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Channel16 COMMUNITY | EDITORIAL | CONTRIBUTORS | WATERLINES COMMUNITY RE: “NEVER SWIM AGAIN”
“THERE IS NO DEEP-WATER, FOOLPROOF ROLL THAT CAN BE TAUGHT WITH TRUE UNIVERSALITY.” From a comment posted on
Adventurekayakmag.com by DOUG
www.adventurekayakmag.com/0009). journal k ayaker’s 1 2 3 Lee TECHNIQUE BY SHAWNA FRANKLIN Up. Right. FOOLPROOF YOUR ROLL WITH THE ACTIVE LEG DROP
Add reliability and ease to your roll by incorporating an active leg drop. The active leg drop better uses your body to roll the kayak and moves you away from relying too heavily on your paddle. The quick, powerful action of rolling a kayak with the hips—a hip snap/flick—is
widely described as getting the upper body near the surface and supported by the water, while righting the boat with a rolling action of the hips. Most people are told to lock their knees under the deck and concentrate on the upward action of one knee. Both legs pushing up against the deck creates resistance to the rolling action. A paddler
will often compensate by pulling harder on his paddle. He is essentially trying to lift his body up underneath the still overturned kayak, resulting in a cumbersome or failed roll and additional stress on the upper body. Avoid these problems with an active leg drop. Start your roll by actively driving your leg closest to the paddle down, transferring con-
tact from the thigh brace to the hull. Roll that hip and sit bone down while lifting with your opposite knee, bringing the kayak underneath your body. This opposition of forces results in the kayak rolling almost upright before your body
lifts out of the water, which reduces the need to pull on the paddle. As the kayak rolls up, your lowered leg and hip create a solid platform to help prevent it from tipping back over. Watch another roller who is incorporating an active leg drop and you will notice that
the boat moves before she starts to move her paddle. Practice the action with this exercise. Hold onto a fixed object—a pool side or a friend’s
bow or hand—and lower yourself into the water by rotating onto your back and bringing your shoulders parallel to the side of your kayak. Keep your arms bent in a strong position. Roll the boat over on top of your body while keeping your head on the surface. Drive the leg closest to your hands to the bottom of the kayak while increasing pressure
against the thigh brace on the opposite leg. Arc your spine and leave your head on the wa- ter. You will feel the kayak roll easily into a more upright position. This is similar to what Greenland paddlers refer to as a static brace position. Repeat until you start to feel the coordination of your opposing leg actions, and then
incorporate it into your roll. In addition to rolling your kayak more efficiently, the active leg drop can also be incor- porated into edging and bracing to the same advantage.
SHAWNA FRANKLIN is the co-founder of Body Boat Blade International, an award-winning kayak school located on Orcas Island, WA. A BCU Coach Level 5 aspirant, Shawna was the first woman in North America to achieve the BCU 5 Star Sea award.
28 ADVENTURE KAYAK | SPRING 2011 PEER REVIEW
Shawna’s article is a great isolation and description of an important component to the roll. The connection to using downward pressure is key. » Ginni Callahan, ACA level 5 instructor and BCU level 4 coach, Cathlamet, WA
It is great to see a coach moving paddlers away from the hip flick technique. Instead, think of your hips as a relaxed and flexible joint separating upper and lower body. Remember the mantra “Boat first, body second, head last” for the timing of a successful roll. » Doug Cooper, BCU level 5 coach, Aviemore, Scotland
Try backward learning to reinforce the leg drop. Holding onto a solid object, use one leg to actively pull the kayak upside down. Use the other leg to right the kayak. As you build confidence and skill, try Shawna’s drill holding onto a paddle float or flutter board. This will force you to drive the roll with your legs. If you use your arms, you will sink. » Michael Pardy, Paddle Canada level 3 instructor trainer, Victoria, BC
Many Greenland kayak designs [have] a wooden bar that holds both legs flat. [In] whitewater kayak designs, the limited space forces knees up and out- ward. So there’s a group of paddlers rolling with both legs straight and another rolling with both legs bent. Conceptually, I welcome Shawna’s instruction to prevent adverse pressure against the deck, although it’s not always possible. » Nigel Foster, BCU level 5 coach, St. Petersburg, FL
Make sure your boat fits you correctly so you don’t fall out when using this technique. A keyhole cockpit offers a much better fit than a more open style. » Christopher Lockyer, BCU level 4 coach and Paddle Canada level 3 instructor, Halifax, NS
Read more peer reviews
from leading coaches and instructors, and add your comments,
www.adventurekayakmag.com/0003.
