Inline Skating Technique #2
Stopping
The heel stop is a critical skill for all inline skaters to learn. You employ the brake at the rear of your right skate brake for this stop. Your body weight needs to be centered or even slightly on your back skate when you’re just learning the heel stop. The keys are a straight back and bent knees.
To apply a heel stop:
Move into a staggered stance with your break skate out in front.
Once you feel stable, bend forward at the hips and knees.
Extend your braking skate forward.
Lift your toes up in the front of your braking skate.
Press down with your heel on the brake.
Tip: You may find that you aren’t slowing down enough or not getting enough toe and heel action for braking. This is very common with beginners.
If this is happening to you, you need to get further down in the knees during step #2 when you bend forward at the hips and knees.
You should actually feel it in your quads as you drop further down. When you can feel it in the quads, you’ll get the necessary heel force on your brake to slow down. Remember to keep a straight back at all times.
Drill #1: Static Heel Stop
Practice the heel stop maneuver while standing still on level pavement in an outdoor rink, school playground, or church compound. Perform this procedure until you feel comfortable with it, then move on to the second drill.
Drill #2: Straight Running and Single Heel Stop
The idea behind this drill is to force you to stop on or before the line, but not after the line. This means you need to apply a lot of braking action in a relatively short distance.
To apply a single heel stop after a straight run:
Make a chalked line about 20 feet out from the boards at one end of the rink or from the wall of a school or church.
Stand along the boards of the rink or along the wall of the school or church.
Push off, pick up some speed, and skate towards the line.
Apply a single, heel stop about three feet before the line.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat the drill twenty times.
Drill #3: Straight Running and Multiple Heel Stops
The following drill teaches you to pump your brake until you come to a complete stop on or before the line. You apply less force each time you brake, but brake more often by repeating the braking action up to three times.
To apply multiple heel stops during a straight run:
Make a chalked line about 40 feet out from the boards or wall.
Stand along the boards of the rink or along the wall of the school or church.
Push off and gather quite a bit of speed.
Apply a quick, heel stop about twenty feet from the line.
Return to a staggered stance.
Coast about five feet.
Apply a second, quick, heel stop about ten feet from the line.
Return to the staggered stance.
Coast about five feet.
Apply a third, heel stop, if needed, so you stop completely on or just before the line, but not after the line.
Return to the starting position.
Repeat the drill ten times.
The above drill should appeal to beginners who are having trouble bending deep enough at the hips and in the knees to get the necessary braking action to stop completely after a single, heel stop. You should not depend on just a single, heel stop to bring yourself to a complete stop immediately, especially when skating at higher speeds.
Tip: Instead, use the action from one application of the brake to slow yourself down to a comfortable speed, then ease off the brake and continue to skate. If you want to come to a complete stop, pump the brake a second or third time, as necessary.
06.10.2006. u 15:10 | Prijavi nepoćudni blog | Dodaj komentar