Pakassummillugu Unermillugu – “(holding the paddle) in the crook of your arm”
Like the standard roll and the armpit roll this uses the classic layback roll body movements, the leverage of the paddle is slightly less than the standard roll as it is held lower down the chest. And the elbow gripping the paddle restricts its movement considerably.
A: Start by resting the paddle in the crook of your right arm, slide it out rightwards until your left hand grips the blade across the palm, palm away from the body. Grip the paddle with your right arm by flexing your bicep. Then twist from the hips and rotate your body so your shoulders are as near parallel to the boat as you can make it. Hook the paddle over the left side of the boat and then dip forward to dive the paddle blade deeper into the water.
B:Roll in left. As with the shotgun roll wait until the paddle breaks the water’s surface.
C: Then perform the three movements, sweep, lean/arch, knee. The trick with this roll is that the leverage is a not as great so more of your righting will come from your back arch and the knee rather than leveraging up on the paddle.
D: When it fails, repeat focusing on the basics, if your are like me you will either be starting too quickly – not waiting for the paddle to come to the surface or you are trying to get your head out of the water to soon. Remember, don’t panic or rush, take time to set up and let the huge sweep work its magic.
