Tag: How To Inline Skate (Page 6 of 10)

How I Learned the ICE HOCKEY STOP on Inline Skates
from How To Inline Skate on 6 Apr 2017

Playlist:

The Ice Hockey Stop … on Inline Skates

MY STORY

Last summer .. my hockey stop was … not quite perfect.

On ice I could do it, no problem, but on inline skates, well…

I though maybe a wet surface would do the trick but .. no … no!

Soon I realized that to do a power stop on inline skates you need a completely different approach.

Make a sharp turn, put weight through the heel or third wheel, lose grip and … there you have it .. a slide.

It works very well on inline skates, but technically it’s a completely different stop.

Back on ice .. after getting used to rollerblade stops .. I couldn’t stop at all.

It was only after a few hours of ice time, that I got used to the ice hockey stop.

This made me very curious about why inline and ice stops are so different and I made several videos about it.

I tried to analyze what I did right / what I did wrong, what the differences are, experiment and prepare myself for when I’m back on wheels again.

One thing I really focused on was controlling my balance point on the blade. Like here, I do hockey stops on the heel – which normally is considered a bad idea

– but this is exactly what I need for inline skating.

THE INLINE HOCKEY STOP

So I told myself today – let’s pretend I’m on ice. Do a hockey stop … but make it more of a heel stop.

Not like completely on the heel as I did on ice, but more like the third wheel.

First few tries … not a big success … but I did try on my weak side.

On my strong side … first two tries … not that good either.

But the thrid … pretty good.

And the fourth … yeah .. I realized it works! It works!

And then I repeated again again again

A few more times ..

ough … it’s what I feared. The front wheel gripped which caused a nasty rotation.

It does look worse than it was .. thankfully .. and I did know this risk beforehand

that’s why I was so focused on pushing through the heels and not have the balance too far toward the toes.

On ice hockey, on the other hand, you do normally put your balance more toward the balls of your feet.

And I think this is why, when I got more comfortable / confident, I lost focus and fell back on what I’m used to from ice .. and BAM.

So anyway, I didn’t get hurt or anything but I really wanted to empasis this risk.

It’s probably a good idea to have rockered skates where the front and back wheels are a bit elevetad.

That will reduce this risk of getting the front wheel stuck.

PLAYLIST

I’ve compiled a playlist of hockey stop videos. A few are mine from ice skating so you can watch the steps I’ve made to improve my hockey stop

and eventually prepared me for the inline hockey stop.

But other videos are by other inline skaters. They may call it parallel slide or shuffle stop, but it’s the same stop – just different names.

One difference though – I’ve seen two different appraoches. Some make more of a sharp turn to trigger the skates to slide, and that’s a good approach.

But the ice hockey stop is more like you rotate both skates really quick, and the slide then contines in a straight line.

So your homework tonight is to analyze these subtles difference and please leave your report in the comments below.

How to JUMP with Skates – 10 Tips
from How To Inline Skate on 31 Mar 2017

Here are 10 tips for you

#1 JUMP WITH BOTH LEGS

Jump with both legs at the same time, side by side, parallel.

#2 JUMP STRAIGHT UP, NOT FORWARD

It’s tempting to leap forward as that’s your natural instinct.

However, with skates this is a bad idea.

Just jump straight up instead.

It’s the speed at which you approach the jump that brings you forward.

#3 CONTROL THE ARM SWING

Stretch your arms as far back as feels natural.

But as you swing your arms, try not get your hands higher than your eyeline.

Keep your arms in front, almost as a downhill skier.

#4 JUMP OVER SODA CANS

Stack some soda cans and place a yard stick on top.

I use empty cans, as unopened cans tend to explode on impact …

Just fill the empty cans with something, else they may be taken by the wind.

#5 NATURAL OBSTACLES

Once you’re a bit more comfortable try to find some natural obstacles.

In everyday skating I do jump curbs, water puddles and potholes all the time.

This is great practice …

#6 PROTECTION

Well, as you see, jumping comes with some risks.

This is not the first time I fall and it won’t be the last.

But with gloves to protect my hands and knee pads, no problem.

Elbow pads or long sleeves and padded underwear for hip protection are good to wear as well.

#7 WARM UP

I only jump after I’m fully warmed up.

At least for bigger jumps that’s very important.

