Roller Skate Tricks For Beginners – How To Get Started So You’re On A Roll
When you’re getting started out with roller skating, one of the most exciting things is learning new tricks. It can be so satisfying to land a new trick and show it off to your friends. There are so many tricks available to roller skaters, so it can be kind of intimidating when you’re first starting out. Sometimes, the tricks we are exposed to when we first start out aren’t the ones that we should really be starting with on our own. When I started roller skating, I gawked at the skaters I saw on Instagram, knowing I would attempt their feats of gravity and then ultimately fail because, let’s face it; I wasn’t ready yet. Like with anything, learning roller skate tricks comes with a progression. So, when you’re a beginner, you really should be mastering those foundational roller skate tricks so you can progress on to bigger and cooler stunts.
Alright, alright, maybe I’ve convinced you not to tackle the bowl at the skate park right away or not attempt hurricane kicks as your first trick. But what should beginners be tackling? Well, don’t worry! You’ve come to the right place. In this article, I’m sharing three roller skate tricks beginner skaters should master before moving on. Read along for your official beginner trick list!
Shoot the Duck
This was the first trick I learned and I was SO excited when I finally stuck it every time. I feel like this trick is such an impressive one to learn when you’re first starting out because it definitely looks like something if you know what I mean. When working your way up to shooting the duck, practice first by squatting while rolling to gain stability. You’re going to want to squat ALL the way down, and when I say all the way, I mean all the way. To make sure you’ve got the right shooting the duck form, make sure your knees are together at least to the point that they’re between your elbows. Once you’re comfortable rolling so close to the ground, it’s time to take it up a notch. Start by lifting the front wheels of your non-dominant skate up. You can use the sheer power and strength of your thighs, or you can reach your hand out and grab your toe stop to lift the wheels up (what I do). At this point, you should be balancing most (if not all) your weight on your dominant leg while still maintaining that good deep squatting form. Once you’re ready, bring that non-dominant leg up all the way. You’re shooting the duck, my friend! And you look super cool doing it.
Once you’ve perfected this trick, a world of opportunities opens up to you. Impressive tricks like coffin and grinding while shooting the duck are pretty badass and all come from foundational skills built after learning to shoot the duck. Plus, there are TONS of cool variations of the trick itself that you won’t get bored doing it super quickly. I’m hoping that by sharing this trick, you can also feel like a badass while shooting the duck.
Bubble Variations
I know what you’re thinking, “bubbling isn’t really a trick.” But here’s my case that it is: It can be difficult, requires concentration, can look cool, and hosts a world of tricks that rest on the shoulders of bubbling. This trick is absolutely fantastic even if you don’t know how to skate in first place. Bubbling is great because it teaches you how to lead with each foot as well as alternate your weight onto each of your feet so you can get comfortable balancing on one foot over time. Like other beginner tricks, there are TONS of variations to explore when it comes to bubbling. Play around with weaving your legs, the way you’re weaving your legs, lifting particular wheels off the ground, etc. This trick is all about figuring out ways you can work on gaining more control on roller skates. Because it can seem pretty foreign at first, roller skating takes getting used to, and that getting used to process is all about learning to take control of the wheels beneath your feet. Once you’ve got that control down, a world of possibilities opens up to you and is available for you to learn, so don’t knock working on bubbles until you’ve consistently worked on bubbles.
Jumps
Oh,so you want to do… pretty much literally anything cool on roller skates. Well, you’re going to need to put the time in to becoming a jump master. This isn’t as easy as it may seems. Getting used to jumping on skates is one thing, but mastering every which way you can jump is another, much more difficult thing. Unfortunately, that much more difficult thing is necessary in order to move on to more complex, impressive tricks. Set aside some time and imagine yourself in a cool roller skate jumping montage because you’re about to put in a lot of work. Jumping is exhausting and requires more strength and control than many people consider. When learning to jump any way, you’ll want to invision your body as a spring. Feel the flow of motion throughout your body and allow it to be one continuous, flowy movement. With this type of motion, you can avoid having a perilous fall once your skates make contact with the concrete again. Start out learning each jump variation in place first (and even in place on grass), this way, you can ease yourself into getting the motion down pat. Once you’ve mastered your stationary jumps, it’s time to get moving. Literally, work up your speed and practice your jumps over and over and over and over again at increasing speeds until you pretty much have that jump down and can pull it out of pocket whenever.
Some different jump variations include forward, backwards, 180 F to B (on the left and right), 180 B to F (on the left and right), one footed variations on each side, one foot jumping to the other on each side and other variations, etc. etc. etc. My biggest piece of advice is to spend so so much time on jumps. Seriously, you will not regret how far it will take you. So many of the coolest tricks you can accomplish on skates in and out of the park come from knowing how, and really knowing your jumps on roller skates.
Learning roller skate tricks? We hope this article helps you out! Let us know if you have any other beginner trick ideas in the comments below!