Inline Skate Stars

Can You Teach Yourself to Roller Skate?

Can you teach yourself to roller skate? If you’re looking to get into roller skating and wondering if you can teach yourself, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve put together this guide to help answer your question. So, read on!

Can you teach yourself to roller skate?

Roller skating is fun and exciting. It has both social and health benefits. You can do it solo or with a group. But roller skating with others at a skate park is always more fun.

The best part is that learning to roller skate is pretty simple and doesn’t take long. You need between one and 3 hours to learn the basics of roller skating. Nonetheless, the critical question is: can you teach yourself to roller skate?

Here’s the thing:

Honestly, you can’t teach yourself to roller skate as a complete beginner. Roller skating uses techniques that can be hard to pull off without a dedicated instructor. These include proper balance, forming a V shape when matching and gliding, stopping and making cross-over turns.

I cover more details in the rest of this guide and how to learn roller skating fast. You don’t want to miss out. So, I urge you to read. Let’s get to it!

9 Reasons you Can’t Teach Yourself to Roller Skate

While you can teach yourself to roller skate as an intermediate or experienced skater, it can be hard to pull off as a complete beginner. Below are nine reasons you can’t teach yourself to roller skate.

1. You have to Position Your Feet Correctly to Form a V Shape

The V shape is crucial when starting to skate because it determines whether you move or not. This is why you need to learn how to position your feet to form a V shape or a piece of Pizza.

Forming a V shape with your feet is for forward movement. On the other hand, an inverted V is for back skating, while forming a T stops any movement. You need a roller skating coach to get these techniques right from the beginning.

2. Mastering the Ready Position can be a Hurdle

What is the ready position in skating? This is the recommended roller skating position. It helps transfer body weight to the toe balls and away from your heels when done right.

It involves bending your knees near a 90-degree or obtuse angle. The knees should be above your toes, feet shoulder-width apart, and shoulders over the hips.

The ready position is crucial because it helps with body control, stability, and coordination. No doubt, you need an instructor to show you how to go about this because you can’t do it by yourself.

3. Learning to Walk like a Duck Requires the Right Skills

Before beginning to push yourself around, the first step is to learn how to walk in your roller skates. Many beginners think roller skating is as easy as wearing your skates and hitting the ground going.

No. that’s the wrong way to go about it! First, you want to learn how to walk in your roller skates to get the right form. You can then move to glide once you’re good at walking in your roller skates.

Think about it! Do you think you can pull this off on your own? Your guess is as good as mine. This is why you need an instructor!

4. You need the right technique to Push and Glide for Propulsion

Propulsion while wearing roller skates can be a hurdle when you don’t know how to do it. You risk losing control and falling if you do it wrong.

You need to apply your body weight on the foot you use to push as you glide with the other. You won’t move if you don’t do it right. Sadly, you can’t get this right when trying to learn yourself.

5. Stopping on Roller Skates can be Intimidating for Newbie Skaters

Stopping is a crucial skill for roller skaters. It does no good when you can skate fast but can’t control your speed. This is why you need to learn basic beginner’s roller skating techniques.

The easiest way to stop for beginners is using the toe stop. Most beginner roller skates have rubber extensions for stopping in front of the skates.

You risk falling or colliding with other skaters if you don’t know how to use this rubber extension to slow down. You can’t pull this off on your own, so you need a trainer.

6. Learning to Fall Safely Takes Time

Falling safely while roller skating is an art and science. You can’t pull it off on your own, and you risk injuring yourself.

Many people ask: is roller skating dangerous? Honestly, roller skating can be dangerous when you don’t involve roller skating instructors.

Falling when roller skating isn’t a cool experience and can cause wrist sprain, fractures, foot bruises, concussions, and knee and elbow injuries. Sometimes it can lead to death.

7. Selecting the Right Roller Skating Gear Requires an Expert’s Input

Learning roller skating doesn’t happen in isolation. You also need to have the appropriate gear, starting with properly fitting roller skates and protective gear like helmets.

Ill-fitting roller skates can cause feet and ankle injuries, making it harder to learn roller skating comfortably. This is why you need someone guiding you on the best roller skating gear.

As a rule of thumb, the right roller skates should be a snug fit—neither too tight nor too loose. This way, you’re assured of awesome roller skating sessions, helping you learn fast.

8. Doing Roller Skating Tricks Requires an Expert Input

Pulling off roller skating tricks such as cross-overs and jumps by yourself can be a hurdle. You need an instructor to teach you the right techniques to apply. What’s more, you risk injuring yourself from fall injuries when doing everything by yourself.

