Overcoming Obstacles and Uneven Surfaces While Skating in the City
Obstacles and Uneven Surfaces - How To Tackle Them?
Once you’ve mastered the basic rollerblading techniques and feel confident, you’ll likely want to skate around the city, known as street skating. There, you’ll encounter obstacles and uneven surfaces that you’ll need to overcome. What should you focus on to ensure your city tour is smooth and fall-free? Discover our tips.
While skating in the city, it’s wise to equip yourself with a helmet and pads— – this will help you avoid the unpleasant consequences of falls. Before heading out, you should master effective braking techniques (such as the T-stop) and cornering skills.
Scissor Position - For Tackling Uneven Surfaces
When skating in the city, mastering the scissor position is beneficial for easily overcoming uneven surfaces. In this position, it'’s important to bend your knees, apply pressure to your heels, and extend your arms forward.
Training for Conquering Rough Terrain
How can you improve your ride on uneven surfaces? First and foremost, practisce riding in a scissor stance:
- Bend your knees;
- Extend one leg forward;
- Shift your weight onto the back leg;
- Stretch your arms forward;
- Press down on your heels, relieving pressure from your toes.
Ensure that one skate is always clearly ahead of the other. To smoothly navigate rough terrain, one leg should cross the uneven surface first, followed by the other. It’'s also worth noting that tackling a bumpy section at higher speeds is easier. Moving too slowly over an uneven surface can lead to a loss of balance. For better control, it’'s recommended to keep your arms extended forward.
City Riding and Effective Braking
If you’'re serious about city excursions, learn how to effectively brake and stop at a designated spot. Remember, you need enough time to stop at your chosen point, so braking should be initiated well in advance.
How to do it?
- Extend your arms in front of you;
- Imagine pushing a cart ahead of you;
- Spread your legs wide and bend your knees;
- Press your shins against the tongues of the skates;
- Widen your legs to form an “O” shape or perform a manoeuvre known as the barrel roll;
- Push your heels outward without bringing your toes together.
Keep in mind that the faster you go, the wider and longer the “O” should be. Watch the full video on YouTube. Subscribe to our channel to catch all the lessons in our rollerblading course!
