Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2010 8:45 pm
Kelvin is right... the whole T-grip to the stomach is the first thing they teach you about a 'low brace' during your local club roll sessions.
Also the 'under the boat set up with your paddle down the middle of the airbag is detrimental, because it doesn't get your body out to the side of the roll, waste times, has the potential to get your t-grip caught in your airbag webbing, ect....
It just doesnt really do anything. The best thing you can do for your setup phase is keep the paddle outside of the boat along the hull. This already has ur paddle above water, and all you have to do is fan out, push down and hip snap and you are up.
The number 1 thing I preach about a roll is to practice it. And I don't mean flatwater. Flatwater rolling is grand and all for when you are FIRST LEARNING to come UPRIGHT from being upside down... but once you are hitting flatwater rolls 10/10, you should never have to practice flatwater rolls again, as it will hardly help.
The biggest thing is practicing when the heart is pumping, and there is a swim at stake. The way to do this is.... START PUSHING IT. START PRACTICING MOVES THAT YOU DON"T NORMALLY DO. START GETTING YOUR SELF OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. All this will do will....expand your comfort zone number one, and in the mean time, cause you to flip a few times during a run, and you'll have a combat roll down in a hurry.
I acquired my 'pool' roll in April, hit my first Combat Roll in May, and had it Bombproofd by a month later.... purely because i often push it to where I am flipping 3-5 times a run. That's more flipping that some people do all summer... which is cool and all, but I know my roll will save my life. Can the person who hardly ever flips/test their roll say that? Probably not.
Practice makes perfect. And remember 'practice like you play'....aka - under high intensity situations. Unless you are just a Class II-III paddler, and you just cruise and like to enjoy the scenery the whole time; and if that is the case... you shouldn't be takin advise from me because I paddle in a different realm (whether it's on class II or class V)
Also the 'under the boat set up with your paddle down the middle of the airbag is detrimental, because it doesn't get your body out to the side of the roll, waste times, has the potential to get your t-grip caught in your airbag webbing, ect....
It just doesnt really do anything. The best thing you can do for your setup phase is keep the paddle outside of the boat along the hull. This already has ur paddle above water, and all you have to do is fan out, push down and hip snap and you are up.
The number 1 thing I preach about a roll is to practice it. And I don't mean flatwater. Flatwater rolling is grand and all for when you are FIRST LEARNING to come UPRIGHT from being upside down... but once you are hitting flatwater rolls 10/10, you should never have to practice flatwater rolls again, as it will hardly help.
The biggest thing is practicing when the heart is pumping, and there is a swim at stake. The way to do this is.... START PUSHING IT. START PRACTICING MOVES THAT YOU DON"T NORMALLY DO. START GETTING YOUR SELF OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE. All this will do will....expand your comfort zone number one, and in the mean time, cause you to flip a few times during a run, and you'll have a combat roll down in a hurry.
I acquired my 'pool' roll in April, hit my first Combat Roll in May, and had it Bombproofd by a month later.... purely because i often push it to where I am flipping 3-5 times a run. That's more flipping that some people do all summer... which is cool and all, but I know my roll will save my life. Can the person who hardly ever flips/test their roll say that? Probably not.
Practice makes perfect. And remember 'practice like you play'....aka - under high intensity situations. Unless you are just a Class II-III paddler, and you just cruise and like to enjoy the scenery the whole time; and if that is the case... you shouldn't be takin advise from me because I paddle in a different realm (whether it's on class II or class V)