Rollerblading / Inline Skating Tips - Basic stalls and grinds

When you are confident with rolling, turning and stopping (most importantly) it is time to think about how to stall and grind.

Stalling is invaluable when it comes to ramp riding and later on when you're grinding it can get you out of any fix you may get yourself into if you get hooked up (this is when you are grinding along and you hit a bump or sticky patch and your feet decide to stop sliding.

The good thing about this is that you can practice it on pretty much anything. The best thing to do it on is something with a bit of grip, (not waxed) a concrete/wooden edge or metal pole are usually the easiest to find. When you first try this you may want to do it from a grass start and landing point so you don't start to roll away before or after.

Stand perpendicular to the rail/edge (facing it) and step up to it so that you put the weight of you body in between the second and third wheel of your skate, as long as your grind block/plate/frame is slightly touching the surface (not just your wheels) you will find that you have some grip and therefore some degree of control. Don't put your full body weight on one foot in this position! Once you can feel where you want your first foot to land, try to step both your feet onto the edge with your weight 50/50 between both your feet. Keep you feet at least shoulder width apart. When you are happy that you can get up on the edge with both feet comfortably do it for a few seconds and try to balance your weight. Now instead of stepping onto the edge this time, when you start to step, jump and land on the edge both feet at the same time. Once you master this it is time to move up to the next level.

Now try rolling up to an edge/rail that has a hard surface run up so you can roll up stall then roll away. With this harder surface you should be able to jump with both feet at once and land both feet at once.

Do not over emphasise the jump and only jump as high as you need (you only need to lift your feet a few centimetres higher than the edge you are stalling).
Once you have this rolling stall mastered it is time to learn how to grind.
The best way to start to learn how to grind is to find a low pole (say?.. 1 foot high) that slopes down, so you don't need any speed to slide. You can make a pole like this by getting any discarded pole and setting it up on a tall gutter or small wall. Setting it up over grass may take some of the pain out of learning as well. Make sure if you do this to support the pole so it doesn't move, slide or fall while you are on it. The pole must be a good size (approximately the same thickness as a street sign), Steel is best (aluminium bends too easily) if it has never been grinded before you will need to prepare it. Wax, this can be your best friend or your worst enemy. Wax will make the rail/edge 1000% (roughly) faster but it wears off quickly at first then slowly an d will usually last days or weeks (less if the weather is very hot because it will melt off a lso rain that makes the pole rust will reduce the effectiveness of wax). For a beginner it is hard to say the right amount of wax to use. The general rule is "Less is more". As you progress you will learn how much wax you like to use and which tricks are easier if you use different amounts. A good way to test if there is enough is to take your skate off and slide it down the rail with some pressure on it. If there is no resistance you have put too much on. It should feel a tiny bit sticky (this is so you have some control). If you have put too much on you can get some off by rubbing dirt or paper on the rail.
Now to grind.

You can do this from a standing position or from rolling (if you set up over a hard surface) but standing may be easier. Stand sext to the rail and jump onto it as you did before only this time your weight will be slightly forward. (Never STEP onto a waxed rail you will learn really fast that "one foot" grinds are best left until you are more experienced). Now if you can get this done you will find that you will slide down the rail. Stand balanced with your weight 55/45 between your front/back foot. This is called a frontside grind. To get off the grind (DON'T STEP) bend your knees and do a very small jump, with just enough force to get you above the rail and if you have speed this will take you off the end but if you are coming off lean early in the direction you wish to exit the rail (front or back) and step away. From here you will notice that you are more confident with one foot leading more so than the other this is your natural frontside. It is best to practice both but for a beginner just natural will do.

After that practice, practice, practice! When you know you have it try rolling along side the edge/rail and turning your body 90 degrees as you jump onto the rail.

The next step in grinding from there is Backside grinding this is where you facing the rail and you turn 180 degrees so your back is facing the rail and land on it that way and slide. It is best to practice this one from standing first as a backside stall (a handy trick to have on a half pipe) So use your edge/rail set up as before in the frontside stall and stand facing the edge / rail then jump onto it but instead of jumping onto the edge/rail forwards turn you body 180 degrees so you are facing away from it. It may take a little time to get the jump right between your middle wheels (remember to always jump on both feet at the same time). When you are comfortable with this stall try it on a hard surface rolling up to the edge/rail. Once this is achieved you can try the grind. First - practice on the sloped pole so you are confident on the grind. Next roll along side the pole and turn to your natural backside stance on the rail. If you can get that, you have it.