I wanted to make a cheat sheet for all the tutorials I've posted on my tiktok. It can be hard to navigate and find them, so I wanted to make it a little bit easier!
I'm a new skater myself, I've only been skating for a 7 or 8 months so I'm sure you'll find a few mistakes within my tutorials. However, I think it can be helpful to watch a tutorial from a beginners perspective, since they recently just figured out how to do these trick's themselves. I would strongly suggest watching other tutorials as well though, I personally love Dirty Deborah Harry!
If I could go back from the beginning, I would probably reorganize how I learnt certain tricks. So I'll be listing them from what order I think would work best for me if I were to start on day one again. Within this post I'll put a link to all the tutorials I have made, and I'll also be briefly explaining within this blog post how to do it as well, since I know some people will find it easier to read an explanation.
Going Forwards On Skates
When learning to go forwards the key thing to skating is to bend your knees. As a new skater it got annoying hearing this so often, but it really does help to bend them more than naturally would. You need to actively think about bending your knees so much that it becomes second nature. Next, remember to learn slightly forward while you skate. You never want to be standing up straight, and you want to avoid falling backwards as much as you can. And finally, when you go forwards remember that you are not walking and taking steps, but instead pushing your body weight from side to side. When it comes down to it, roller skating is all about knowing your body weight really well and knowing how to control it.
Turning On Skates
In all honesty, I think turning on skates is actually a lot harder than it seems. I could only turn on one side at first when I started skating, and even then I struggled with controlling the turn. It takes a lot of practice to be able to sharping turn on skates.
When you turn to the right, you'll be guiding your turn with your left leg. You will have that left leg in front of the other, guiding your foot on where to go, and at the same time have most of your body weight on your right leg. It'll be easier to turn if you have some speed.
"Criss Cross" Bubbles
I haven't made a video for bubble alone, but bubbles are what you should be doing day one of skating. It's a simple and effective way to go forwards, and also is a good introduction on how to control your skates and how to use your body weight. You really need to get to know your muscles while skating, and I think bubbles is a great way to begin that journey!
For criss cross bubbles, or whatever they are technically called, you are essentially doing a bubble but putting one foot in front of the other. It's a pretty simple movement to do, but you can really work with it and it looks pretty cool. You can do smaller and faster bubbles, master doing it on one side, and even in the future you could do this backwards as well. For me, this was the first little trick that I learnt and I was really proud of myself!
Edges Explained
At this point in your skating journey you should really take the time to learn about edges. In the long run, you'll be a much better skater if you know what edges are and how to navigate them.
Although edges can get pretty complex, the simplest way to explain it is that both of your skates have "inner wheels"( inner edges) and "outer wheels"( outer edges). You can unlock controlling these edges by putting more pressure on one edge with your foot, and doing long strides while holding the edge. Once you get more into edges, you'll find that every single one of your wheel has it's own edge, but for now focus on just mastering the four basic ones. Practice strengthening them regularly, since they are key to doing a lot of tricks.
Backwards Skating
I would watch tutorials to get a full look at how I figured out skating backwards, but some important tips is to relax your shoulders when you go backwards. Find out which side is more comfortable to look behind, and practice looking behind you regularly. For the motion, you'll be leaning slightly forward, bending your knees, and putting pressure on your toe wheels and lifting up your heels. Switch back and forth between each foot, and pull the foot in towards you to help you go backwards.
Transitions
Transitions are when you change the direction, such as going from forwards to backwards. For now, I'll focus the transition opening the book. I honestly have no idea how to explain this one in writing, so I'll just link to the tutorial I made to explain it. I'll be making a new tutorial soon, which will include closed captioning. I struggled really bad to learn how to transition smoothly, the biggest thing that helped me was not being afraid to elongate the transition a little bit and really lean into it. I'll be making an updated tutorial soon!
Cross Overs
One of my absolute favorite tricks. It was a lot easier for me to do them backwards than learning them forwards, but either way this is all going to come down to muscle memory. It takes a lot of practice to be comfortable doing these. It helps me to go be on a very slight hill, so I don't have to worry too much about the momentum. You'll start stationary, practicing just crossing one leg in front of the other. Soon, while already going backwards, cross one leg in front of the other and just keep practicing that motion, I personally start with taking little pauses in between each cross over.
When you go forwards, you need to really lean into the direction that you're going, almost as if you're going to be going slightly to the left now, and then you'll bring your next foot in front and really lean into it. It helped me to drag my foot forwards a little bit before lifting it to go in front of the other. These are much better explained in my videos.
Spins
Although spins are a trick that most beginner skaters try to learn, it really is very advance and takes really strong balance and power over your skates. You really need to know how to control your skates really well, which takes a lot of time. I've been skating for 8 months and my spins still need a lot of work, which is pretty normal I think. Some people will get spins easier than others, but please don't think your spins determine if you're a good skater.
Some important things to note is you'll want to keep your toe and heel foot aligned, while lifting your toe of one foot and heel of another. You can use your arms as momentum, and you should keep them out for about a rotation or two to catch the air and ride it basically. Keep your core tight, and shoulders back.
Sometimes, when I'm skating I kind of completely blank on what I should be practicing. Here's a list of some things to do when you're not sure what to really do!
That's All For Now!
There's tons of more tutorials I want to make, and some that I want to remake as well. I'll be making tutorials on manuals, 180 jumps, different ways to stop, and so much more. Please don't hesitate to contact me or comment on this post of what you want to see a tutorial of, if it's something specific that I haven't covered yet. I want to make your skating journey as easy as it can be, that doesn't mean you won't struggle learning new things, but there are many things I wish I knew as I was learning these tricks!