Saturday, 3 May 2008
Well I promised a mini review of the instructional Greenlandic dvd simply entitled - Rolling With Dubside, another black brother, so here it is.
To my mind, this dvd is a no frills edit & put together with a great clarity. In the opening moments, you realize Dubside carries an excellent philosphy on kayaking rolls & his relationship with the direct environment that facilitates the art.
PhilosophyWithin each roll he explains with clear narrative & visual performance of each roll, the stroke positions & how they are relative to body position at all times. One thing you will notice is the ease with which each roll can be performed with grace & fluidity, no matter it's ranking in technicality. A philosophy I carry myself into every Greenlandic rolling class I teach. At the end of each segmented examination of the inner workings of individual sculls & rolls, he takes a moment with the viewer, to recap the key points. This serves to clarify the key components internal to a clean execution each roll, in an almost 1 to 1 relationship with the viewer & gives an excellent reference library in itself for those wishing to learn a new roll, however complex or simple. This becomes the theme without deviation.
One of the examples I've chosen & put into stills from the dvd, is the Elbow Crook Roll. Pakassummillugu, in Greenlandic. This is a 3 point roll in competition, so low mid-ranged & within the grasp of most novice-intermediate rollers. As with each roll Dubside covers, he gives the viewer some brief information on the history of the rolls reason for being, & then performans it fluidly. With a clear narrative following each increment, he will then go into a few tips, tricks, & ways to progress with the roll in question, should it feel unobtainable; often taking time to point out common mistakes that keep rolling below optimum, leading to failure. But not once is there negative focus.
Elbow Crook Roll breakdown footage
There are further treats dotted around as you journey through the dvd, & I shall leave you to discover those for yourself. Overall, Rolling With Dubside is inspirational without glamour & practical without complication. It should be on anyones shelf who is interested in developing Greenlandic rolling techniques, & should serve many levels of traditional kayakers with visually clear rolling reference points, easy to follow guidelines, tips & tricks, & the occasional smile when it's far to gnarly out there on winter nights. Possibly, my only gripe, is the lack of emphasis on off-water based stretching, centre-based body rolling movement exercises & Qajaasaarneq - rope work. Maybe it will be more extensively covered in Part II, along with the Norsaq & the Straight Jacket Roll. That aside, if a dvd makes you want to go out & try, which this does to many of the people I teach, then it is worth a purchase in it's own right.
Even if you are not purely into rolling & more inclined to sea kayak touring, there are lesser instructional films of this ilk. The ability to self rescue & roll is afterall, the most effective & traditional defense, in any global form of sea kayaking. When you learn to roll effectively, I concur with Dubside...it's more a dance with a friend, than a boxing match against an opponent.
Maligiaq also agrees :o)
Sub-sections to Rolling With Dubside
*** Definately recommended & available here: •≈Dubside.net
One of the examples I've chosen & put into stills from the dvd, is the Elbow Crook Roll. Pakassummillugu, in Greenlandic. This is a 3 point roll in competition, so low mid-ranged & within the grasp of most novice-intermediate rollers. As with each roll Dubside covers, he gives the viewer some brief information on the history of the rolls reason for being, & then performans it fluidly. With a clear narrative following each increment, he will then go into a few tips, tricks, & ways to progress with the roll in question, should it feel unobtainable; often taking time to point out common mistakes that keep rolling below optimum, leading to failure. But not once is there negative focus.
Elbow Crook Roll breakdown footageThere are further treats dotted around as you journey through the dvd, & I shall leave you to discover those for yourself. Overall, Rolling With Dubside is inspirational without glamour & practical without complication. It should be on anyones shelf who is interested in developing Greenlandic rolling techniques, & should serve many levels of traditional kayakers with visually clear rolling reference points, easy to follow guidelines, tips & tricks, & the occasional smile when it's far to gnarly out there on winter nights. Possibly, my only gripe, is the lack of emphasis on off-water based stretching, centre-based body rolling movement exercises & Qajaasaarneq - rope work. Maybe it will be more extensively covered in Part II, along with the Norsaq & the Straight Jacket Roll. That aside, if a dvd makes you want to go out & try, which this does to many of the people I teach, then it is worth a purchase in it's own right.
Even if you are not purely into rolling & more inclined to sea kayak touring, there are lesser instructional films of this ilk. The ability to self rescue & roll is afterall, the most effective & traditional defense, in any global form of sea kayaking. When you learn to roll effectively, I concur with Dubside...it's more a dance with a friend, than a boxing match against an opponent.
Maligiaq also agrees :o)
Sub-sections to Rolling With Dubside*** Definately recommended & available here: •≈Dubside.net
posted by •≈ Sgian Dubh at 18:04:00 | 
2 Retorts:
At 11 May 2008 at 01:08, 
•≈ Sgian Dubh
Hand roll you can. Talk like Yoda I do. Stop it I can't.
I shall show you the twin paw & the double paw. Interestingly the hand roll set up & sweep position is reverse to the standard rolls you are familiar with. ie: you are face down to the kayak rather than face up. No hip flick is needed, or at least such Euro versions of the hip flick, are an over exaggerated myth in rolling.
As for ground exercise, stretching & the roll manoeuvre's I seem to tour about showing everyone. Flexibility will out strip brute coercion of a roll everytime. We'll do more when I get up that way again aye. Stay off the washing line for now, it'll only end in tears...We will cover Qajaasaarneq soon enough :o)
Hi Si, I'm so glad you finally got the video and appreciate your review on it. I was right I'm sure when I said after I first time I watched it how it was amazingly like all the things you've talked about - you know all the stuff about the circular nature of movement around a fulcrum point, and your ideas on not fighting the natural momentum but using it.
Something I particularly like is that the vid reflects what you've been trying to teach me about the non aggressive approach to rolling. I love the idea that the movement can be full of powerful seal-like grace without brute force. (bloody good thing as I'm only wee)
What the video lacks for me is the essence of hand rolling with out a paddle, but as you're of the mind that I should "do" and not bother theorising at my stage I'll tap my fingers impatiently till the next lesson whilst I enjoy the vid again.
What are the best forms of ground exercise (besides the bloomin rope with which I'd surly strangle myself as I fell off, lol)?
cheers
H