9. Choosing the Right Place to Go Roller Skating can be Hard

There are many places you can go roller skating. Still, you need guidance from an experienced skater to choose the right roller skating venues.

When choosing the right roller skating venues, you need to consider the surface type and overall safety. While you can roller skate on roads, it’s not usually a good idea for complete newbies.

You risk getting involved in an accident. If things go wrong, you may lose your life. This is why it’s crucial to have a trainer guiding you instead of trying to learn everything by yourself.

How to Learn Roller Skating Fast

Learning roller skating is fun and shouldn’t take long if you’re committed to it. You need between eight and ten weeks to move from a newbie to an intermediate roller skater.

But you can fast-track the process by learning the right techniques from the right roller skating instructors. Below are some cool tips to learn roller skating fast and become a pro sooner rather than later!

Get a Coach

A dedicated coach goes a long way if you want to see quick results. The right roller skating coach knows their staff and will set you up for success.

An experienced instructor best teaches roller skating techniques. This is crucial for many reasons, such as your safety.

There are many ways to access a coach. One, you can visit your local skate park or find one online. You’ll need to stick to a regular practice schedule if you want to learn roller skating fast.

A quick online search of roller skating coaches near me or roller skating programs near me is enough. You’ll get tons of options to consider.

Overall, look for reviews and modes of training when choosing the right coach. You want enough contact time with the coach to get value for your money.

Practice more Often

Practicing more often moves the needle a lot of time. No doubt, you can’t get better without putting in the effort.

This is why you want to practice at least twice a week. If you have the time, you can do it every day for an hour or two.

Watch Free Tutorials on YouTube

There are tons of free tutorials on YouTube. You only need to find the right channels to subscribe to and a reliable internet connection.

You can binge-watch as many videos as possible—both informational and entertaining. Some example videos to start with are tips like how to stop on roller skate or how to do crossovers.

Join a Roller Skating Team

Roller skating is fun done solo or in a group. But it’s more interesting when done in a group. The best part is that you also get an opportunity to learn from more experienced skaters.

Peer-to-peer learning is more effective and guarantees quick results. The first thing to do is join a skating group in your neighborhood.

If you frequent your local skate park or rink, you’ll meet plenty of awesome people to team up with.

Take it Slow…Don’t Rush the Process

Lastly, you want to take it slow by not putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Everything gets better with time, including roller skating.

All you have to do is take it slow and one step at a time. You’ll become a better roller skater with time, provided you’re doing the right things and have an instructor.

Can You Teach Yourself to Roller Skate? FAQs

1. Can I learn roller skating on my own?

You can only learn roller skating on your own after having some contact time with a roller skating instructor to learn the basics.

Roller skating techniques are crucial and best taught by an experienced coach. Trying to pull them off yourself can be daunting.

2. Is it hard to learn to roller skate?

It’s relatively hard to learn to roller skate because you have to master how to balance while standing on wheeled shoes.

Mastering the recommended skating posture also takes time, and your back may hurt during the first few roller skating sessions.

3. How can I learn roller skating at home?

You need to find a smooth surface for skating if you want to learn roller skating at home. This can be a driveway, parking lot, or in your basement.

Try to stick to a schedule of regularly practicing between 20 and 30 minutes every day. It’s better than skating an hour or more inconsistently.

It would be best to team up with like-minded roller skaters in your neighborhood. Roller skating is more fun when done in a group setting. Plus, you get to learn quickly from more experienced roller skaters.

4. How long does it take to learn roller skating?

You need between an hour to five hours to learn the basics of roller skating, like mastering your balance, positioning your feet correctly, the ready position and weight distribution, making your first duck steps, and gliding.

Learning and getting good at more complex techniques like stopping, making cross-over turns, spins, and jumps takes eight weeks.

5. Can I learn to roller skate at 40?

You can learn to roller skate at 40 because there’s no age limit for learning to roller skate. You only need a positive mindset, an instructor, a pair of roller skates, and protective gear, and you’re good to start.

Can You Teach Yourself to Roller Skate? Wrapping Up

Can you teach yourself to roller skate? Honestly, teaching yourself to roller skate isn’t a good idea. It’s a hurdle you don’t want to go through because you’ll take unnecessarily long to learn basic techniques. Plus, you risk injuring yourself by using the wrong techniques.

By all means, get a roller skating instructor, and you won’t regret it. Roller skating is fun, but only when you’re doing it right.

That’s it for today. I hope you found this guide helpful!

Navick Ogutu
Navick Ogutu

Navick is a full-time freelance writer, blogger, and internet marketer. By day, he creates content for multiple sites including inlineskaterstars.com. Over the weekend, he goes out skating with friends.

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