PHASE 3 is Just you, the paddle, the boat, and the roll… however, you are going to tip over in “roll position” which is better said as “brace position”. This means that your paddle will be perpendicular to the kayak, or even slightly angled towards the bow. Think of it as a deep brace that you let the boat flop on top of you and then hip snap it off of you. The motion is identical to a high brace, with the only addition is letting the boat flop on top of you before you brace back up. Why is this a step? This is the paddle position and feeling that you need to memorize as you will be going to this position when underwater in Phase 4 and this is essentially defined as “Roll Position”.
- Put your paddle off to the right side of the boat, power-face down, and reach it as far from the boat as you can. Keep it perpendicular to the boat.
- Tip over with your paddle in that position, and plan on keeping it in that position. To keep your paddle in that position, you’ll be lifting the right blade up and up as you tip over trying not to let it touch the water all of the way until you are upside down.
- As soon as you are upside down, hip-snap back up… Hoorah!! You just rolled up again! You can ROLL!!!
- OK- so you won’t likely be tipping over in the river with your paddle already set up in the roll position like this… so, we need to learn how to get into this position after you flip over. This is Phases 4 and 5. Watch the video below for a good visual of what this should look like.