How to learn rollerblading was the last thing on my mind as an adult. However, the more I saw how happy these skaters were, I knew I wanted a piece of this. So, I decided to take action and fulfill my desire to learn to rollerblade.
For the record, I started to learn rollerblading at 25, and it’s all been fun. I’ve made a few mistakes, but it’s all been worth it.
If you’re looking to get started, I can show you the way, whether you’re an adult or a kid. Inline skating is easy to learn, and the techniques apply to everyone regardless of age.
In today’s post, I’ll share with you excellent tips to getting started that you won’t find anywhere. Think about it.
This is my personal experience and the knowledge I’ve acquired over time. I believe you’ll find this helpful. So, without much ado, let’s get to it!
How to Learn Rollerblading (Amazing and Easy tips to Grasp)
Before getting into action, you need to have the right mindset, appropriate gear, and excellent inline skating tips.
Below, I’ve put together everything with you in mind. I desire to make this less of a brainer for you as much as possible. So, let’s get going!
1. Gather Your Rollerblading Gear
How to learn rollerblading will become less stressful and more fun when you have the appropriate gear. How do I mean? You could be wondering. The right rollerblading kit comprises a pair of inline skates and protective gear.
There are several types of inline skates, such as speed skate shoes, aggressive skate shoes, freestyle skate shoes, hockey skates, recreational skates, and fitness skates to consider for starters. Well, that sounds like a lot for a beginner to take in at the moment, I know.
However, with that information, I intend to open your mind to the many options you have. When choosing a pair of inline skates, the top most consideration should be comfort and best fit. Every other consideration should come second.
With that out of the way, you need to protect yourself when rollerblading. The best protection comprises a helmet, elbow pads, wrist guards, and knee pads. These are the essential elements of safety when going to skate.
Apart from these, you can also do hip pads, shin guards, and pair of skating glasses. If you want, you can also get a backpack for keeping your stuff when rollerblading. When choosing a protective gear, ensure it’s easy to use, fits you properly, and offers ultimate protection.
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2. Master the Essential Rollerblading tips for Beginners and Intermediate Skaters
Now that you have your rollerblades and protection ready and out of the way let’s jump into the juicy part. Shall we?
1. Identify a Beginner-friendly Surface-like Grass
For a beginner, you want to start learning how to rollerblade on a favorable surface. Inline skates have wheels that roll on smooth surfaces like asphalt or concrete. And before you master how to balance your skates, it’s best to get started on a surface that hinders freeroll.
The good news is, that’s where natural grass or artificial grass comes in handy. If you have a lawn, that would be an excellent place to start. But even if you don’t, I’m pretty sure you can find a public space with enough grass in your neighborhood.
2. Putting on your Inline Skate Shoes
Sit on the grass and take out your gear—rollerblades and protection. First, you’ll put on your inline skates, then do your protective gear last. When putting on your rollerblades, make sure you’ve properly laced them up.
So, they should snuggly fit your feet without being too tight or too loose. Besides, this will help you with the comfort you need when rollerblading. Next, put on your elbow pads, followed by the knee pads, and lastly, your wrist guards.
3. Getting up on Your Rollerblades
While still sitting on the grass, go down on both knees, then bring up one knee when the other is still on the ground. To bring yourself up, put your hands on the knee that’s up and apply pressure as you lift your body off the ground.
Related Post: Are Inline Skates Good for Beginners?
4. Master the Right Skating Position
Once you’re up, you need to learn the right skating position. It would be best if you had this for weight distribution and mastering body balance. What’s the right skating position, you ask? Always, your knees should be bent at an almost 90 degrees angle.
To be sure you’re bending the correct way, check to see that your knees are directly above your toes and shoulders over your hips. If not, you should bend down a little more.
5. Making Your First Steps on Rollerblades
Now that you’re up and in the right skating position, it’s time to make those baby steps. First, begin by gently lifting both legs simultaneously like you’re matching. This exercise aims to help you get used to your rollerblades and help you master how to raise your legs.
When you feel comfortable from the matching exercise, begin to make your first forward step forward. Also, ensure your legs are in a pizza shape (also V-shape) and close together for proper balance as you match ahead.
You may also want to put your hands on your knees or have them pointing forward while you’re in the right skating position. Do several rounds of this exercise until you feel comfortable enough.
6. Moving to an Asphalt or Concrete Surface
Once you have mastered control while on the grass surface, the next step is graduating to an asphalt or concrete surface, however, for a beginner, an asphalt surface would do just fine.
This can be in your parking lot or a skate park near you. Also, check that the surface is free of rocks and pebbles as they can hinder your movement while on rollerblades.
When starting on the asphalt surface, replicate everything you did on grass once more and when you’re ready to move, scissor forward one step at a time. Remember to maintain the right position for weight transfer and balance.
