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Roll of the day – Reverse Sweep with Paddle Behind Neck

The Kingukkut Tunusummillugu is a seriously weird roll. I can't imagine why you would want to roll in backwards with your paddle stuck behind your neck. But if you do, this roll will help you get back up again. Don't bother trying this roll until you are confident...

Hangin’ out

The Gales Storm Gathering

I finaly got off my butt and registered for The Gales Storm Gathering. To quote the website "The Gales Storm Gathering event Oct 8-10 2011 is intended as a fun, invigorating sea kayaking instructional event for students looking to gain experience “in conditions” on...

What is in a name?

Many traditional Greenland Rolls and skills have their original names, English translations, and slang names. Recently it was bought to my attention by a fellow paddler with a passion for rolling, that the English name side sculling is really an incorrect translation...

Thank you global readers

I was checking my blog statistics yesterday and I noticed some traffic coming from a variety of intersting refering sites. I discoverd that at least four different kayak sites, in four different countires have linked to this blog.Derrick Mayoleth in the US wrote a...

Roll of the day – Paddle Held in front

The paddle held in front roll has many other less appropriate names. Use your imagination I am sure you will guess them. It is an easy roll for anyone comfortable with their Standard Greenland roll. It uses the same body movements as the standard roll and provides...

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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.