Tag: How To Inline Skate (Page 8 of 10)

How to do a ONE-LEG Hockey Stop (Front or Back Skate)
from How To Inline Skate on 23 Feb 2017

One-leg hockey stop
… with the front skate … and with back skate

#1 Front Skate – Dominant Side
The front stop is easier. If you know how to hockey stop, just make sure you have all weight on the front, then lift up the back skate. Even if you have not learned the hockey stop yet, a one leg front stop may be the first stop you want to learn. At least, I read that some beginners can stop on their front skate, but not with both as you’d normally do with a regular hockey stop.

#2 Front Skate – Weak Side
Try to do it on your weak side too.

#3 Back Skate – One-Leg Glide to Stop
Glide on one leg. If that’s your right skate, quickly rotate clockwise. If you’re on your left skate, turn counter-clockwise. Do the exact same thing as if you do a regular hockey stop.

#4 Back Skate – Regular to One-Leg
This is another option. Begin a regular hockey stop with both skates. Initally both skates shave off ice, but as quick as possible shift all weight on the back. Then lift up the front skate. This is the most difficult stop, at least I struggle on my weak side.

Further Comments
* If your skate vibrates while stopping, your weight is too much on the middle. Try to shift it a bit forward toward to the toe balls and then you’ll have more control.
* At the end of the stop you may transition backward. Again, it’s due to a balance problem. I had this problem myself today, and the only solution is … more practice.
* There is a huge difference between dull and sharp blades. With dull blades it’s easier but then it’s tempting too stand too tall. And you easily get your skate stuck and lose balance.
* Also warm soft ice vs cold hard ice makes a difference. I’ve been practicing this a lot at -10C outside on hard ice. Today it was +3C and it was a lot more difficult. Still, I’m very happy it turned out okay anyway.

How to Ice Skate – Ten Tips for Absolute Beginners
from How To Inline Skate on 16 Feb 2017

First time on ice?

Don’t worry! Here are ten tips for you!

#1 Hold the Board

Careful when you first enter the ice. Hold the board while getting used to the feeling of wearing skates on ice.

Or perhaps can I use one of those?

#2 Bend Your Knees

Bend your knees! Stay low! It really helps. It makes it so much easier to keep your balance.

#3 Wide Base

Skates shall not be too close, nor too far apart. It’s a good idea to keep one skate a little bit in front of the other.

#4 Arms for Balance

Don’t forget your arms. My monkey arms have saved me from falling many many times.

#5 Penguin Wobble

Okay, to gain speed, the easiest way is to wobble like a penguin.

#6 Proper Stride

But the best way is to push your skates to the side.

Don’t run! Skate!

#7 T-Stop

Drag one foot behind. That’s the easiest way to stop. But not the most efficient.

#8 Plow Stop

Try to plow with one skate. It’s a better way to stop. Later, not today, but sometime in the future you’ll learn the hockey stop … and with the plow you’re already half way there.

#9 Standing Still

Lock your skates together at an angle. I do this when standing still. It prevents me from suddenly falling backward or forward.

#10 Tie Skates Correctly

Loosen the laces before putting on the skates. The foot shall enter the skates with no force applied.

Then make sure the heel is all the way back.

Tighten the laces from the bottom up.

If the laces are too long, I make a double or triple knot. I do not recommend lacing around the ancle but that’s a matter of personal preference.

Exercise #1

Try not to bend the skates inward or outward. This mistake is very common among beginners, so don’t worry, just be aware of it.

Exercise #2

Try to keep balance on one leg. If you manage half a second, great! Skating is a balance exercise and shifting balance from one skate to the other is the key to become a good skater.

Inline POWER STOP on ICE – Does it Work?
from How To Inline Skate on 10 Feb 2017

Shaun Unwin / Shop Task

Bill Stoppard / PintoPonyProductions
https://www.youtube.com/user/PintoPonyProductions

The Powerstop does not really work on ice … or does it?

It does work!

So … let’s break it down. Typically you first want to do a drag or T-stop to reduce speed. Then you make a very sharp turn. Weight is on the heel. You rotate around your inside foot, with the pivot point on the front of the blade.

You begin with almost no weight on the dragging skate, but during the turn you shift almost all your weight onto it.

Technically there’s not much difference between inline and ice. The only thing is that on rollerblades you trigger a slide, thus the name powerslide or powerstop. While on ice your skate carves really really deep into the ice.

