Kayak roll

[2] In 1605, some Inuit men and their kayaks were brought back to Europe by a Danish expedition; they gave a demonstration of rolling and racing against rowing boats in Copenhagen harbour, watched by King Christian IV.

Paul Egede, the teenaged son of a missionary living with the Inuit, was probably the first non-native to learn to roll a kayak in the 1730s.

Rolling was demonstrated in 1889 at Sandviken, Norway by Oluf Dietrichson, a member of Nansen's 1888 Greenland expedition.

Although not, as he claimed, the first European to acquire the skill, he developed a technique in which the hand grips the end of the paddle, which proved easy to master.

Greenlandic kalaaleq, Manasse Mathæussen (1915–1989), earned a living giving rolling demonstrations and kayak stunts for films.

[2] There are many types of roll, which involve subtle variations on the common technique of combining a paddle stroke at the surface with a hip-flick.

This roll technique has been widely and successfully imparted in both white water and sea kayaking practices since its early inception.

This coordinated movement is designed to reduce resistance and position the kayaker in an optimal paddling stance.

One notable modification led to the development of the Screw Roll, a technique that involves a full upper body rotation, enabling the paddler to maintain an upright position throughout the maneuver.

[3][5] As the name suggests this is similar to the screw roll but performed in reverse, it is often used in playboating or in general when the paddler goes over whilst on the back deck.