I'm fresh meat. So fresh that the blood hasn't started pouring yet.

I just got my first pair of speed skates--Riedell R3's with outdoor wheels.I've been skating for two days with my mom's help on my first.

I can get speed and kinda turn, but I can't stop, though I can fall and run into things.

Any tips for stopping and crossovers? Thanks!

Oh and by the way, I stopped real good when I crashed into my dad and he landed on me. Yeah, he's a big guy. :/ But now he knows that I can take down 300 pounds of person. xD

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by MikaylaTHEend on June 17, 2010 at 10:35pm

I've been skating almost three months now and honestly I learned from those Ehow youtube videos, skating every waking moment, and pads really good pads. Be ready to fall. Accept that you, as awesome or not as you may be, will fall hard generally on your ass. Don't be afraid of falling though. You fall, it sucks, but it really doesn't hurt all that much.As for stopping start slow do the snowplow (pointing toes in and pressing down with the ball of your feet), then move to Tstops, and then tamohawks. Crossovers. They sucks if you fuck them up but they give you great speed if done right. I never really learned how I've just always done it, my sister played hockey so the switch from skating with her on ice to roller blades was easy, then blades to quads just took some adjustment and determination. Also you'll want to start learning how to skate, well glide, backwards. It sounds crazy but the awarness it brings will make you more observant in forward skating. That and when you skate backwards it looks badass.

Permalink Reply by Alyssa on June 18, 2010 at 2:37am

Thank you for replying. And yes gravity still works last time my ass checked. If it didn't rain so much here, I'd always be on my skates. I love my pads. xP My goal is to feel completely confident by the time school starts back up.

Permalink Reply by LittleMissFang on July 8, 2010 at 8:14am

totally agree there are some awesome Derby tutorials online at Youtube...they cover basic stops , falls and equipment stuff....always try to fall forwards as that's where all your pads are..or you can buy those padded shorts for your butt and thighs,I've been playing for over a year now and i still have a few problems stopping, unless i'm being blocked /hit or I'm on my butt! as for crossovers scissor skating helps .

Permalink Reply by Alyssa on July 8, 2010 at 9:51pm

Haha yeah falling on my arse is definitely not fun. My thighs are getting such a workout on the scissor skating. Its tough on a lazy college kid. xD I'll have to look at a few more videos, I've already watched quite a few, but skating backwards is what I need to learn so I can have more confidence in my balance.

Permalink Reply by Alexis on September 22, 2011 at 12:29am