Every skater is different and so are the styles of skating. Some people have a fast, explosive skating style, others have a style that is more smooth and comfortable. Learning the right skating style can be the difference between getting noticed and being obscured.
A skater’s style is a personal choice, but it is something that influences every aspect of their skating. The way you approach the sport will influence the way you skate. There are certain basic tips to help you achieve a better skating style, at least without overdoing it.
What’s a Skater’s Style?
A skate-style describes the way a skater likes to skate. Skate styles can be widely divided into two categories: street skating to do tricks on pavement and skateboarding as a way of transportation.
While there may be some difference in the methods used by each category of skaters, the main thing they have in common is that both involve lots of turns and sharp turns. Every skater will need to learn how to skate in both ways. If you’re still at the crossroads when it comes to choosing a style, here are some tips that can help.
1. Figure Out What Type Of Skating You Like
First, you need to figure out what kind of skating style you like. If you are into speed and crashing into the boards a lot, then you probably want to consider playing ice hockey, or even ice skating. You can find a number of skating videos online that will show you how to skate in these three styles. Ice hockey players tend to have shorter strides than their ice hockey counterparts and this will help you get more power on your jumps.
In contrast, if you love to play a smooth style of skating, you should learn about indoor and outdoor skating. These are styles of skating that involve high steps and low pivoting movements.
The difference is that with indoor and outdoor skating, you don’t have as much room to turn and make sharp, quick turns. Sites like Inboard Skate can keep you abreast with what other skaters are up to, their product choices, and new techniques you might want to try out.
2. Start Small, Explore What You’re Comfortable With
Most people assume that in order to do tricks on a skateboard, the skater needs to be on all fours. This is not always the case. A good way to see if a skater can master a particular style is to ask them to do a trick that only requires them to turn their upper torso while remaining on all fours.
Often, this will help the novice skater see if they are leaning too far forward or too far back when doing these types of tricks. A good way to determine if a skater can master a particular skating style is to see how they execute it when racing down a ramp. Going to NY skateparks can be a great exercise and an opportunity to meet good skaters that can teach you some new tricks.
3. Learn To Control Your Board
The first thing that novice skaters should learn is how to control their boards. This involves being able to lift the board with one hand and to keep it under your body with another. When performing these kinds of tricks, a rider loses most of their control because they are concentrating on the turn they are making.
It is important for the beginner skater to learn how to control his board. This comes naturally as the rider will be learning more tricks on the skateboard once he/she has more control over it. Once the rider has mastered this important aspect of skating, he can start to focus more on other aspects of his tricks.
4. Learn How To Land Well
Another thing that a beginner should learn is how to land well. This is an important element of a skater’s skating style. For example, a great landing would be one that is smooth and low. The best landing would be one that allows the rider to maintain good control while making a sharp turn. This combination of different techniques should be learned as the rider progresses on the skating ladder.
5. Practice Balancing
One other technique that should be taught to any skater is to make sure that when performing backflips, the foot on the platform must be lifted from the ground. This is so that the skater can maintain a good balance while doing the trick. In addition, these lifts should be performed very quickly in order to be safe.
6. Copy From More Experienced Skaters
Another good method for achieving a skater’s skating style is to watch experts closely and imitate what they do. An example would be to look at how a skater turns on the skateboard and what type of movements he uses. You may notice that he is almost always facing the other way when doing this maneuver.
This is a common way for a skater to turn. However, you may also see that another skater does the opposite. One of the best ways to learn is to copy from what ore experienced people do, but as you do that, don’t forget to put your own unique twist to it.
If you want to be a professional or at least a good amateur skater, it is very important that you watch other skaters closely. Try to observe how they turn, land, and perform other tricks. By observing well, you should be able to pick out the things that are unique about each skater and try to do the same. In this way, you will have a good idea of your own skating style and will be able to use it in your tricks and routines.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a professional or a beginner, no matter what your age is, it’s important to identify your own skating style. The great thing about these styles is that they all share a similar characteristic. They all need smoothly flowing movement, they all have great agility, balance, and overall body strength.
Some of them even have specialized movements for easier turns. Even though there are many different types of skating, they all share the same goal – to have good balance and good control over each turn. So once you figure out which type you’d like to concentrate on, you can begin to focus on improving your own skating style.