The basics - starting and stopping
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20 June 2011
So after a few times out on my skates and even more time roaming the internet I decided it might be best to have a go at some basic roller skills. In particular I felt my practice may be improved by honing the fine art of stopping, which up until now had consisted of either letting myself slow to a stop or, on less well timed occasions, sort of half-crashing into, half-grabbing some near-by object.
Where else to go but youtube? An invaluable resource, especially if like me you are a visual learner and can have something described a hundred times but still need to see it to get it. First I learnt there are two basic stops, snow-plough and t-stop. Excellent, I'm making progress already! Now the simple matter of actually doing them. The snow plough I didn't have too much trouble getting to grips with, especially because of it's similarity to the skiing move (hence the name) and probably also because it is a more refined version of what you naturally do to slow down which is move your feet apart/together. I found the key to getting it was, aside from a heap of practice while gradually increasing speed, to remember to take my feet further apart (while making sure not to accidentally do the splits) before bringing them back together, a vital change from the skiing move.
Next came the t-stop. Aside from simply buckling on my first couple of attempts I had also been warned by my youtube mentors to expect this to be a bit jolty at first so I was surprised when it wasn't. However as I started to increase the speed that I stopped from I quickly learnt that actually it hadn't been jolty because I had been doing it at a speed that was only just above 'stopped' anyway (not because of my heaps of natural talent). Still, I felt oddly proud when it did get jolty because at least then I knew things were going as expected.
A little bit cocky at having been able to get my first two moves I thought I'd try a one knee stop and almost immediately learned the ever-valuable lesson that these will scuff up your skates a load, even when you only do a couple - especially if you have relatively cheap newbie skates like mine (they may be cheap and it may a foreseeable side-effect of using them, but I still felt a slightly shameful pang when I saw the first major blemish on my babies). Consequently I would highly recommend buying toe guards, while not technically essential they are definitely going to be saving me money. Plus there are some really cute ones out there, so you may as well start the inevitable decline I have been warned of through which all of your shopping becomes derby-related shopping.
5 things I learnt about practising moves:
1) you need a flat and quiet space. In all honesty I almost wrote big here but if you are just starting out like me and only want to practice stops and falls and things then the truth is that it doesn't need to be very big (although obviously bigger is better). I am a student so it's easy to say that weekdays are quietest but I reckon a good trick if you are the honest-working sort is to go out when it's not very nice weather (as in grey but not raining)
2) don't be embarrassed - yes, you will look a bit weird constantly stopping and falling over, but that's what you're there for so get over it
3) wear all the correct protective gear - which you always do anyway, but it is especially important now
4) check out what you should be doing at home first - youtube, rollergirls forums, whatever, make sure you know the correct form and how to do the move safely. Really do pay attention to details and if you just pick a couple of moves you want to work on then it will be easier to remember them.
5) start really really slow, you can build up speed eventually but to begin with just focus on making sure you're doing it correctly.
In closing, and just to render all my previous chatter useless, remember that the best thing a newbie can do is get comfortable on the skates. I am just as susceptible to getting sucked into wanting to do the fancy stuff right away, and heck, it is fun, so go ahead and have a go, but bear in mind that you will naturally do all these things better and with more confidence the more hours you clock in on your skates.
