While its great to have your buddy there for the rescue, your hands may soon tire from getting speared by the nose of their boat. Plus, with the solid hip snap you have, there should be no problem learning to roll.
First, the concept - When you complete a roll, you are using the drag of the water to provide the balancing force that was previously provided by your buddies nose. Here is how it is done. Number one, set up for your roll. You have flipped over. First things first (ON YOUR MARK), take your power hand and reach across the boat (to the left side) and as far forward as possible. The power face of the paddle should be facing you (i.e. down ). Meanwhile, your slip hand should be at your left side along the side of the kayak. Secondly (GET SET), as you rotate your body so that your head moves towards the surface (scrunch up to the left), run your left hand out of the water along the bottom of your boat, and extend your right arm as far as possible over your head (as if you were going to smell your arm pit…you know what I’m talking about ;-), and let your right arm move perpendicular to the boat. Ideally, your right hand power face should be just at the surface of the water. Next (GO), As you pull down on your power face (kind of like a strong draw stroke), you do the hardest hip snap you can. (These efforts should occur simultaneously). Finally (FOLLOW THROUGH), keep your right ear on your right shoulder and gently lift your head away from the water. (**The biggest mistake a beginner will make is trying to take a breath too soon and jerking the head up….you’ll get a breath, but you’ll go right back down!)
Next, the “cheat” practice - Well, by now you will have seen a demonstration, and we can do a partial practice…at least work on the timing of the hip snap and positioning. To practice, get next to a buddy and put your boats parallel to each other. Your buddy will be on your right. Extend your paddle towards your buddy and place the power blade on top of his skirt. Now, go ahead and pull your boat over with your hips as you place your right side in the water. Then go ahead and perform the roll by drawing on your paddle as you hip snap. Work on your FOLLOW THROUGH! Try this a couple of times (each time putting more of your self in the water.)
Finally, the real practice - Are you ready? Don’t worry, we’ll help. We’ll try the riding a bike method…we’ll help a little with our hands while you roll, until you have it by yourself. In relatively shallow water (not too shallow that you’ll hit your head). One person will get in the water and hold the stern of your boat. You’ll flip, then go through the roll (take your time). If you don’t quite make it up or need some stabilization, your buddy will be there for you. Keep trying until you can do it on your own a couple of times. Congratulations…your rolling!
Hopefully, we can all get in our boats and practice a few more rolls, working on form and strength. Hey if you don’t make it over, don’t forget about those assisted river rescues you’ve learned. By the way, as a typical beginner, you will go through periods where your roll is awesome, but at the same time you will hit periods where you just lose the ability…don’t worry, it normally takes a kayaker several weeks of practice before they have a “bomb-proof” roll. Also, eventually you will want to work on left side rolls and maybe even move up to hand rolling (yes, that is a type of sushi, but also a really cool kayak move.)