So I've wanted to learn to rollerskate / rollerblade for awhile now, and I decided to go up to our local 'skateville' everyday to try and get the hang of it. Well it's been 4 days now, 2 - 3 hours every day at the skate rink trying to learn, and I'm still just as bad as I was the first day. I've spent time watching others skate, I've looked up helpful videos and such, but I just can't do it. Its not staying on balance, I've got great balance, but there's something about actually getting moving, and speeding up that I just can't do, I can't get that shove off one foot, no matter what way I angle it, it just slips out from under me. Anyone got tips / tricks? cus I'm totally lost right now

When you first start, walk the skates forward until you get momentum, keep practicing this and getting progressively faster and eventually you'll get the hang of starting properly.
You might feel like you've got proper balance, but one thing I learned from skiing was that even though it feels right, you could be doing it completely wrong. Try leaning forward a little bit more when you take off, even though it'll feel like your putting yourself off balance, you're actually moving your centre of gravity forward and helping to build up momentum.

You can always push other people so they fall so you feel better about your own capabilities :unsure2:

I never really had issues roller blading when I was younger. I think you just need to get the motion down and skate around until you get the hang of balance. Then you can start crossovers and going quicker.

Ya know, I've never been on rollerblades. We only had rollerskates when I was a kid.

Stupid old man voice. <_<

i can't say i know any advice specifically about improving the skating, but i can say don't let the slower than you expected or wanted progress to discourage you. sometimes, it takes longer than usual. or you may have a bit different learning method.

This is all I heard in my head when I read the title http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvvzPM-NMGY


I feel your pain though, neither can I. Luckily, it never really had much bearing on my life.

neither one of you give up.

In what sort of situation would roller-skating save your life anyway?

The zombies have taken all the vehicles, and you're surrounded in a roller skate store. The zombies are closing in with tankers and SUVs and horses and skateboards and pogo sticks and trains and motorboats, and you can't fight the massive hordes that are coming after you. You must escape on roller skates, because they're the last means of transport left!

You. Are. A. p.a.n.d.a. :facepalm:

Kung fu I can get my head around, and maybe even advise upon...

but a rollerblading panda is just redonkulous..

I learned rollerskating by using one foot to push myself and the other to maintain balance. After some months doing that, I was able to skate like normal.

Screw rollerskating, you should be giving us a reply in your other thread....

http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1200223-cant-stop-thinking-about-a-girl/page__st__160

Do you know how to ice skate? If not, then never mind.

in that thread i heard what i needed to hear, and eventually it turned into a bunch of spam about random stuff anyway

I have noticed that first time skaters all have something in common. They are so used to walking that they try to walk the skates. You are not walking, you are gliding and rolling. Of course maybe the fact that I rode skateboards way before I ever rode skates helped with that, but it's still the same concept. It is completely different than your usual mode of getting around. Instead of trying to go fast, just try to get used to the motion. *push, glide, push other foot, glide* Then, when you become comfortable with this and don't feel as if you are going to fall on your tush, try pushing with one foot, and then keep it in the air for a few seconds. (working on balance) do the same with the other foot. Speed will mean nothing if you don't get comfortable with the balance and motion of skating, it will just mean a much more painful wipeout.

Erm yeah, but we want to know what happened...

Are you rollerskating or rollerblading? Because I can do the latter quite well, but the former is likely to get me killed when I inevitably spill over.

Lean in on one side, use your weight. Whichever foot is your forward is the side you lean. Push off with whichever foot is your forward, use the roller stop at the front of the inactive foot as leverage. If you are rollerblading, use the heel stop at the back of your inactive foot as leverage. You glide and slide, not shuffle. Falling is bound to occur, when it does, crouch down to your knees, and if you fall, roll forward. Putting your arms straight out will often result in breakage. If my old busted self can still do it, so can you!!!

I was thinking the same thing lol. My guess is another failed BGSF attempt at love. Have any of those threads actually had a happy ending? :vaultboy:

Can blade and skate nearly flawlessly. The trick is, as others have said, to push each foot forward in a wide stride. After all, you're rolling (or sliding, in ice skating terms), not walking or running. Focus on the need to move the wheels, then, when you've reached the speed you want, stop pushing; you'll continue to roll forward at the same speed for a bit. Once you start losing it, stride forward more to get it back. It's sort of like driving a car in heavy traffic.

It's actually a ton of fun once you master it, and you start getting the urge to make sharper turns, jump and landing perfectly so you lose as little momentum as possible, and if you're insane like me, choreographing deliberate, epic wipeouts.

When trying to push forward, keep one foot facing forwards and move the other backwards at a 45 degree angle, not straight behind you just diagonal. It helps to have rubber wheels aswell since plastic will just slip out underneath you. If your skates have grind plates you could try to use them to push until you get the hang of the motions. I'd also suggest getting skates with lower grade bearings in the wheels. Mine are titanium level 7 bearings, the smoothest you can get, but they can be quite hard to use for a beginner. Try a grade 3 or 4. Thats if your using your own customisable skates and not renting.

I used a pair of http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d48/devenboucher/sk8016bf9.jpg when learning, with a two wheel frame set up. It's a great learning skate.

The best place to start is to get on a tread mill you'll be in a stationary position so the learning curve is much easier.

You remember how long it took to learn to ride a bike? It takes maybe a week for a child. And children are in a "vulnerable" age of learning new things, so they actually learn fast. Don't give up, keep practicing, it can take many weeks to learn it. But it actually is a great sport once you get to know it

otherwise, I can't say any good tips, as I learned to skate and rollerblade as a child, so it's been in the backbone ever since

Do peopel still do that now? I thought it was a very 70s thing. Hmm, I've never actually been on wheels. But I can ice skate fairly well.