The good things about ice is that it’s actually easier and that the marks on the ice reveal whether you do it right or wrong.

On my weak side I struggle on inline skates, but on ice I do it sort of okay. But the marks on the ice reveal that I probably put too much weight on the turning skate too early. Or, if you know better, please let me know in the description.

Doing it equally good on both sides is, of course, something to aim for.

***
Now let’s compare it to a regular hockey stop. Typically you want your skates to slide, not to carve. And to accomplish this on ice, I think the clue is to rotate each skate around its own pivot point. So you have two pivot points in a way.

As mentioned, the powerstop is actually one big rotation around your inner skate.

Another big difference is that the ice hockey stop is on the front of the blade. Do not try this on rollerblades! Trust me, I tried, I failed …

Another thing though. Experiment a lot with the hockey stop. It’s very versatile and there are lots of possibilities.

Lately I’ve practicing slides on the heels and I plan to try this on inline skates too. I hope, I hope that’s the clue to a parallel stop on rollerblades. We’ll see. So stay tuned for updates.

***
Finally I’d like to make shout-outs to Shaun Unwin at Shop Task and Bill Stoppard of PintoPonyProductions. Shaun Unwin recently made an excellent breakdown of Bill Stoppards stop technique, which inspired me to make this video. Links to both their channels are in the description below.

***

Finally I should add a warning that you better practice the powerstop only on open ice like lake and ponds. Otherwise people will really hate you for ruining the ice.

How to Skate BACKWARDS – Beginner / Sprint / Crossover
from How To Inline Skate on 9 Feb 2017

Backwards Skating Playlist:

***
https://www.facebook.com/how2inline/

***
How to skate backwards on ice
… and on inline skates it’s pretty much the same.

#1 The Pose.
Stay low. Keep your balance over the balls of your feet. Head up. Lean shoulders a bit back, almost as if you’re sitting back in a seat.

Do not lean too much forward and do not look at your feet. Else, before you know it, you kiss the ice.

#2 Balance & Push
Use one leg for balance. The other for pushing.

#3 First Baby Steps
Now try to alternate. So you push with one, then the other, the other again, and so on.

#4 Maximum Range of Motion
As you get more comfortable, try to fully extend your legs. Each stride begins behind mid blade, or even heel, but the push ends at the toes. It’s often called a C-cut but you wanna make it more like half a heart or half a droplet.

#5 Crossover Start
To accelerate faster, try to begin with a few crossovers.

#6 Crossover Turns
Have your weight centered over your knees and balance on the balls of your feet. Correct weight distribution is very important but also quite difficult.

To gain more speed, have your inside leg reach out. You should be able to reach further and grab more ice than I do here.

At the end of the stride you should stretch your legs all the way out to your toes for maximum power transfer. At least, try this with your outside leg. When you do it right, you can really hear the blades digging into the ice.

More often though, you may want to do quick crossovers, so better practice quick, long, or anything inbetween.

***
WARNING

Backwards skating is dangerous. You cannot see that well going backwards. I’ve witnessed very good skaters hurting themselves and others.
Be careful during open ice hours and while rollerblading in the park.
***

I collected a playlist of backward skating tutorials.

The SkateFresh tutorial shows some other techniques specific for inline skating. It begins after 3:20, so I recommend you fast forward when you get to that one.

Practice HEEL STOP for Better Balance
from How To Inline Skate on 7 Feb 2017

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/how2inline/

Today I practiced the hockey stop on my heels.

It’s NOT a recommended stop but I think it’s a good exercise for the sake of improving balance and weight transfer.

Especially for inline skating, it’s useful. On inline skates you typically trigger a slide, or a power stop, with your heels … very much like I do here.

On my dominant side, I feel like my control is pretty good.

On my weak side, however, I cannot do it.

But it’s a good thing I practice this now, because on ice it’s easier than it will be when I’m back on rollerblades.

***

I also experiment with placing my weight more around mid blade, half way back, half way front, on the toes, and so on. I may place all weight on the front skate, on the back skate, or 50-50 or 70-30, you know. Then I analyze the marks on the ice, and learn what makes a good stop.

There are a million ways to stop, but of course not all of them are suitable for a real ice hockey game situation. But when you are out on the lake, I strongly recommend you experiment and have fun!