Once upon a time it was called "rolling in a circle." The term directional rolling is an updated tag line, but it is still rolling in a circle; meaning setting up to roll in the direction you are falling. Directional rolling is a skill that every boater should be...
Kayak Rolling Concepts
The Bombproof Roll by Ken Kastorff
You want a bombproof roll? I hate to even admit this with Murphy’s evil law running around out there but the last time I legitimately swam out of a kayak was in 1975. Ya, Ya, I swam once throwing my paddle away doing enders and getting sucked up into a hydraulic that...
When a Bombproof Roll is not Bombproof
A whitewater kayaker's goal is to have a bomproof roll. To help reach with the goal of successfully rolling / how to practice your roll / the technique behind rolling.. the Endless River Adventures Team and I have spent years writing articles about every aspect of...
Why A Pool Roll Is Not Always A Whitewater Roll
There are a number of reasons why your winter pool roll might not work when you go kayaking on the river During the winter, it is tempting to save all your roll practice for the pool. And for some - the winter pool sessions are the only time a roll is really ever...
Is a “Bombproof Roll” too Much to Ask for?
Is a “bombproof roll” too much to ask for? Doesn’t everyone, well—nearly everyone, eventually go for a swim? Which would mean to say that there is “no such thing” as a bomb-proof roll. We say not true. It is time to differentiate between the inevitability of having an...
Falling over is Easy…It’s the rolling back up
Whether a canoe or a kayak, one of the more challenging techniques to learn is rolling back up (the falling over can be very easy!!). It is because rolling is technique and muscle memory. Trying to learn technique/develop muscle memory is a bit more challenging when...
My Daughter’s First Combat Roll
Shared by Todd McGinnis (aka: proud father) Well while y’all were styl’n the Upper Ocoee and the Gauley I got to spend an awesome weekend with Olivia on the Nanty as she took part in the slalom Clinic with the Nantahala Racing Club. This is a great clinic and is the...
Contextual Interference And Rolling Your Kayak on Both Sides
Directional rolling is at the heart of our kayak instruction program. Part of learning directional rolling is learning to roll on both sides (since we cannot train the river to let us tip over to just one preferred side!!). There is always concern that starting to...
Directional Rolling-It is Not a One-Sided Affair
Directional rolling is at the heart of our kayak instruction program. Part of learning directional rolling is learning to roll on both sides (since we cannot train the river to let us tip over to just one preferred side!!). There is always concern that starting to...
What’s the big deal about Directional Rolling?
Rolling your kayak: Onside/offside/righty/lefty/directional/switching... Question: Why do we think that onside should be called the righty roll, and offside a lefty roll? How about this for an answer: The baggage that an "offside" roll carries is almost so weighty...
The Recovery/Finish Position of the Roll
Of the four steps to the roll: set up, sweep, hip snap, recovery/finish, it is the recovery/finish position that too often gets overlooked by beginner paddlers, and written off as not necessary by experienced paddlers. The recovery/finish step of the roll...
Where the C-to-C Roll Came From
The development of the C-to-C Roll as recounted by Ken Kastorff: In the early 1970’s I was participating in winter pool slalom events in Wisconsin. At that time teaching the roll was all one motion and it was hard to break down. One night I learned the C-1 roll so...
C-to-C Roll or Sweep Roll?
What Really Matters Is Technique. by Trevor Stewart The evolution of white water kayaks has rekindled the debate among kayak instructors over which type of roll to teach their students. Many instructors believe that it is more difficult teaching someone to roll one of...
Key Innovations in Teaching the Roll by ERA Staff
ERA Concept: DIRECTIONAL ROLLING. Good rolling is all about momentum. Rolling the way you are falling means that you capture the impetus created from your fall and use it to efficiently roll up. But that means having a roll on both sides and using both rolls...
Rolling (An Addendum) by Ken Kastorff
It has been a while since I have had time to sit down in front of the computer and put some thoughts on the screen. Recently I had a chance to escape from the office and sneak onto the lake with a couple of guests that wanted to work on their kayak skills. One of my...