Gilbert posted on our Facebook wall, “Man- aged to get through the editorial between a sick one-year-old, a walk to check out the water with a three-year-old, and managing my kayak- ing website. All I have to say is
WOW...best ed- itorial piece I’ve ever read in a kayak mag.” The Twin Cities’Tim McDonnell wrote, “I want to congratulate you on an excellent publication. Born Again was particularly touching.”
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10 ADVENTURE KAYAK | EARLY SUMMER 2011
Peer Review, Reviewed Last issue we debuted our new technique col- umn featuring articles written and peer reviewed by top instructors from across the industry. We asked for your comments on “Never Swim Again” (Spring 2011,
www.adventurekayak-
mag.com/0008) at
Adventurekayakmag.com. Most readers agreed with Shawna Franklin’s presentation of rolling technique. “‘Hip snap’ never made any sense to me. Maybe that’s why it took me so long to learn to roll,”Dick Ryon lamented. New Zealand’s Gareth Wheeler added, “[It’s] not useful for the sweep roll.” In- structor Marc Pootmans pointed out the im- portance of boat fit and paddle design. And we thinkDoug Lloyd concurred with Franklin, but we got lost halfway through: “By breaking down the components, prioritizing specific action points that have effectuations empirically rec- ognized, and helping paddlers cognate these ac- tions/priorities into sequential, reliable muscle memory through practice and refinement, the notion of a reliable, dependable roll can be real- ized.” Whew! Some of you enjoyed the article for all-together different
reasons.Bill Kirkland noted simply, “Shawna is pretty!”
Read it Again
Adventure Kayak editor Virginia Marshall re- ceived glowing praise for her inaugural editorial in this magazine (“Born Again,” Spring 2011,
[Mod]erately Impressed After reading David Johnston’s tip on using wooden beads to make deck bungees more accessible for paddle stowage (“10 Expedition Mods for Weekend Warriors,” Spring 2011
www.adventurekayakmag.com/0014),
San
Francisco paddler Hal Beilan wrote us with his own bungee wisdom. “Use a champagne bottle cork, drill a hole through it and cut it open lengthwise. Pry open and slide it on the bungee.” Beilan’s claim that this method is easier than beads—“no need to undo bungee knots”—holds water, but we’re not sure about his assertion that it’s also cheaper. “You will have to buy some champagne,” he admits. For another great mod—the electric cockpit bilge pump—see “Get Pumped”
(Early Summer 2010,
www.adventurekayakmag.com/0010).
On the Water Adventure Kayak hits the water this summer. First we dip paddles in Georgian Bay at White Squall May 21–22. Then we land in Ganan- oque, Ontario, for the 1000 Islands Paddlefest June 25–26. Events we’d attend if our travel al- lowance allowed it: Atlantic Paddle Sympo- sium in lovely Terra Nova, Newfoundland, May 20–23;South Sound Traditional Inuit Kayak Symposium in Belfair, Washington, June 10– 12; Inland Sea Kayak Symposium in Bayfield, Wisconsin, June 16–19; and the always fabu- lous Great Lakes Sea Kayak Symposium in Grand Marais, Michigan, July 13–17.
FIND US:
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www.adventurekayakmag.com,
www.facebook.com/ adventurekayakmagazine,
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PHOTOS: SHAWNA FRANKLIN
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