How to Rollerblade

Finding Your Balance

Wear proper safety equipment. Put on a helmet and some knee and elbow pads to protect yourself from bumps, bruises, and scrapes. New skaters who are just starting out will also want to get a pair of wrist guards, which will allow you to break your fall without hurting yourself. Keep your safety gear (especially your helmet) on the entire time you’re skating.

Strap on a pair of rollerblades. Slip your feet into the boots and press the tongue of the skates up against your lower shins. Pull the adjustable straps across the front of the boots and through the buckles on the opposite side. Tighten the skates until they fit snugly but comfortably. If the skates wobble or slide around on your feet, they’re too loose. If they feel rigid or they’re cutting off your circulation, they’re too tight. Make sure you’re wearing skates in the correct size. Most skates are sized just like sneakers and other types of shoes.

Stand up. Use a nearby object like a wall or chair to help you get to your feet. If there’s nothing around to use for assistance, pull one foot up under you and place both hands on the ground in front of you. Climb to your feet one at a time, being careful not to lose your balance. Be careful not to let your feet roll out from under you. Practice standing up on grass or carpet before you make the jump to concrete. The plush surface will help steady the skates.

Place your feet shoulder-width apart. Once you’re upright, assume a stance similar to how you ordinarily stand. Stay right on top of the wheels and don't let your ankles lean one way or the other. Your toes should be pointed straight ahead—if they happen to stray inward or outward while you’re skating, your legs will move with them and you’ll fall down. Balancing successfully on rollerblades is all about constantly making small adjustments with your feet and ankles to stay poised over the wheels. Pay attention to where your feet are at any given time. Remember: you’ll go in whatever direction your skates are pointed.

Practice leaning, pivoting, and crouching. This will help you get used to the kinds of movements you’ll be using later to turn and generate speed. Bend your knees slightly and keep your hips and ankles nice and loose. Once you’ve got the hang of a few basic leg movements, try picking up one foot at a time and balancing on one skate. While skating, you want to keep your center of gravity a little lower than when you’re walking around normally.

Getting in Motion

Move to the pavement. When you feel confident, find a flat, level stretch of ground where you have plenty of room to move around. Paved surfaces are ideal for skating, since they allow the wheels to roll smoothly. If possible, set yourself up close to a wall or rail that you can hold onto for balance. Sidewalks, parking lots, and garages all make good places to learn the basics of in-line skating. Make sure there are no pedestrians, drivers or other people around when you’re taking your first steps.

Start walking slowly. Pick up one foot and set it down in front of the other. Then, repeat with the other foot. Take baby steps at first and avoid putting too much weight on each foot until it’s directly underneath you. From here, you can build up to gliding. Challenge yourself to walk from one point to another a short distance away without falling down.

Turn your steps into smooth strokes. Continue putting one foot in front of the other, only now rather than dropping your foot straight down, push it forward and out. Transfer your weight over your leg to begin gliding. Lift your skates just enough to set them down for the next stroke, letting your momentum carry you forward. It can help to turn your back skate at an angle to give you something to push against. By the time you get the hang of gliding, you should barely be picking up your feet at all.

Use your upper body to maintain your balance. On your first few passes, hold your arms out to your sides and make small adjustments when you feel yourself tipping. Once balance is no longer an issue, you can bring them down closer to your sides. When skating at full speed, you'll swing them in an alternating rhythm with the movement of your feet, similar to an exaggerated run. Don't bring your arms up higher than your head or let them cross over in front of your body.

Pick up speed. To accelerate on rollerblades, simply do the same thing you’ve been doing, only faster. Lean your torso forward, bend at the knees, and pump your legs back and forth, gliding over one skate then the other. Remember to keep your skates moving in a slight ‘V’ formation. Only skate with as much speed as you can handle. Remember, it will get more difficult to control your movements the faster you're going. You can also play around with changing the length of each stride. Some skaters use long, smooth leg motions, while others prefer to take lots of short, quick strides to build speed.

Progress at your own pace. For your own safety, don’t try to go too fast right off the bat. Take things slow and easy until you start to get a feel for the movement. With each session you'll find yourself growing more and more comfortable on your rollerblades. Structure your sessions to focus on a single skill or technique. For instance, you might just practice starting and stopping during one session, then work on turning during the next. Try to get a little practice every day, even if it's only for a few minutes at a time.

Learn how to fall correctly. As soon as you feel yourself losing your balance, lean slightly to one side and let your body collapse gradually, keeping your head away from the ground. That way, your butt and thighs will be absorbing most of the impact. Avoid falling straight forward or back, as this could lead to a nasty bump. You won't always see a fall coming, so it's best to be prepared to react quickly. When you’re first learning how to rollerblade, expect to fall down. A lot. Once it happens a few times, your fear will start to fade, and you can concentrate on improving your skills and having fun. Never try to use your arms to catch yourself. There are lots of small bones in your arms that can easily be broken if you happen to land wrong.

Turning and Stopping

Lean your body to steer. Start skating at a safe speed and place your feet side-by-side. Shift your weight over the right edge of both skates to veer to the right, allowing your ankles to flex. To make a left turn, lean to the left. The circular force created by riding the edge of the skates will cause you to change direction with ease. This technique is referred to as an "A-frame turn," and it is the most common steering method used by skaters. Practice wide, gentle turns at first, and tighten them up as you get more comfortable with the motion.

Pick up your feet for beginner turns. If you find it difficult to change direction, you can give yourself a little help by pivoting on the skate that’s on the side you want to go and arching your other skate around to follow its lead. This may feel a little clumsy at first, but it's a good way to work up to smoother high-speed turns when you're first starting out. Lift your back wheels to pivot, not your front ones. You'll have an easier time maintaining your balance that way. When you can pivot with no problem, start tweaking the movement to transfer your momentum into an A-frame turn.

Master the crossover step for sharp turns. Lift one skate and place it just ahead of the other on the far side. Pick up the rear skate and reposition it in the direction you want to go, then push off with your opposite skate. Repeat this motion until you’ve completed the turn. Overlapping your feet makes it possible to take sharp curves and corners quickly. Don’t let your skates run into one another. Since your feet will be crossed momentarily, it can be easy to trip yourself up if you’re not careful.

Practice the basic heel stop. When it comes time to slow yourself, first bring your legs together and stagger them slightly for greater stability. Bend your knees and push the brake skate forward, tilting it back so that the brake scrapes against the ground. Let yourself come to a halt gradually—if you dig in too much, you could lose control. On most rollerblades, the brake will take the form of a small plastic peg on the back of the boot. Some pairs of rollerblades have a single brake, usually on the right heel. Others may have brakes on both heels. Skates designed for extreme sports often have no brake at all.

Work your way up to the “hockey stop.” The hockey stop is a faster, more agile method of stopping used by many advanced skaters. To do it, plant one foot perpendicularly to your body. Bring the other foot around and turn it so that it’s parallel with your back foot. The rapid change of direction will allow you to kill your momentum almost instantly. Most of your weight should be over your front foot, with your upper body leaning back to avoid pitching forward. Both movements need to be done quickly in order to work. Otherwise, you’ll just throw yourself into a spin. The hockey stop is a high-level skating technique. You should already be proficient at gliding, maneuvering and performing normal heel stops before attempting to learn it.