The Hand Roll

Today, I started my last kid's course in Murchison.  This group is made up of teenagers, except for Tane who is twelve.  The members of the course are Emmy, Shae, Tane, Danielle and I.  There is also one fourteen year old, Liam, who is the son of the owners of the kayak school.  Because he is already a solid class three boater, he is helping out and taking the course at the same time.  Tane seems a little insecure and is not very nice.  Danielle is not very friendly and does not talk much.  Shae is kind and somewhat introverted.  Liam is funny, loquacious, and affable.  I feel a little out of place with a bunch of teenagers, but I am glad that most of them are friendly and kind to me.  Occasionally, when I take courses, I am left out and that tends to happen with teenagers the most.  I am glad that is not the case this time.  

After meeting each other in the morning, we set out for the pool where I would learn an amazing feat that I never knew I could learn; the Hand Roll.  This is where the kayaker rolls himself up with only his hands.  Once under water, the motion involves pushing one’s hands up through the water to the surface, slapping the surface, and rolling the boat up with the hips.  I got to the pool and started learning.  I was thrilled that I could use my body well enough to flip over and roll back up with no paddle.  It was amazing when my boat resurfaced.  It felt like a dream coming back out of the water.  It was almost like somebody was pulling me up, but when I looked behind me, no one was there.  Rolling practice was fun, but soon we moved on.

After the pool, we headed out to the lake.   There, I realized that the kid’s course was splitting into two groups based on skill.  I got put with Emmy and Liam in the advanced group.  This is good for me because I will get to practice more advanced skills, rather than skills I have already learned.   

We played around on the lake for a while but soon it was time to go home and end the day.  I had a good day and hope to have an even better one tomorrow.  I’m thrilled about my hand roll and am excited to use it in combat.  

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