At this stage, falling behind your back is pretty inevitable. That’s why you need to maintain a low body position. If possible, you can have someone watching over you to use their help for one or two reasons.
7. Learn How to Go Fast When Rollerblading
Going fast should be pretty simple, but only when you’ve mastered the basics like scissoring while your feet are in a pizza shape. At this point, you know how to balance on inline skates, and you can make several steps comfortably. What’s the next thing? Increasing your speed!
Don’t freak out yet! By increasing speed, I don’t mean rollerblading at 30 mph. NO! It means graduating from making baby steps to gliding and pushing.
So, while maintaining your position, begin to push one leg to the sides while gliding on the other. For example, push your right foot forward, then glide on the left foot. Do this for both feet until your push and glides are smooth and even.
Remember not to push too far as you may lose balance and fall on your back. Also, your feet shouldn’t be wide apart, and neither should your hands be all over the place in the air. The best way to keep them in check is to swing them along as you push.
For example, when pushing the right foot, also swing the right hand in the same direction. Do this for both legs until you’re comfortable swinging your hands without losing balance.
8. Ways to Stop When Rollerblading
Now that you’ve learned to go fast, you’ll want to learn how to stop when rollerblading. Think about it! There’s no point in learning how to go fast when you can’t control the speed (it can get you into trouble).
Having said that, there are several stopping techniques for all skaters regardless of the level. Nonetheless, for beginners and some intermediate skaters, the heel brake or the plow stop, or the T-stop are the best.
For heel brake, your rollerblade should have an in-built rubber brake on the heels that you’ll be using to come to a stop when the need arises. For plow stop, you’ll be scissoring out your legs in a curve, then bring them back in with the toes pointing to each other.
For T-stop, you lift one foot, make a 90-degree alignment between the leading foot and the one you’ve raised in the air. Make sure the leading foot is bent properly, then drag the other foot in a T-shape until you come to a stop.
I know it sounds pretty hard, but you don’t have to worry about it. I have already done a detailed post on how to stop when rollerblading, and you’ll find all the tips right there. Below is the article for your consideration.
Related Post: How to Stop Rollerblading | 9 Effective Techniques
9. Making Turns When Rollerblading
Making turns should be easy at this stage. You may need to turn or negotiate a bend. How would you go about it? First, make sure your rollerblades are parallel to each other.
One foot should be slightly ahead while the other should fall back. This also helps with maintaining balance.
So, when turning or negotiating a bend, continue pushing and gliding, though gently. Bring the behind foot slightly forward while adjusting the leading foot. Most importantly, your body should be aligned to the new direction you’re switching to.
If you’re turning to the left, slightly lean more to that direction to distribute the weight on that side. Everything will fall into place by turning your upper body (core muscles) in your desired direction. But remember to be gentle with yourself.
10. Check Online for Rollerblading Resources
Learning never stops. So, regardless of the skills you’ve already learned, there’s always room for more. The best place to get such resources is online. A particular case in point is YouTube, with thousands of rollerblading tutorials.
Besides YouTube, you can consume text content from inline skating blogs (like this one, huh!). The goal is always to keep learning. When you get to more comfort, your learning curve begins to plateau, but that’s what we’re trying to avoid here.
So, always open up to more valuable rollerblading information that you can find online for free.
11. Proper Handling of Rollerblades and Protective Gear
We’ve already gone through the basics of learning how to rollerblade. So, how should you care for your rollerblades after an inline skating session?
The answer is simple, keep them in a cool and dry place. Before then, make sure your skates are clean and adequately oiled around the wheels and bearings.
3. Mastering Rollerblading Psychology
One thing is for sure; it’s not going to be easy when starting. Besides, you’ll encounter moments when you’ll contemplate giving up, but if you have only the right amount of passion, nothing should stop you.
Rollerblading is fun, so despite the challenges like falling, picking injuries, or taking longer to master a technique, you should keep up with the practice.
Things get better with time, and so is rollerblading. Also, you want to create a regular practice schedule. This can be every day of the week, thrice a week, or even twice. It doesn’t matter, so long as you have the time, you can skate as much as you want.
For motivation, you’ll want to find a few skating buddies. The best place to find a like-minded fellow would be at a skate park. So, visit your nearest skate park occasionally and benchmark with all skaters regardless of their level of skating—beginners, intermediates, and pro skaters.
How to Learn Rollerblading: Wrapping Up
If you’ve been wondering how to learn rollerblading, there you have it. The good news is, these are the same techniques I’ve applied in my skating journey, and it’s all been fine. I believe you can hack this one too. You only need to be persistent and have the right psychology.
For accountability, you may choose to get yourself an inline skating instructor for a couple of weeks. In 3-4 weeks, you should be on your own and skating like a ‘near’ pro. It’s all possible, and if I’ve done it, you too can do it. Cheers Mate. Happy Skating!
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