Unfortunately, the rainy season in Hawaii means that we often have to take what we get and become creative when the sky pisses on us. What was meant to be a productive practice turned into some quick review, followed by some skate maintenance when the clouds opened up enough to make the track slick.
Crossovers: We concentrated heavily on what both sides of our body are doing in a crossover. Please watch copious amounts of derby footage and watch as the jammers skate around the track. You will see in proper form that there is a top push and a bottom push. We are aiming to use both legs to maximize our power in each stride.
Backwards skating: Work on the idea of leading with your ass, and looking under your shoulder. It's a sticky skating sort of skill, where your weight is shifting from one leg to the other, leading with your heels. Please continue to look up youtube videos on this important skill. It comes into play in many ways as you build into intermediate and advanced strategy. Keep your legs bent, sitting in your derby chair. As tempting as it is to stand up tall in an attempt to balance, this is actually the worst way to stay in control and prevent falling. You need your center of gravity to remain low in derby and concentrate on working from your core. Hence all of the off-skates core-work.
Transitions: Much like skating backwards, most of what freaks out new skaters about switching from forwards to backwards skating and vice versa is the mental idea of moving into a direction you can't see. This is easily remedied by remembering to lead the motion with your head, shoulders, and hips. If you are already looking the direction you want to turn, you're so close to there that your feet will know what to do. DO NOT LOOK DOWN. Find a spot on the wall or a girl in front of you to look at as you turn... a "spot," per say. This will help you stay grounded and level. Remember to stay low in your center of gravity. Watch the youtube videos on the previous blog post to refresh your memory about starting and finishing posture. Practice makes perfect! If you're really freaked out, get on the grass in your skates or on thick carpeting, and practice that way. You don't have to be rolling to work on this skill, but you do need to eventually be comfortable with rolling and executing the skill.
Wheel Cleaning Demo:
You should clean your wheels and bearings when you notice an excessive buildup of dirt, debris, or if you have been caught in a torrential downpour while skating. If you keep your equipment in good shape, you will rarely need to replace it. It's like maintaining a vehicle.
To clean your wheels and bearings, you will need:
I do not personally advise using canned air, as you can lodge debris further inside of your bearings after you've already done a fine job of cleaning them. If you use citrus cleaner you will need to thoroughly dry your bearings before continuing. This is why I like to use alcohol... does the job, super cheap, dries fast.
The one thing I like to stress is that there are a lot of different techniques and products to clean your wheels and bearings, but there are a few rules of thumb:
DO NOT use WD-40 or acetone. These aren't good choices and can deteriorate your equipment.
DO NOT put your bearings in water or in contact with water. They will rust and seize up.
DO NOT soak your wheels in alcohol. The wheel material deteriorates with prolonged exposure. Only wipe off wheels with alcohol occasionally, like during a bout to remove surface dirt to create more traction.
DO NOT try to take the balls out of your bearings. You will ruin them. Don't do it.
If you follow the above, you'll be able to keep your equipment in good shape for a long time. Bearings are machined metal parts that require some sort of rust remover or solvent to clean them. Water will rust them. Please watch this video for a complete demonstration!
http://youtu.be/XeUyqHCI6Ms
I found another clip that I would like to add on to the skate maintenance talk... about rotating your wheels. Over time, your wheels will "cone" due to a wearing away of the urethane from prolonged use. It's hard to avoid, but you can even out the wear on your wheels by regularly rotating them. Here is a demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elbzA9amtS0
See you next Saturday!
Crossovers: We concentrated heavily on what both sides of our body are doing in a crossover. Please watch copious amounts of derby footage and watch as the jammers skate around the track. You will see in proper form that there is a top push and a bottom push. We are aiming to use both legs to maximize our power in each stride.
 |
| notice how long that "underpush" stays on the ground. 1/2 of her power comes from that stride! |
Backwards skating: Work on the idea of leading with your ass, and looking under your shoulder. It's a sticky skating sort of skill, where your weight is shifting from one leg to the other, leading with your heels. Please continue to look up youtube videos on this important skill. It comes into play in many ways as you build into intermediate and advanced strategy. Keep your legs bent, sitting in your derby chair. As tempting as it is to stand up tall in an attempt to balance, this is actually the worst way to stay in control and prevent falling. You need your center of gravity to remain low in derby and concentrate on working from your core. Hence all of the off-skates core-work.
Transitions: Much like skating backwards, most of what freaks out new skaters about switching from forwards to backwards skating and vice versa is the mental idea of moving into a direction you can't see. This is easily remedied by remembering to lead the motion with your head, shoulders, and hips. If you are already looking the direction you want to turn, you're so close to there that your feet will know what to do. DO NOT LOOK DOWN. Find a spot on the wall or a girl in front of you to look at as you turn... a "spot," per say. This will help you stay grounded and level. Remember to stay low in your center of gravity. Watch the youtube videos on the previous blog post to refresh your memory about starting and finishing posture. Practice makes perfect! If you're really freaked out, get on the grass in your skates or on thick carpeting, and practice that way. You don't have to be rolling to work on this skill, but you do need to eventually be comfortable with rolling and executing the skill.
Wheel Cleaning Demo:
You should clean your wheels and bearings when you notice an excessive buildup of dirt, debris, or if you have been caught in a torrential downpour while skating. If you keep your equipment in good shape, you will rarely need to replace it. It's like maintaining a vehicle.
To clean your wheels and bearings, you will need:
- a safety pin or button with a thin, sharp end (to carefully pop off the bearing covers)
- sewing machine oil (cheap) or quick lube/bearing lube (pricier). Both work the same
- water tight container to agitate dirty bearings in, or fancier contraption as shown
- rubbing alcohol (above 70%) or a citrus degreaser if you're fancy and have some time
- bucket of soapy water (dishwashing liquid okay) to soak wheels (sans bearings)
- towel to set your bearings and bearing covers on
- fingernail brush or old toothbrush (fine wire brush ok, but not too abrasive or you'll wreck stuff) to brush your bearings and wheels if they are super crusty
I do not personally advise using canned air, as you can lodge debris further inside of your bearings after you've already done a fine job of cleaning them. If you use citrus cleaner you will need to thoroughly dry your bearings before continuing. This is why I like to use alcohol... does the job, super cheap, dries fast.
The one thing I like to stress is that there are a lot of different techniques and products to clean your wheels and bearings, but there are a few rules of thumb:
DO NOT use WD-40 or acetone. These aren't good choices and can deteriorate your equipment.
DO NOT put your bearings in water or in contact with water. They will rust and seize up.
DO NOT soak your wheels in alcohol. The wheel material deteriorates with prolonged exposure. Only wipe off wheels with alcohol occasionally, like during a bout to remove surface dirt to create more traction.
DO NOT try to take the balls out of your bearings. You will ruin them. Don't do it.
If you follow the above, you'll be able to keep your equipment in good shape for a long time. Bearings are machined metal parts that require some sort of rust remover or solvent to clean them. Water will rust them. Please watch this video for a complete demonstration!
http://youtu.be/XeUyqHCI6Ms
I found another clip that I would like to add on to the skate maintenance talk... about rotating your wheels. Over time, your wheels will "cone" due to a wearing away of the urethane from prolonged use. It's hard to avoid, but you can even out the wear on your wheels by regularly rotating them. Here is a demo:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elbzA9amtS0
See you next Saturday!
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