Fancy stuff, this roller derby!
If you've made it a month, chances are good that you will continue to stick it out and pass your skills. Roller derby is a lot of mind over matter. A lot of it is mental game. Take skating backwards, for instance: the whole idea of moving backwards on wheels is a terrifying concept. If you break it down and figure out the mechanics, while giving yourself a few safeguards to make it less frightening such as looking behind you, it's not as daunting. Let's start at the beginning.
Holding onto the wall, we worked on transitions. We talked about opening the door and closing the door, by leading with one foot and opening our body up to the world, then closing back up to complete a 180 degree turn. That is a very broken-down version of a transition. This is easy to demonstrate as a concept by having girls put their hands palms together, then opening their arms up like they are going to give someone a hug, then going back to putting their palms together. The same thing happens with your legs from a standing position. Don't overthink it, don't look down at your feet (I tell girls not to look at their bumper when they drive), and don't freak out. It's a simple movement that should feel fluid. Once it's comfortable on one side, try the other side. Once both sides feel comfortable, try jumping to face the other way and skip the stepping. Always start with turning your head to face the direction you want to go. Keep your knees bent in derby stance.
Once you have transitioned to skating backwards, the real freakout happens! OMG! I'M SKATING BACKWARDS! PANIC! J/k. Don't panic. At any time to slow down, all you have to do is put your toe stops on the ground and you will stop.
To pick up momentum while skating backwards, it is helpful to lead with your ass and keep your weight on your heels. If you are new to skating backwards and are starting from a standstill, you can try the "marching approach." This video is a good demonstration of such. Notice that her knees point in and her heels kick up and out to the sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZxFvpSzZMc
We worked on crossovers in a forwards direction, concentrating on the push we were giving with that right leg before it crossed over our left leg. We tried to keep our right leg on the ground as long as possible before it came up off the ground, while still maintaining good form of our weight being evenly distributed on our left side, shoulder over hip over knee over toe.
If you've made it a month, chances are good that you will continue to stick it out and pass your skills. Roller derby is a lot of mind over matter. A lot of it is mental game. Take skating backwards, for instance: the whole idea of moving backwards on wheels is a terrifying concept. If you break it down and figure out the mechanics, while giving yourself a few safeguards to make it less frightening such as looking behind you, it's not as daunting. Let's start at the beginning.
Holding onto the wall, we worked on transitions. We talked about opening the door and closing the door, by leading with one foot and opening our body up to the world, then closing back up to complete a 180 degree turn. That is a very broken-down version of a transition. This is easy to demonstrate as a concept by having girls put their hands palms together, then opening their arms up like they are going to give someone a hug, then going back to putting their palms together. The same thing happens with your legs from a standing position. Don't overthink it, don't look down at your feet (I tell girls not to look at their bumper when they drive), and don't freak out. It's a simple movement that should feel fluid. Once it's comfortable on one side, try the other side. Once both sides feel comfortable, try jumping to face the other way and skip the stepping. Always start with turning your head to face the direction you want to go. Keep your knees bent in derby stance.
Once you have transitioned to skating backwards, the real freakout happens! OMG! I'M SKATING BACKWARDS! PANIC! J/k. Don't panic. At any time to slow down, all you have to do is put your toe stops on the ground and you will stop.
To pick up momentum while skating backwards, it is helpful to lead with your ass and keep your weight on your heels. If you are new to skating backwards and are starting from a standstill, you can try the "marching approach." This video is a good demonstration of such. Notice that her knees point in and her heels kick up and out to the sides.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZxFvpSzZMc
We worked on crossovers in a forwards direction, concentrating on the push we were giving with that right leg before it crossed over our left leg. We tried to keep our right leg on the ground as long as possible before it came up off the ground, while still maintaining good form of our weight being evenly distributed on our left side, shoulder over hip over knee over toe.
No comments:
Post a Comment