7. Rolling Pool Skills Before learning to roll, can you do a deep high brace (ear in the water) and do an eskimo rescue?

Ideas to try out: 1. To help ‘feel’ the motion, get someone to demonstrate the Name: ______paddle movement with a on dry land and practise this first. This booklet follows on from the Beginners Skills booklet and 2*. Think 1) – set up (avoid over-stretching!), 2) – rotate front covers a range of kayak skills that can be learnt or practised in the hand out from keeping your head near your front confined space of a pool. hand, 3) – high brace keeping your head near your hand. You should progress through each section in this booklet, learning skills that are developed in the following section. While you may not complete a section before moving on, it is important not to miss it out altogether. The key skills to master are those marked *.

Do try and practise techniques correctly and not to get into bad habits – these are much harder to unlearn later. Some hints and tips have been 3. Aim to come up sitting upright or forward – a quick scull given, but coaches or experienced paddlers will be happy to watch you. forward can bring you back to this position if you have over- And remember to practise everything on both sides (more on your rotated. weakest side)! 4. Try a roll going over without setting up your position first. 5. A reverse screw roll. Different set up, same basic idea. 1. Improving Forward 6. How about a hand roll? Reach out, leave your hands on the surface of the water and do a very dynamic hipflick to Ideas to try out: (ü) twist the boat around them. You will need to lie on the 1. Paddle with your hands as far apart as possible and your back deck all the way through this roll. Then try it holding a arms almost straight. You will need lots of trunk rotation! ball in one hand! 2. Put your hands together in the centre of the paddle shaft. 7. A back deck roll? (Useful playboating move!) How vertical does your paddle need to be to move forwards easily in a straight line? 3*. With a normal paddle grip, use trunk rotation from No.1 and the paddle shaft angle from No.2 . 4. Lean forwards or backwards when paddling. Which enables you to go faster, or with least effort? 5*. Think about what your feet are doing. (Hint – they should be pushing the boat forwards)

And finally Are you looking where you want to go? Remember that on the river you will generally be paddling a different type of boat, wearing a helmet and buoyancy aid as well as other clothing, the *Are your arms doing a continuous cycling action, the water will be colder and it will not be static. Practise in the pool, but then top hand pushing out horizontally as the lower hand practise each stroke on the river, combining with other strokes or forward reaches the end of the stroke? paddling. Donna Boothman November 2008 2. Edging 6. Rescues Edging a boat is much easier if your Not just for the pool! You will need a partner for all but the first of these foot rest is in the right place and your rescues. knees are under the thighgrips. Tilt 1*. Capsize holding onto the side of the pool or another boat the boat by shifting your weight onto and use a dynamic hip flick to right yourself and the boat. one side of your bottom. (Do not use your knee to lift the boat!) Keep your upper body upright. Can you … 1*. Paddle in a straight line keeping an even edge on the boat? (Water up to the edge of the cockpit is good.) 2*. Paddle in a circle with the boat edged towards the centre. Hint: Remember to bring your head up last! 3*. Paddle in a circle with the boat edged away from the 2*. Eskimo Rescue. After capsizing bang on the bottom 3 centre. times (slowly) to signal your partner to rescue you by Question: Which is more stable? Which makes the smaller circle? bringing the bow of their boat within reach. Increase the 4. Paddle in a straight line in reverse keeping an even edge distance between you to a boat length. on the boat. Practise all the above with more and more edge, until you can hold a steady edge with the water up to the rim of the cockpit.

A dynamic paddling position (leaning slightly forwards) keeps the boat more stable whether paddling forwards or backwards.

Remember to look where you want to go! 3. Be an active rescuer! Rescue someone else. Hint: Keep paddling towards them whilst they right themselves. 4. Paddle presentation rescuer – rescue your partner by coming alongside, placing your across both 3. Moving Sideways and putting their hand on the paddle shaft. First try this: 5. Paddle presentation rescuee – be rescued this way. 1. Paddle with both blades on the same side of the boat. Remember to use your hips to flick the boat over, as pulling down hard on the paddle will make it more difficult especially if your boat has a flat bottom. 6*. Deep water rescuee – get back into your boat after swimming while your partner holds it steady. 7. Deep water rescuer – empty your partners boat, with their help if necessary, then help them climb back in.

