Rolling a kayak is not just one thing. It can be a brutally effective way to rescue yourself in dangerous conditions, in which case it’s a skill to perform at some minimum level under pressure. It can also be a way of keeping an old tradition alive. It can be a meditative practice, like tai-chi, or a stretching and strength training excercise like yoga. Or a sport to compete in. Or all of the above..
What I mean by “Greenland Rolling” here is mainly about the specific rolls that are part of the official Greenlandic rolling competition, plus a few more of similar style. View this as learning yoga or gymnastics for competition or exercise. There will be huge benefits to all your rolling from doing Greenland Rolling, but the specific techniques learned in Greenland Rolling are not always the safest or most practical in a real upside down situation.
Paddling long distance alone offers great rewards, you get to be in places and have experiences that you will never be able to explain to anyone, you can form a bond with yourself that I think many modern people are missing. You get to be the person who rescued you on a bad day and the one who made it just a bit more perfect on a good day, and you get to forgive yourself for being only human and at the same time be impressed by yourself and what you can actually accomplish – and have the time to notice it along the way.
But paddling alone is surprisingly different from paddling in a group. There are many very good courses and certifications that can teach you how to paddle with a group. But when you paddle alone many things are different. And although you can just go out and do it, it might be a good idea to think systematically about the preparations..
In Denmark there is a national competition of “sea kayak technique”. It is a competition performed like an obstacle course for kayaks, where specific exercises have to be carried out at each position along a lane.
If you want to challenge yourself with a new set of very intertaining sea kayaking skills and become better at performing under pressure, this is a great way to do that.
Paddling, steering and bracing are all slightly different with a greenland paddle.
Are you in the habit of extending the paddle for a turn? How would you brace with a Greenland paddle?.. There are many problems with Greenland paddles, most of them can be fixed with technique making the Greenland paddle into a strong competitor to the euro blade for every day, all round use.
So, a wing paddle is only for forward paddling and is universally bad for everything else, right? Not exactly, you can in fact do certain maneuvering strokes better with a wing paddle. In any case if you are considering a wing paddle you could do well to look at what drawbacks they have and how you could make up for them and if it is worth it overall
The roll, with all the fluff of style, grace, tradition and competition cut away. This is the survival roll, or the roll that prevents you from getting injured in real conditions and from spending 20min emptying a kayak so you can get back out where the fun is.
The emphasis is on function and safety.
It is hard to make descisions about what to buy. Often people will advise you according to assumptions about what your particular situation is rather than ask you sufficiently about the intended use.
I’m an avid seakayker since 2007. A national level competitor in several kayaking discliplines since 2013. I have a some unique accomplishments in the circumnavigation of Denmark under my belt. My main areas of expertice are greenland rolling and long distance solo expeditioning, but I range fairly broadly in kayaking knowledge.
I enjoy coaching the most when I feel I have a meaningful part in helping someone achieve a goal that is important to them.
I am at my best doing a combination of instruction, teaching, sparring, coaching, analysing and various other things with a small group, preferrably 1 or 2 people at a time.
A lot of what I do can be done online. A lot can be accomplished even with text chat and occasional video recording. But a live Zoom meeting or video call with somone sitting in a kayak, when it can be arranged, actually can work surprisingly well. But it isn’t safe to teach absolute beginners in rolling, for example, in this way.