‘’How do you stop while roller skating’’ may be a hard question for a beginner. It doesn’t matter how fast you slide on the track or how cool your style is. If you can’t stop, you will lose the game.
In this article, we will show you all techniques from basic to advanced to be the stop master. Ready to make a breakthrough? Let’s get started!
What Do You Need To Prepare?
Can we start with only one pair of roller skates?
It’s a bad idea. Roller skating is a good sport for your strength, but how can you be healthy if your body is bruised and scarred? Especially if you are a newbie on the roller skates, make sure you wear all the protective gear and save yourself from any severe situation.
The Roller Skates
Like the other roller skating skill, the stop trick also required suitable roller skates. It doesn’t matter how beautiful your shoe is, you only need the proper unit to perform your skill.
These are three main kinds of roller skates: indoor and outdoor, children’s skates and speed skates. Of course, you can pick any model you want, but the right model will be your best friend in skating.
Gear
As we mentioned above, protective gear plays an important role that protects you from any accident. So, what is included in the complete gear set?
These are helmet, knee pads, elbow pads, and wrist guards. All of them should be worn properly and have the right size with your body.
The Helmet
First, the helmet is an essential part that covers your head from any dangerous falls. That’s really important. Keep it in mind, the good helmet is designed to protect both the front and back of the head. So, invest in a suitable helmet as soon as possible.
Knee Pads And Elbow Pads
Most injuries occur when you lose your balance and fall over a rough surface. If you let your knee or elbow collide directly without any protective gear, you will suffer from serious injuries.
Besides, the knee pads not only cover your legs but also turn out to be useful when you want to stop immediately. You can buy knee pads and elbow Pads in any skating store or supermarket. Don’t forget to pick the right size model.
Wrist Guards
Last but not least, the wrist guards also are an important piece of gear protection. Work similar to the knee pads, this piece protects your wrist from scratches and sprain.
These are several models of wrist guards in the market. However, you should choose one that has a soft pad and wicking material.
How Do You Stop While Roller Skating
Frankly speaking, stopping while roller skating is not an easy task as it requires perseverance based on the right technique. Take your time and follow these tricks below to learn more.
Basic Skills for Beginner
At this basic level, you can use your knee pads or toe to stop immediately. Trust me, there is no fabulous technique here, you can promptly master it after a few hours of practice.
Use Your Knee
If you notice, the great knee pads have a thick plastic casing or small metal plate in the front, it is such a break that is used to increase friction for stopping. So, ensure you equip proper safety gear and read this guide carefully.
- At first, you need to control your speed, then slowly lower one leg until it touches the ground.
- Next, lower your body close to the knees to keep balance
- Also, if it is too hard, you can use a clenched fist touching the ground, and don’t forget to keep your finger far from the wheel.
- One more thing, watching your balance instead of using your hand too much. Focus on the feelings and practice this trick as much as possible.
Toe Stop
Besides using your knees, the toe stop can also play a great role when you wanna stop or speed down. Especially, when you run at high speed, the rubber piece will help you stop immediately. Trust me, it’s nothing complicated. We bet you can easily do it after a few practice hours.
- With the toe stop at the back, gently lift your heel and put pressure on it.
- If you break at the top of the skate, down the centre of the body first and, lift your heel and slowly put pressure on the brake.
Besides, you should start at a low speed. Be careful when using the toe stop if you are not good at balance because the foot can be pushed down the floor and damage to your ankles.
Advanced Skill for a Pro Skater
See! These tricks above are straightforward, just based on the break of your gear. Great skaters are always looking for the harder trick, they don’t wanna use too much gear support; that’s why you see they prefer the advanced skill for stopping. Are you ready to be a pro skater? Let’s learn.
Plow Stop Trick
In all honesty, it is a hard trick that requires a lot of effort to have a perfect stopping instead of landing on the butt. If you master this skill, you are the winner in any roller derby. Following this guide below to get your key point.
- The posture
This is the first requirement in any skill you learn. The right position not only helps you control better but also prevents most injury.
Now, you need to widen your stance and bend your knees to lower the centre. The best distance between the legs is slightly wider than your shoulders. - Performing the Trick
It’s time to see your effort. Slowly tilt your toes into the centre while maintaining with the speed. Ensure you do not point too quickly or you will take a painful fall.
Finally, rub the wheels together to increase friction and make a perfect stop.
T-Stop Trick
At last, let’s keep going with the T-stop trick. It will aid you in slow down instead of stopping altogether. You shouldn’t use it as the main stopping method because it will wear the wheel quickly.
- The posture
We can never stress enough the importance of the right position when you roller skate. Just prepare carefully when performing any trick. In T-stop, the first thing you need to do is bend your knees. - Performing the Trick
Don’t try to start with high speed for the first time, just take it one step at a time and go slow. Next, gently lift one foot off the ground and create a T-shaped with the front leg. Focus on your feeling, then put pressure on the outermost wheel to slow down.
Conclusion
How do you stop while roller skating? We bet you’ve got the answer. Take your time and practice hard from basic to advanced skill to become a stopping master. One more thing, don’t forget to wear protective gear when performing tricks of all kinds!
