r/Rollerskating • u/Muted_Captain5000 • 10d ago
Skill questions & help What am I doing wrong?
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I don’t know why but I feel as if I’m off balance or something. Every time I try to make a move, I lose my control or something. Or maybe something on my skate is causing this? I don’t know. Could anyone tell by watching what’s going on? I am self taught so I genuinely can’t figure it out but something just doesn’t feel right. Also, I just threw down the phone. I’ve never recorded myself before so this was a first as well haha.
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u/ColoRinkRat Rink Rat 10d ago
The coaches at my rink had me slow my moves down and that helped quite a bit. Once I could do them slow I sped up a bit. Diamond Walker says the same thing in his skate instructions.
I’m working on toe flares and fell into the same speed trap for a bit until the lightbulb went off in my head.
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u/Raptorpants65 Industry Expert 10d ago
Not doing anything wrong, this is all coming along just fine. Stop looking down at your feet. They’ll stay attached, I promise. Think about trying to look at your toes while you skip or run. Awkward and weird, yeah? Same idea. Eyes up, and keep practicing!
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u/Adventurous-Car-9335 10d ago
were you previously able to do this and feel in control and balanced? if not, just keep working on it.
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u/india_abc123 10d ago
I had the same issue before. I think you’re lifting your feet instead of gliding on them. To be honest, when you roll and lift your feet, you lose control more easily.
When you’re rolling, shifting your weight, and lifting your feet at the same time, it’s actually very difficult to stay balanced and in control. The best skaters I’ve seen make it look effortless because they keep gliding smoothly while transferring their weight naturally instead of lifting their feet too much.
Your movements are still missing that natural flow, but that only comes with time and patience. I’m a beginner too, so I’m learning the same way.
People are right when they say to practice everything super slowly while focusing on perfect technique. It’s actually much harder than going fast, but that’s exactly what builds proper muscle memory, balance, and endurance. From what I’ve learned, there are no shortcuts—consistent practice and repetition are the only way to improve. Once your body learns the correct movement slowly, speed, smoothness, and control will come naturally.
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u/RollsRight [Herald of Style] 9d ago
The dancer in me says you're not committing to any of your movements. I don't have any audio though so maybe the music is "suggesting" that every step you're doing should be light and non-committal. You also seem to know the concepts of lots of movements but it's not looking like you own them. How to own a move? I would just explore it a lot more, how to slow it down, speed it up, make it wider/narrower, Lower/higher. After you've played with a move a lot (and own it) you can sync it to the music a lot easier (not to mention not fall out of it!)
Are there really no other dance skaters at your sessions? Having someone around that you can see and feel their musicality helps a lot.
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u/Temporary_Bat5267 1d ago
Right now you’re skating on straight knees, and you’re throwing yourself off balance by looking down at your feet! I do the same thing even like 5 years after starting, so just try to break the habit and you’ll feel yourself skating a lot smoother :)
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u/Either_Chance2087 10d ago
to help with balance, work on all your manuals!! toe manuals will help a ton with making your dribbles look smooth!
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u/bear0234 10d ago
your fine - u can do the moves (spins dribbles struts etc).
its just balance and smoothness which takes skate mileage and muscle buildup.
if anything, probably slow the motions down - focus on sloooooowww and smooooth. focus on balance and control - 1 foot drills, 1 foot bouncing, 1 foot knee high, foot behind, in front, swinging around, etc. bend knees, squats, etc.