tricks to get your head last out of the water...

[french erick]

I have never managed to roll in anger more than 50% of the time on the river. I have admittedly not been to a pool session in a couple of years but then I hit 100% at the time.

I always try but this damned head comes up all the time! So if I'm lucky and power through I go up (not ideal)!

Once I missed the first roll, I always try another twice but by then my arse is out my saddle- it all goes to pots by this time and invariably I swim.

What do you guys do? I booking myself into some pool sessions but I need real river tips... I'm REALLY frustrated by this!
I don't go down often but I'll not paddle certain rivers until I've got a combat roll I can speak of.

May be one day, someone will film me, but as of yet I don't own any footage of a swim- read failed roll.

Cheers for suggestions.
(still paddling 100% of my time with buttboats so no Cfeedback from them)

[BobH]

Keep your head on the paddle shaft. It has two benefits.First it protects your shoulder. Second it keeps your head down.

[KNeal]

Here are a couple of links to go through. See if there is anything that can help you. Good time to work on rolling and gook luck to you.

http://cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php? ... en+rolling

http://cboats.net/cforum/viewtopic.php? ... en+rolling

[busterblue]

This is my favorite of Phil's rolling videos:
Look at the river bottom!

Another useful adage that I like is "Try to read the logo on your boat."

I've seen myself miss combat rolls due to lack of body extension. It helps to practice slow rolls in the pool (or an eddy).

[Mikey B]

I've found it helps to turn my face towards the back of the boat...forces your shoulders to square up with the bottom too...but is un-natural to do at first. And then when in the gnarl it's all to easy to rush things.
Playing in a hole/wave where you know you will flip, but has a slack water or big eddies below for making it not so stressful to try and roll up too fast, will help you to get a bomber roll.

[Todhunter]

I try to drive my head to the bottom of the river immediately after initiating the hip snap. This creates a two-fold benefit - 1) your head becomes the deepest thing in the water and will therefore be the last thing out of the water, and 2) equal-and-opposite forces and all that jazz pushes the boat that much further upright.

[french erick]

Not managed to hit either the pool or running water to try out all suggestions.
Thanks a lot for them though.
One of my few new year resolutions is to achieve a combat roll

Any of you guys have paddling resolutions?