatwater blunt practice... simply do bow and stern pivot turns... just one end of rotation try to practice the dynamics of the strength impulse for the rotation... have fun...

If you want something else to try......
The Astro OC

http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb53 ... oclean.flv

So I went to the pool last sunday and got the back-deck roll figured out! The video posted here was a great help.

I am working on the bow-pivot turns now. It is tons of fun

Thanks for the help guys! I will see what I can do about posting a video of the progress. No promises though.

Keep the pool ideas coming, I am learining lots.

dan. wrote:Hi All,

I am looking for some fun stuff to practice in the pool while the rivers are all frozen.

Dan.

Take one of the float bags from your OC/C1 out of the boat and fill with water...have fun

wetnobby wrote:If you want something else to try......
The Astro OC

http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb53 ... oclean.flv

Still can't beleive what you did there(astro OC !) Very very nice job !

And I guess you'd want to work on a hand roll before that!

PY.