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Gearlab Oyashio – Composite Greenland Paddle

Taiwan is a collection of Islands off the coast of the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.). Many Europeans and Americans that I have spoken with have been uncertain of the status of Taiwan, also known as Republic of China (R.O.C.), and have incorrectly assumed that it...

Paddle flexibility measurement

This past week I was engaged in a discussion on Qajaq USA's Greenland forum about paddle flexibility. This inspired me to start work on documenting the flexibility of my paddle collection. I determined that I would attempt to mimic the two paddler's hands and apply...

Lumpy paddling

A number of months ago I wrote about a lovely wooden paddle that Bill Bremer (owner/craftsman of Lumpy Paddles) had created for me (post 1, post 2). Yesterday I got to take it for a paddle outdoors for the first time. I was with 5 other paddlers from the Inland Sea...

Customizable flex carbon fiber paddles

The never ending quest for the perfect paddle. I have a bazillion Greenland paddles; okay not a bazillion but I do have 14 Carbon fiber paddles and 6 wooden ones. If you blindfolded me and handed me one I bet I could name the paddle within a few minutes. Each paddle...

Norsaq rolling dance

I have always admired the graceful rolling art of Alison Sigethy. This led me to also enjoy some of the combinations of rolls that James Manke uses to stretch. I thought I would start to learn combinations of rolls that flow, each starts where the previous left off. I...

Mega Roll

We had some fun at the last pool session of the Inland Sea Kayakers in Minnesota, 16 rollers all completed four rolls successfully, two simultaneously and two as "Mexican waves". Here is a time lapse sequence of one of the rolls.

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Qajaq Rolls is dedicated to passing on the traditional art of Greenland kayaking. Greenland kayak rolling can be a relaxing, yoga-like exercise. Rolling is also a tremendously valuable self-rescue technique, and should be the go-to recovery for any serious kayaker. Greenland kayak rolls are steeped in the history of the Inuit people, whose very survival depended upon their ability to roll up and recover while hunting. But Greenland kayaking encompasses much more than just rolling, qajaq building, paddle carving, throwing the harpoon and rope gymnastics are just some of the many skills that make up this ancient subsistence culture. If you are interested in learning more about all aspects of Greenland kayaking consider supporting Qajaq USA and Qaannat Katuffiat:

Qajaq USA is a nonprofit membership organization that is officially recognized by Qaannat Kattuffiat (The Greenland Kayaking Association). Qajaq USA is committed to supporting Qaannat Kattuffiat and their efforts to preserve, study and promote the traditions and techniques of Greenland kayaking while seeking to further the appreciation and development of Greenland-style kayaking in the United States.
Please consider joining Qajaq USA and supporting the organizations efforts.

If you are looking to prepare yourself your equipment and then learn your first roll please follow this link to a series of articles put together to help people get started: Getting your first roll. Nothing beats in person training, especially one-on-one training. If you are looking for mentoring check out the Qajaq USA Events where you can become immersed in the culture of traditional paddling.

Free Guidebook and DVD

Rolling with Sticks® started as a project to document the progress I was making as I learned the different Greenland style kayak rolls. This work evolved into the water proof guidebook and DVD. The project has paid for the costs of production so I decided to make them freely available for download in English, español – Spanish and 中文 – Chinese. Please download and share them with your paddling friends, and help to promote the art of Greenland rolling.