Also, if you are not used to jumping at all I strongly recommend you take it easy the first few sessions.

Else you can expect stiff muscles for a week afterward.

#8 SKATES

Today I’m jumping with urban skates.

But I used to jump with fitness skates.

Both types can be used for sure, but the urban skates definitvely are better.

They have much more rubber on the wheels, which absorb shock.

They even feature a dedicated shock absorber in the heels, and I really do notice it helps.

#9 SOFT LANDING

But the landing itself is the most important.

Try to make it as soft as you can.

#10 FANCY JUMPING

Try to grab your feet in air. It may look cool, maybe, I don’t know, but it does practice your balance.

Another trick is to put your skates sideways to jump over even higher obstacles.

Maybe I could have jumped over seven cans here? I’ll try that next time.

But, put down your skates quicker than me … unless you want to land on one leg …

COMMENTS

When my aim is to jump high I never have a problem with balance.

Even if technically I don’t do it that well, and I flap my arms, I mean wings, like a seagull,

the high jumps are okay and I never get off balance.

However, with long jumps I still struggle sometimes.

Especially when I am concerned that I won’t jump far enough, the instinct of leaping

forward kicks in. This puts me off balance, which in turn triggers this windmilling thing

where the arms go way too hig over my head and then backward.

It’s not a nice feeling at all, and a few times I’ve got so off balance I’ve fallen.

The higher the speed the more likely I’m to get off balance, so I really recommend

you wear kneepads and gloves or wristguards. Long sleeves or elbow pads

are good as well, and I do also wear padded underwear to protect my hips.

It’s good to practice jumping over grass. If your timing is off or

you jump too short, so your skate land on grass, you’ll naturally start to run but not fall – hopefully.

Some reasurring words at last. Jumping is really a lot of fun when you get the balance right.

Just practice on a safe place wearing protection and I promise you’ll get there very soon.

Oh btw, today I’m on a new pair of skates. It got smaller wheels and a harder boot than I’m used too.

The speed isn’t as high as with my old big wheel long frame skates but the control definitively is better.

Stay tuned for an upcoming review of these skates.

My Story & Plans for the Channel
from How To Inline Skate on 27 Mar 2017

Flowcast where I talk while skating.
I discuss my plans for the channel ahead and my history as a skater.

The PLOW STOP – for Beginners & Advanced Skaters
from How To Inline Skate on 23 Mar 2017

The plow (plough) is a great stop for anyone.

For beginners it’s one of the easier ones to learn. Avanced skaters can use a plow stop to trigger a power slide.

Let’s start with beginners.

Keep your legs far apart. Both skates shall be on the inside edge.

Try to push out a little with your heels.

Careful!

If your legs are too close or you are not bending your knees enough, your skates will move inward and you will fall like this.

When you get more comfortable, try controlling speed on a small descend.

Be safe! Find a place like here with no cars and where you can just roll onto a flat area if you fail to control speed.

As you improve you’ll find that the plow is a very effective stop!

However, you may experience that one skate starts vibrating.

At this point it’s better to trigger a slide!

I think you’ll acheive that by staying a bit lower and pushing more with the heel.

Once you reach this level, the plow stop is a really effective and fast stop even at high speeds.

[Comments]

I want to thank my viewers hyperiuSupern0va, BELAL Mansour, budus2 and Stephan Daniels for making me aware of this stopping technique.

Before they taught me othewise, I was of the false perception that the plow were a terrible stop for beginners who hadn’t learned how to use the heel break yet.

(With the exception of speed skaters, perhaps, whose special long frame skates don’t give them much choice but to stop like this.)

But after reading their comments, I got curious, watched tutorials, and decided to give it a try.

As this was something new to me today, for the first few tries the stop wasn’t much to brag about.

If I had done this downhill I would not have been able to control speed. Or, I would, but only after switching to another stop and saved myself that way.

This mistake of having the toes collide, I, well, made on purpose. When else will I have an excuse to dive onto a pile of snow?

I did see other tutorials warn about this though, and it does makes sense. And this is why it’s super important to practice at low speed in a safe environment.

Wrist guards and knee proteticon are recommended!

I also worry about the impact it can have on joints. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but if you mess up somehow, the ancles, knees and hips are in a vulnerable position.

