| Going From Basic to Advanced Skating |
From "Family Sports"
episode SPT-106 |
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Once you've mastered the basic stances and strides involved in in-line skating, you'll likely want to continue your improvement and begin using some advanced techniques. Practice and repetition is generally what makes for much of the difference between a tentative, novice skater and one who is confident enough to attempt some advanced moves.
To help hone your balance, perform a practice drill called the swizzle. Mastering this drill is easy, but it will help you increase your confidence and thus make you less nervous about trying some techniques that go beyond simple basics. Swizzling simply involves putting your skates in a V-position and beginning to roll forward (figure A). As you roll forward and your feet move outward, begin to angle them back in, pulling in with your toes, so that your skates come back to the center (figure B). As you coast, allow your skates to go back and forth rhythmically, alternating between a wide, feet-apart stance and a feet-together stance. This exercise is tiring when done at a slow speed, but it becomes much easier as you master the technique so that you can do it while skating at a faster speed. Swizzling helps you work on your balance and the placement of your feet while you are in motion. It's also good exercise. Backward skating is a simple technique since it basically can be learned by swizzling in reverse.
Another useful drill is the crossover. This helps you learn to maintain speed and momentum through a turn. To practice the crossover, find a relatively large, flat area in which you can skate in a large, continuous circle. As you skate, open your shoulders toward the center of the circle and allow your leading foot to cross over the rear foot with each step (figure C) so that you travel smoothly and evenly in a circle. Orienting your shoulders toward the inside of the circle as you skate (figure D), rather than skating with your shoulders aimed toward the front, makes it easier to alternate crossing the left foot over the right, and then the right over left.
A spin stop is an alternative method of stopping where the skater slows down by making a small circle with the body positioned so that it's facing in toward circle's center (figure E). This is achieved by first placing the hands in front for balance, then raising the heel of the trailing foot so that the toe-end is rolling with only one wheel in contact with the ground. From this position, pivot the trailing foot on the toe until the two skates are pointed outward from each other and the heels are close together. With practice, you'll be able to perform this move while leaning forward to come to a stop within the circumference of a small circle -- thereby "spinning to a stop."
Cutting-edge ramp tricks evolved from skaters and skateboarders making up their own stunts while taking advantage of the curved, sloping surfaces of drained swimming pools. Eventually skaters began building ramps to master their technique for competition skating (figure F).
Mastering these techniques will help you on your way to becoming an advanced skater. Check you local skate shop for books and videos to help you learn other techniques as well.
RESOURCES :
International Inline Skating Association (IISA)
105 South 7th St.
Wilmington, NC 28401
Phone: 910-762-7004
fax 910-762-9477
Web site: www.iisa.org
Alpine Ski Center
Alpine Ski Center
IISA-certified skate instruction
7240 Kingston Pike
Knoxville, TN 37919
Phone: 865-584-3614
Web site: www.alpineskicenter.com
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