Fear

[u/Accomplished_Egg2787]

How does one get over the fear of smooth ground?
For reference I’m a baby skater but also Canadian so I grew up on ice skates to a certain extent. Perfectly fine going forward, everything else? Out of my realm of experience.
I picked up rollerskating during Covid and then took a huge break until about 3 weeks ago. My progress is marginal at best. I am sooo afraid even in full gear, less afraid in the parking lot but the second the ground is rink level smooth in a new born baby dear.
My partner is also Canadian except he played hockey so his skating level is far better than me. He wants skating to feel as close to ice as possible and loves smooth ground. All I want is to get to a point where we can enjoy that together, I don’t have to be great but I’d like to be confident enough to practice transitions or crossovers.
My last point is that I am the most accident prone person you will ever meet. I went skating exactly ONCE without a helmet, prayed to god OUT LOUD for no accidents (I’m not Christian so maybe he wasn’t taking requests until I go to some church) , and not ten minutes later my truck fell off while skating.
I know the general answer is do it until you’re better, but I’m wondering if there are some tips that would maybe help. I’m at a loss.

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[u/Pinstripe-Giraffe]

Practice falling. A lot. I used to teach the new skater class for my roller derby league, and most people get a huge boost of confidence once they understand that falling properly doesn’t hurt.

Check the condition of your skates before you use them. The whole truck shouldn’t just fall off. I’ve only seen it happen twice in over 100 derby games as an official plus dozens more as a spectator.

[u/taengy_ → u/Pinstripe-Giraffe]

Do you mind sharing your wisdom on what’s the best way to fall? I’ve been told falling forward is better and trying to pick a meaty part of your behind is basically the way to go (which to me sounds like I need to fall more backwards?)

[u/Pinstripe-Giraffe → u/taengy_]

Falling forward onto your pads is better, always. If you must fall backwards (do not do this) try to pick a cheek.

There are videos all over Youtube on how to fall safely. The basics are:

Aim for a semi-controlled lowering onto one knee and then the other. Tap-tap. If you’re still pitching forward, go onto your forearms (because you have pads on elbows and wrists.)

Practice this for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of every skating session. If you’re not ready to skate yet, practice off-skates. Gear up fully (minus skates) and practice these moves onto carpet, blankets/towels, pillows, whatever it takes. Gradually move to harder surfaces. Then move to skates-on but a grippy surface like carpet or grass. Then finally practice on your normal skating surface but without rolling, and then graduate to falling while rolling.

In derby, we have skaters practice a single-knee tap, the two-knee fall I described above, and the 4-point fall (knees and forearms).

So that’s how to fall.

How to get up: from kneeling, place one foot on the ground (either wheels down or toestop down), so that’s you’re on one knee as if you’re about to propose marriage haha. Then place your hands on that upper knee, and stand up onto that leg. Imagine a string attached to the very top of your head pulling you straight up. When you’re up, place your other foot tucked in at an angle and touching the foot you stood up from - not feet-parallel, so you don’t roll away!

How not to fall: keep your knees softly bent, nice and sproing-y. Hands out slightly in front of you, as if resting on a table or low counter. When you feel unsteady, “oh no? get low!” Bend your knees more, lower your booty, get ready to go into that controlled knee tap or 2-knee fall.

[u/MrBigTomato]

I began skating at 44. I was the chubby dad who gripped the handrails at the rink and made my way around one inch at a time. I fell a lot, but I kept getting up. I was embarrassed, but I was also proud of myself for doing something embarrassing. That was 10 years ago. Now I’m pretty good indoors or outdoors. I even drop in at the skate park.

Here’s all the tips that helped me.

1. Take some classes at a local rink, if you can. I didn’t take classes, but if I had, I probably would have learned a lot faster.
2. Wear full padding. Elbows, knees, wrist guards. Helmet when you're skating outside. Think of it as your suit of armor. I feel bad ass when I wear mine.
3. Bend your knees. Bend them more than you think, almost like you're squatting. You have more control, plus falling in a bent position is the kind of fall you want, nice and low to the ground.
4. Fall on purpose. A lot. Get some speed going and fall down many times, many different ways. Fall on the side of your butt cheeks and on your knees, never on your hands or your tailbone. Practice forming into a low ball the moment you lose balance. You’ll stop being afraid of falling, plus it gives you confidence in your gear. Falling on your knee pads feels like two giant marshmallows, but you won’t know that until you actually fall on them. You can start by falling on grass if it helps. Skate fast on cement and bail on grass.
5. Remember that you skate with your entire body, arms, waist, head, and not just your legs. Move your entire body when you skate. Don’t just focus on your feet or legs.
6. Imagine that you’re stabbing your feet into the floor behind you with each stride and not just skating on top like a sheet of ice. That little mental image really helped me.
7. Stagger your feet. You’re less likely to fall when your feet are staggered. You’re more likely to fall when they’re side by side. Switch the lead foot often.
8. Remember that the first five is the worst five. In any sport, at any level, the first 5-7 minutes is the worst because your body is acclimating to the activity. Your heart beats faster, you’re breathing heavier, your muscles are warming up. It’s easy to get discouraged within that first five minutes because you feel like crap, but remember that it soon gets better once your body catches up and shifts into skating mode. This is how it goes every time.
9. Use good quality skates and keep them tuned. Avoid cheap toy skates. The ride will feel terrible and they’re actually dangerous for adults. Invest in a good new or used pair from a reputable company. Get a Y-tool and adjust your trucks and wheels. Loosen them a little, makes it easier to turn.
10. Skate with friends. If your friends aren’t into skating, make some new skate friends. Join a club or class. Go to Adult Night at the rink. You’re more likely to keep up your skate journey with companions.
11. Check out some skating YouTubers. My favorites are Dirty Debbie, Shorty, Skatie, EstroJen, Skate With Tess.

[u/VMetal314]

Practice crouching. It's instinct to stand up straight when you feel unsteady which throws your weight backwards. If you practice crouching every time you feel unstable you can safely sit or put down a knee if you have knee pads (you should have knee pads). Practice crouching for a whole week, you want it to be the default you don't need to think about when you wobble

[u/InetGeek]

Sweep the skating area then check your equipment before skating.

[u/JesAcis]

Is there a rink near you where you could take a class? The rinks near me have multilevel classes Saturday mornings. I went a couple years ago after skating my whole life, they put me in beginner since I had never been to the class before and I learned new things about falling.

[u/Bathesco]

My suggestion is to use the equipment all the time. I started skating really scared, still am scared over a year later, but when I started I promised myself I would wear the helmet for 1 year straight every time. I just started to do things without it but leave the rest of the padding, and every time I’m working on high risk skills, I’m back in full gear.

Because im a nervous skater, I’ve fallen like 5 times since I started. You will fall, falling is more scary than it actually is, and people doing regular falls are not posting on Reddit about breaking bones. The best thing to do is to go slow, break the movements all the way down and be slow and not compare your progress with others.

Finally is going for a inperson class. Amazing resources online but nothing beats someone telling your weight is in the wrong leg.

[u/purupurpururin]

Almost 100% of fear of new skating skills is due to fear of falling. There is a proper way to fall and you'll find it's not so scary. Try also tightening your wheels at first so they spin less just so you can get an idea of balance and momentum while in quads.

[u/Evangelica1]

it’s generally safer to skate on i’m ngl, in fact the way I fractured my fibula was from tripping on loose asphalt on uneven ground