If
you thought that inline skating was just about gliding at a leisurely
pace through the park or along the boardwalk, then you obviously
haven't been keeping up to date with extreme sports. While
rollerblading can be a gentle activity – about as much exercise as
going for a walk – there are lots more exhilarating ways of going
skating if you are looking for thrills and a heart-pounding workout.
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You've
probably seen rollerbladers performing the same sorts of tricks that
you expect to see on skateboards and with free runners. This is known
as aggressive rollerblading, where the focus is on performing
spectacular moves, such as spins and grinds. You will see skaters
spending their time defying gravity as they fly through the air.
While it's not for everyone, aggressive skating has a huge following,
and it's guaranteed to get your adrenaline running.
If
aggressive rollerblading interests you, there are two different types
that you can try. Street skating, which is also called freestyle
skating, uses the urban environment as the stage. Street skaters jump
down flights of stairs, grind down rails, and leap over obstacles at
high speed. In many ways, street skating has a lot in common with
other extreme street sports, such as parkour.
If
street skating seems just a little too much for you – and it can be
pretty intense – then you can try park skating. As the name says,
this form of aggressive rollerblading takes place at the skate park,
with skaters focusing more on technical tricks than on the freestyle
moves seen in street skating. Not only do they try to perfect
individual tricks, they try to connect them together into a fluid
series of moves known as a line. This can include tricks on features
such as pipes and curved ramps, which just don't exist in a street
environment. If you are looking to try park skating, ask around for a
good park – the best parks have a flow to them, and have good lines
that make it easier and more enjoyable to perform tricks.
Of
course, if you are going to perform all those tricks, slides and
grinds, a regular in-line skate just isn't going to do the job. What
you need is a pair of aggressive
rollerblades,
which are specifically designed to take all the impacts and strains.
Not only are they tougher in general than regular skates, they also
have specific features designed for aggressive skating. For example,
the frames are specifically made so that skaters can grind on them,
and some include grind plates. Street variants may also omit the
inner two wheels, giving a huge area for grinding.
As
well as aggressive rollerblading, there are a number of other types
of in-line skating that you can try. For example, freestyle slalom
skating is incredibly technical and involves performing tricks as you
weave around cones that are laid out in a line. Vert skating is
another variant, and is basically park skating on steroids –
skaters perform acrobatics as they zoom up and down the sides of a
half pipe, carrying out complicated aerial stunts such as spins and
flips that can take them 10 feet above the sides of the pipe. There
are also inline sports that mirror traditional winter sports, such as
hockey, speed skating and off-road skating – this last one is
basically the equivalent of cross-country skiing on rollerblades.
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Whatever
type of inline skating appeals to you, it's incredibly important to
take the right safety precautions, otherwise the sport can be
hazardous. According to the US
Consumer Product Safety Commission,
there are slightly more than 400,000 rollerblading and skateboarding
injuries every year. However, given that over 11 million Americans
are into these sports, that means that you have a less than one in 20
chance of getting injured in any given year – and most of these
injuries are preventable. Buy quality skates that fit you properly
and support you, so that you avoid injuries like twisted ankles –
and make sure you keep them in good working order. Also, it's
inevitable that you're going to fall from time to time, so learn how
to fall without hurting yourself – if you don't know how to do
this, ask someone that does. And of course, proper protective gear is
essential, starting with a helmet that meets or exceeds government
safety standards. Other things you will want are quality wrist
guards, along with knee and elbow pads. If any of this protective
gear gets damaged, replace it – it's already done its job.
