Learn four roller-skating tips for beginners from former World Champion speed skater Gypsy Lucas in this Howcast video. Hi everybody, we're going to talk about roller skating tips for beginners. If you've never roller skated before, the biggest thing that...    [More]

Learn four roller-skating tips for beginners from former World Champion speed skater Gypsy Lucas in this Howcast video. Hi everybody, we're going to talk about roller skating tips for beginners. If you've never roller skated before, the biggest thing that you need to worry is balance. You would think balance is pretty easy, but when you put wheels on your feet, it's not so much. So the first thing when you put your skates on it's the T position. So when you have the T position together, it's one heel into the instep of the other skate. The purpose of doing this is so that your feet are underneath you, knees bent, your core is engaged, and that way your skates won't roll out from underneath you while you're standing there. So if you're on a hill, talking to a friend, looking at the cute guys or girls walking by, this is a great way to just stand there without having to worry about your feet moving out from underneath you. The next thing is forward skating, is with your toes out, and rolling straight is toes straight ahead, forwards or backwards, and backwards skating is toes in. So it's kind of like a car, when your toes are out you're in drive, when your toes are straight, neutral, toes together, reverse. So if you start going backwards, just have a quick little glance down, your toes are probably pointing together, so stop, T-position, get your balance back underneath you, knees bent, and start again. We always start off with walking first because it's kind of difficult just to put skates on and roll, so toes out, knees bent, and walk like a duck. Small steps forward until you get your balance, and then once you have your balance you'll be able to push to the side and let your wheels roll. So those are a couple of tips for you beginners out there, and happy rolling.

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