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Snap crackle and practice

This weekend I spent a few hours in the pool, initially teaching rolling, then I jumped into my kayak and practiced a few rolls. During filming of a reverse sweep the wooden Greenland paddle I was using gave way (not an unusual or unique event). This provoked me to...

Canoecopia 2013

I am delighted to announce that Qajaq Rolls will be at Canoecopia 2013 in Madison WI. If you are not familiar with the event, it is billed as the largest consumer paddlesports event in the world with 20,000 anticipated visitors this year. We will be sharing a booth...

GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition

I recently upgraded to use the new GoPro Hero 3 Black edition video camera for filming rolling. This new model is substantially smaller than previous GoPro models. It also comes with a plethora of new modes of operation. Two features were of particular interest to me....

Kayaking in Greenland – Rough. Real. Remote. Film

I was contacted recently by Tupaarnaq Binzer to help promote a new series of short films about outdoor activities in Greenland. You can read about it in detail here on greenland.com/RoughRealRemote. Here is the trailer to the Kayaking episode, note the use of Reed...

A Lumpy Greenland Paddle – Part 2

Really it isn’t fair to comment too much (yet) on using the new Lumpy Greenland Paddle; the lakes are frozen. There are, however, swimming pools, and it was in one such swimming pool at the Brooklyn Center Community Center that I was able to spend a couple of hours...

A Lumpy Greenland Paddle – Part 1

Last year I reviewed a number of different Greenland style paddles, and it was my publication of these reviews that caused Bill Bremer of Lumpy Paddles to contact me to see if I would review one of his. Previously, in August 2011, I got my hands on the first piece of...

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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.