I constantly focused on not having my weight on my toes. I tried to keep it over the third wheel.

When I noticed a skate vibrating, I understood a slide was possible.

Vibration is a actually just the skate getting stuck, jumping, getting stuck again, and so on over and over again very fast.

By tweaking the physics a bit, like I think steeper angle and more push through the heel, the skate slides instead.

Learning to control this is one of the most satisfying things a skater can do!

And that’s just what I did today! I just discovered a new way to stop.

I think if I learn to even roate some more and have the sliding skate in front it’s called the magic stop or UFO stop.

Or I don’t know, maybe just call them powerstop or powerslide?

Anyway, what matters is that the plow is a great way of triggering a slide.

With both skates on the inside edge, this enables an entire family of slide stops.

What’s your experience? I really appreciate your feedback. Today prooves that.

I’ll practice this a lot more and perhaps make proper tutorials for beginners AND advanced skaters once I get a better hang on it.

(I hope you also learned something from this video.)

TOP 5 STOPS on Inline Skates – Beginner to Beast
from How To Inline Skate on 21 Mar 2017

5 Ways to STOP on Inline Skates – Beginner to Beast

Heel Stop
T-Stop
Grass Stop
Power Stop
Slalom Stop

The heel stop is the most basic stop. Place the stopping skate a bit in front and lift your toes. That’s it!

For some more power, bend your legs and push harder.

… Not good enough …

The t-stop is more difficult but a good second stop to learn.

Keep almost all weight on the front skate. Gently drag the back skate behind.

… Too much weight on the dragging skate and you’ll go for a spin.

The grass stop is the most important emergency break.

Stay low, keep one skate in front and more weight on the back skate.

… A grass roll often turns into a grass run.

The power stop looks much like an ice hockey stop.

However, it’s very different. Make a sharp turn. On your outside skate, keep most weight on the heel.

Fall back on the inside skate.

Like this.

… NOT like this …

The slalom stop is useful at high speeds and going downhill.

Make a sharp turn until outside skate loses grip. Fall back on the inside skate and repeat.

… It does requires some space …

* Comments

I usually remove the heel break from my skates. Not using it is just my personl preference.

There are soom good reason to use the heel break even if you know other ways to stop.

First off, with the heel break on your wheels last longer.

The heel break is much cheaeper and easier to replace too, so it may be worth keeping it just for this reason.

It’s also a lot easier on your joints. Knees and hips may suffer from other stopping techniques, especially if you do them wrong.

For me the reason to remove the heel breaks is partially that they may mess up when going backward or doing transitions,

and partially that removing the heels breaks save some weight.

Another important thing to keep in mind about heel breaks is that they are not very effective.

Going downhill it’s very dangerous to rely on the heel break. Slalom turns are much better at controlling speed.

The t-stop is my most used stop. It’s like my everyday stop.

It’s more powerful than the heel break.

It does wear down the wheels quite a bit so I try to make it a habit to use my left skate, that’s my weaker side,

more for controlled stops and my right skate in more challenging situations.

At higher speeds and going downhill it’s a good idea to alternate between left and right to avoid flat spots.

The grass roll is mostly for emergencies. It’s super useful to know. I recommend everyone, including beginners,

to practice it. It’s not that difficult either. Just be aware that the wheels may get stuck.

Instinctively you then start to run so it’s shouldn’t be a problem.

The power stop is maybe the most difficult stop. I really need to focus every time I do it.

It’s called power stop for a reason. A lot of energy goes into it.

I often start with a T-stop until the speed feels comfortable, and then I continue with a power stop.

Other times I do slalom turns, and finally when the speed feels right I do a power stop.

Actually it’s by doing slalom turns I learned the power stop. Slalom turns are very much the same thing.

You can feel that if your weight balance is over your outside skate, and a bit toward the heel, you slow down tremendously.

You’ll also notice the outside skate starting to lose grip. With the slalom turn I let my balance shift over to the insde skate.

With the power stop I just let the skate lose grip, then slide to a full stop and finally fall back on the inside skate.

Finally, I’ll say a few words about skating on wet pavement.

First of all it’s more slippery, so it’s extra important to focus on when and where you may lose grip. Second it will kill your bearings.

I use my old skates with old bearings when I skate in rain. If I only had one pair of skates, I’d think twice before going skating in the rain.