How to look good on your rollerblades

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Try to look really relaxed and laid back when you skate — it scores with the totty, and makes you pretty handy on your wheels too!

Do you know that feeling of being unstable on your feet, no matter how low down you bend? Then this is for you… Usually when someone is afraid of falling, the one main fear is that of falling over backward - and quite rightly so! Unfortunately, this fear makes people stoop forwards and does them absolutely no favours at all - you feel unstable still, and everyone who sees you knows it.

But there is a simple remedy! Next time you see someone looking cool on their skates, try to copy their body posture (and of course their skating). The chances are that they have really bent & bouncy knees, and a relatively upright upper body.

Check out the advantages - you get increased stability from have your knees flexed and responsive to unexpected turbulence, your weight is brought forwards because when you bend your knees your hips should move forwards too, your back can now straighten up without fear of bringing your weight too far backwards, and ooooooh can you feel your lower back unwinding? nice.

It really works for me: I’m trying a really difficult freestyle trick at the moment (the traveling backscrew) which I haven’t managed progress with for months, no matter how much I practice.

Then the other day I decided that if I’m going to mess up really badly in my upcoming competition, then I may as well do it with dignity, so I had a go at trying to “look good whilst failing miserably with the move.”

Suddenly, it came together! The reason being that I was no longer leaning over and leering at my feet; I was holding my shoulders and head high and was more central over my centre of mass and feet. … It works!!

…and on the subject of looking cool… if you have any self respect at all, please, kneepads under the trousers Use a baggy pair of trousers as your ‘to be wrecked’ skating trousers and any holes in the knees will only make you look cooler. The ‘kneepads poking out from behind holed trousers’ look is all over the skater fashion catwalks I’m told…

Author: Naomi Grigg

Queen of skate cool, freestyle guru and officially the best skater in the world… ever!