SKATE TIP OF THE WEEK
Inline secrets from the world's top skaters and coaches

This week's tip:

How Not to Fall
Tips for avoiding falling while inline skating

By Trish Alexander
 

Yep. Falling is a part of skating. Just like it's a part of cycling, running and even walking.

After 16 years of inline skating, I still fall occasionally. Heck, even Joey Mantia takes an occasional tumble.

The trick is to learn to fall less often and less hard.

Here's how:

First, you need to understand what causes most falls. They typically happen because we instinctively tend to lurch backwards when we lose our balance.

Unfortunately, rather than save us, this usually has the opposite effect. As we shift our weight backwards, our skates roll out from under us and we fall on our backsides. Ouch!

How can you prevent this?

The key for beginner and even intermediate skaters is to keep your elbows in front of your body and to balance your head over your shoulders, your shoulders over your hips and your hips over your skates.

Don't throw your elbows backwards. Don't let them get behind you. If they do, you're likely to fall.

But how do you control your elbows in the chaos of an impending fall?

Here's one way ... practice the "Oh, no! Go Low" exercise. I teach this drill to all my students:

1. With your skates on, stand up. (You might want to try it first in your shoes.)
2. Wave your arms in the air above your head. We call this windmilling. It is what beginner skaters typically do when they lose their balance.
3. Reach down with your hands and grab your knees. You'll immediately regain your balance.

Practice this drill until it becomes second nature. And remind yourself to grab your knees anytime you feel like you're losing your balance. You'll find yourself falling a lot less often.

Jan. 8, 2010

...

Trish Alexander is the head of the Skate Instructors Association and director of the Skate Journey Skate School in Bellevue, WA. She started ice skating as a child and was a competitive figure skater as a pre-teen. She started inline skating in 1994 and teaching two years later. She is certified to teach Level I, Level II, Master Fitness, Blade Fitness and Fitness Inline Marathon Training. In a former life, she was a paralegal and private detective.

• Skate IA web site

Related reading:

• Skate Tip of the Week Archive
• Beginners Guide to Outdoor Racing
• Beginners Guide to Inline Skating