Indian Skaters

sk8er · ISF crew Joined: 21 Jan 2007 Posts: 22

Experience is the key to years of in-line skating safety and fun. You aren't likely to stick with it for long if you're injured right away or are unable to master the basics. This article is designed to help beginners overcome common in-line skating challenges for years of exhilarating recreation.

Practice a lot
A few important skating skills on grass or carpet to get used to the feel of your in-line skates before you step onto the pavement: Walk around with both toes pointed slightly outward -- that is how you'll push off once you're rolling on the pavement. Practice balancing on one foot at a time. The better your balance becomes, the easier stopping and striding will be for you. Make sure to clear your wheels and frame of any debris that may get caught before heading to the pavement.)

Take professional lessons
The best way to start in-line skating is to take a lesson with an instructor. Many shops that carry in-line skates offer instructional clinics, or a friend who skates may be able to teach you. Several community or adult educational centers and local retailers also offer lessons. You may even want to purchase instructional materials such as a book or video to introduce you to the sport.

Be Safe
You shouldn't in-line skate without wearing a helmet, wrist guards, knee and elbow pads. Wrist guards can prevent the most frequent in-line skating injury: breaking or hyper-extending a wrist. Knee and elbow pads help protect those areas and also help prevent injuries by allowing you to slide forward when landing on the pavement. Many helmets made specifically for in-line skating have extended coverage on the back because skaters tend to fall backwards, while cyclists tend to fall forward. Wearing full protective gear will greatly decrease the chances that you'll get injured while in-line skating.

Master Braking Techniques
Master a stopping technique before you head out to where the action is. Heel brakes: Bend your knees, hold your arms slightly in front of you, tip the toe of your brake foot upward and apply pressure to the brake until you stop.

Improve your Balance
Progress to the pavement and practice your balance before you start rolling. Stand with your feet even and about four-to-six inches apart, arms slightly in front of yourself and knees bent so your shins touch the tongue of your skates. Your weight should be balanced on the balls of your feet. A common mistake beginners make is standing up straight with their knees locked or balancing their weight on their heels.

Avoid these places
Avoid hills and declines(slopes) when you're starting out. You can build up speed on even a slight decline, so you should feel confident in your braking ability before you head for the hills. Find a flat surface that's free of debris or cracks, such as an empty parking lot, tennis court or basketball court. When you're ready to try inclines, start on a gentle grade rather than a steep hill. Also, skating on wet pavement is dangerous and can damage your skates. Remember, if you skate in the streets you are considered a vehicle and must obey traffic laws. Skate on your right, pass on your left. Announce your intentions by saying, "passing on your left" and always yield to pedestrians.

Skate Maintenance
Check your owner's manual for information on rotating wheels and care of bearings, or have your skates tuned up at a service center in a local sporting goods store. Remember, skating in water or sand can damage bearings and hurt skate performance. Stick to dry pavement.
Lubricating your skates works great for your skates.

Things to Bring When You Skate
1 Helmet
2 Protective Gear (Wrist Guards, Knee Pads, Elbow Pads)
3 Skates
4 Socks
5 Skate Tool
6 Water or money for drinks
7 Money for phone calls, taxi, snacks
8 Phone numbers you might need
9 Pencil and paper for new phone numbers Smile

10 Band-Aids, moleskin, blister kit, athletic tape
11 Sunglasses
12 Sunscreen lotion
13 Elastic bands for tying back your hair
14 Blinking lights if you might be out after dark
15 MP3 player or tape player if you skate to music

Warm Up Before You Skate

Warm up before each practice session. You will be less likely to injure yourself if you begin each skating session with a few Stretching Exercises and a slow five-minute warm-up skate.

When I first started skating, I always felt very unsteady when I first put on my skates. It felt like I had never been on skates before! After about 10 or 20 minutes, I always got my "skating legs" back. It still happens to me, to a lesser extent, so don't get discouraged if you experience the same thing.

Where and What to Practice

Find a large, flat, empty parking lot for your first practice sessions. When I say flat, I mean VERY flat. The slightest grade will make you gain speed faster than you expect, and you will quickly find yourself skating out of control.

Practice the striding and stopping skills you learned in your skating lesson. Skate and stop, over and over, until stopping starts to become an automatic reflex. Later you should practice skating and stopping in a gently sloping parking lot. For heel brake instructions and other stopping techniques see How to Stop on Inline Skates.

Bend Your Knees

It's very important to bend your knees when you skate. It keeps your center of gravity low so you will be more stable and less likely to fall. Bending your knees also adds power to your stride. If you stand up straight, your stride is only about 1 foot wide on each side, but if you bend your knees deeply, your stride is more like 3 feet wide on each side. This longer stride adds power to your skating, and your stride will be more productive with less effort. (I learned this tip from Jay Etheredge, winner of many U.S. speedskating competitions.)

Bending the knees is difficult for most beginners. Actually, it's not really difficult for them to DO it... it's just difficult for them to KNOW whether or not they're doing it. They think they're bending their knees, but they're really bending at the waist. To overcome this very common problem, try bending your knees until you can feel the cuff of your skates pressing against the front of your shins. If you can't feel your skates pressing hard against your shins, you're aren't bending your knees deeply enough.

Learn to Fall

Keep your weight forward on the balls of your feet when you're skating. Always remember that you don't want to fall backwards onto your unprotected back or tailbone. Of course, most of us don't want to fall at ALL, but when you can't avoid it, you should make sure you fall forward onto your wrist guards and knee pads. For more about preventing and handling skating falls see How to Fall on Inline Skates.

Skate Every Day

Try to skate every day, even if it's only once around the block. Your skating skills will develop quickly if you make time for frequent practice sessions. Even 15 or 20 minutes a day will make a big difference.

Go to advanced tricks

After you are comfortable with basic skating skills like stopping and striding, take an intermediate class to learn T-stops, slalom (turning) techniques, skating backwards, and other more advanced maneuvers.

Skate on One Foot
Practice balancing on one foot at a time while you're skating. See how long you can glide on each foot. This is a good way to develop your balancing skills.

Skate to Music
Skating to music helps you develop an even rhythm, and it helps you relax and forget to worry about falling down. Skating to the beat of the music is fun! MP3 Players are perfect for skating because they have no moving parts and your music will never skip, even when you skate over cracks and bumps.

You can post other tips by replying in this section. I'll add them to the post.
This article was extracted and improved upon from various resources/websites.

jatin · Administrator Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 136

Just a reminder, please make sure you give credentials to the original writer or website from where you are gathering information.

The format should be:

Information Resource:

bigdog111 · Posted: Fri Jun 05, 2009 12:57 am Post subject:

plagiarism is a crime