can anyone here roller skate?

hey ive just started to learn does anyone have any tips!! ive got bad balance as well does anyone have any tips to improve it thanksxx

just practice.


your ankles have to build up strength. it will be SO much easier when they are stronger.

To help your balance, you can try yoga or pilates, something that helps strengthen your core.  You could also try walking on sand, gravel, or some other shifty surface like that, which I've heard is good for balance.

Pad yourself up to the max - it lets you try newer things and gives you more confidence.
Play inline hockey - you learn to concentrate on the puck instead of the skating - then its more natural. Plus you have a stick to help :D:D

I still have my speed skates from when I was in middle school and spending every weekend at the rink (small town!) and let me tell you, it is a WORKOUT!! I take my daughter skating all the time and when I leave, my butt and legs are 3 times firmer! Just make sure your skates are aligned properly and you should be  fine!!

wrist gaurds.  I fall all the time.  I won't go without my wrist gaurds.  Good thing I've got padding on my butt!  I should wear elbow pads, too, but I don't have any yet...

Riding on low cut carpet can help get your ballance while keeping you slow.  Plus if you fall it's a lot less painful.

It seems like skating is a lot like bicycling.  Once you learn it's pretty much yours for life.   So practice practice practice.

When skating the movement is more like pushing your foot out to the side (and angled outward) to propel yourself forward.   Alternate feet while doing this.  So it's not like walking.  Once you get this down on carpet, it'll be a lot easier to do it on hard surfaces without as much fear.   Keeping things moving forward is always a good thing as well.

Are you using rollerskates or inline skates? 

My dad got a weekend job as a floor guard when I was about 8 years old so we could go skating every week for free.  It was too expensive to pay admission for me and my younger brothers.  When I got into high school I started working there and was the assitant manager for about 4 years through college.  I used to put in 20 to 30 hours a week on my rollerskates, really don't care for inlines.

My first advice is to learn how to fall.  There is an art to it, work on not putting your hands out to break your fall, just roll your body up and fall on your side.  Let your outer thigh and outside of your upper arm take the brunt, it is much better than breaking a wrist or falling square on your butt.  Watch your chin when you fall also, I don't know how many people I saw rip the skin open on their chins as they scraped across the floor.  Look at the folks that have been skating a long time and I guarantee you will find a few with horizontal scars on their chins.

Just keep skating and your balance will improve.  The more time you spend on your skates the more you will learn about how your body moves and balances.  Remeber your center of balance in in your pelvis.  Control that part of your body, learn to keep it above your feet and you will be fine.

Last thing, try new things.  You will not get better at things until you experiment.  Right now it may just be turning backwards but later it may be balancing up on one foot and one set of wheels.

wow cool thanks you guys... yeah ive got quads.. but i heard inline skates were easier!!

I will practice i wear them nearly all day PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!! cheers xx

and keep your knees bent slightly, its easier to balance   :)

I can roller skate (4 wheels) but in-line skating is harder, I think. 

I'm trying to learn but whew!  it's a workout!  I could barely make it around the block, huffing and puffing.  They say in-line skating works muscles in your legs that you never knew existed!

I can roller fall pretty well :-)   I haven't tried that in a while.  Since I go roller blading once in a blue moon I usually take a while to get used to doing it again.  I start out going slow and staying near the wall (at the rink) or near a rail or something outdoors. After about 30 minutes I get the hang of it.  I seem to remember my lower legs being pretty sore after doing it so I know I was getting a work out.

It took me about a week to learn and I still haven't perfected it yet... But as long as you keep at it and keep trying - you'll get it eventually...