Hint: You will need lots of trunk rotation to do this exercise! If your boat has airbags in, this makes it much easier to empty. Lift the front end first and the boat will not fill with There are several ways of moving sideways, all useful in different water. Airbags are also useful for holding things in your boat circumstances. when you are on a trip. Support Strokes … Moving Sideways … 7. High brace on the move. You will need to put the stroke Make sure that you: in futher forward, and work on coming up sitting upright. ¨ Keep your body upright. 8. Sculling for support. Using the same idea as the sculling ¨ Have lots of trunk rotation so that your draw, the paddle stays on the surface of the water with the shoulders face the way you want to go. blade angle giving support. Keep the body forwards and ¨ Control the paddle with one hand only. the strokes as long as possible. A good confidence builder (Let the other hand act as a pivot) and useful for a failed roll. ¨ Look where you want to go. Ideas to try out: Safety in Support Strokes 2. Drawstroke. Make the boat travel sideways without More shoulder injuries have been caused by poor spinning and keeping the paddle shaft vertical. support strokes than any other aspect of paddling. If Hint: Try this with the blade in front, level with and behind your there is any tension in your shoulder on flat water, this hips. Which works best? will be magnified in the dynamic environments of surf or 3*. Straight Draw. Repeat the drawstroke but slice the paddle white water and can lead to painful muscle strains or back out keeping the blade in the water. You should be even dislocations. able to keep the boat straight over at least 2m. To avoid these problems, make sure you have enough trunk rotation to Question: Try edging towards or away from the paddle. Which is see both of your hands at all times and keep your elbows bent. more effective? Which is more stable? Try both ways on the following strokes. Practising good reverse paddling will help strengthen your shoulders to 4*. Draw on the move. Paddle forwards, then put a single reduce the risk of injury. drawstroke in as if avoiding a rock and continue paddling forwards. Avoid over-reaching – risk of shoulder injury. Boat Fitting 5. Hanging draw. Paddle forwards, then plant the paddle as if you were going to put a drawstroke in but hold it still, Your hip flick will be much more effective if the boat is firmly attached to keeping the boat moving sideways but going in a straight you. Consider the fit of: line. ¨ Footrest Hint: Try angling the blade slightly, and think about which side ¨ Thighgrips – where they can be moved make sure you put your last paddle stroke in. they are in a comfortable position. 6. Sculling draw. Use a sculling action to draw the boat ¨ Hip pads – if you have your own boat, these can be sideways. Your paddle should be vertical, about a hands custom fitted to a firm but comfortable fit. length from the side of the boat, with a long slow stroke. ¨ Backrest – while not affecting support strokes, it will help your general paddling and make it easier to keep a dynamic Do get someone to watch you to see if you have good posture paddling position. and technique.

Sometimes it is necessary to move the seat in a boat. This will affect the Are you always able to see both of your hands? If you can’t, try boat’s balance front to back as it sits in the water, so get someone to rotating your body a bit more. This will help avoid injuring your watch you paddle and see if it is in the right place for you. Don’t forget to shoulders. allow for the weight of equipment you may carry in the back on a river. Are you still looking where you want to go? 4. Steering and Turning 5. Support Strokes While moving forwards, can you … Ideas to try out: 1. Do a sweep stroke edging into the turn? 1*. Find the balance point of your boat. Find the “point of 2. Carve a turn? Repeat No.1, but holding the edge on no return” for the boat you are in, when you would need to allowing the boat to carve through a long turn. use a support stroke. It will be different edging or leaning. 3*. Carve a turn with a dynamic stern rudder? Instead of a 2. Edge to edge. Without your paddles, edge the boat and sweep stroke, plant the blade behind you to control the turn hold it for a count of 5. Then edge it the other way and – keep the paddle out from the boat, using some trunk hold. Feel the muscles you are using, then try rocking your rotation and edging towards the paddle. hips to change quickly between edges. Keep your body upright. You can also try this at home, sitting in a paddling position (sit on a phone book!) 3*. Low brace support – keep the paddle low and use the back of the blade to push down on the water while your hips flatten the boat. Slice the blade out forwards ready to paddle off again. Get someone to demonstrate; this very 4. Do a Gliding Draw? Repeat No.2 but plant the blade in a useful stroke is often learned badly. draw stroke position to help the boat carve better. You will need to experiment with the blade angle. (Don’t over-reach)

From stationary and with a partner, can you: 5. Set up a bow rudder? Plant the blade as if slicing off 1/6 of a pizza and edge towards the paddle. Then get your

partner to give you a firm push from the stern. Try it close 4. Low brace on the move. Once you have mastered the to the boat and further out, near your hips or further low brace, try it while paddling forward, as if you were forward. How is your speed and turn tightness affected? suddenly knocked off balance. 5. Practise your hip flick. Use the side of the pool as a support, lie in the water and rotate the boat from being upright to being nearly upside-down, and back again. 6*. High brace support – keep the paddle low and the top hand still, just below your shoulder. Remember that if you right the boat with a good hip flick, the body will follow. Try it with your eyes closed! Don’t over-reach – risk of shoulder While moving forwards, can you … injury. 6*. Do a bow rudder? 7. Convert a sweep stroke to a bow rudder to a forward paddle stroke? 8. Convert a forward stroke to a dynamic stern rudder? 9. Do a sweep stroke edging out of the turn? Try this in different types of – you should be able to dip the stern under the water!