Lesson 3

Lesson number three was rewarding. I had a lot more balance and confidence. My feet didn't hurt as much as in the beginning. There seems to be banter in our group and many jokes making the lesson interesting.

Having a lesson indoors is generally less daunting as there aren't people staring or cars trying to pass.The heat on Saturday was suffocating and we were therefore craving a breaze to dilute the extreme weather. The lesson was focused on practising our A-frame turns, the heal stops from the previous lesson and learning, or should I say teaching us the theory of, the parallel stop. It looks to easy when skaters do a scissor turn. The clue lies in the fact that your upper body turns to the direction of the turn, your inside leg slightly forward in a scissor.

I'm so eager to master the parallel turn. This week I'm going to buy my own inline skates and padding as my rental skates are due back on Saturday.

Lesson 2!

During the week I tried practising a few of the tips we had learned at the course. I fell a lot. I think the reason for this was mostly the little cracks and rough cement I tried to skate on.

Lesson 2 was fun. I had a lot more confidence. We were shown how to do an A-frame turn and how to stop. The stop is made up of three phases. The scissors, moving the right foot in front of the other and whilst straightening it ,placing the heal on the ground. Your weight should be shifted to the middle. I still need a lot of practise with the stop. I seem to bend forward instead of keeping my back straight.

I hope to practise more this week to make the most of my lessons.

Learning to skate!

A few weeks ago I found a website offering inline skating classes in London. I decided to face my fears and sign up for a four week beginners course. I had no idea what to expect. Instead of spending time worrying about it I just went to see what the first lesson would turn out to be like.

It was rather scary at the beginning. I felt like I had no control over the movements under my feet and had no idea what I should be doing. However, the instructors were extremly helpful. Firstly I was shown how to put on the inline skates and the protective gear. The second step was helping me on my feet. Kneeling, with only one knee on the floor, both hands on the bent knee and leaning forward I pushed myself up. It sounds so simple. Let me tell you how daunting it can be. I had no idea whether to lean forward or back. Slowly I did a bit of a duck walk. My feet pointing outwards in a V-format. One step at a time. Then gradually the first strides started.

The lesson focused on how to fall safely, how to do a simple stride and doing an A-format glide.

By the end of the two hour lesson my arches in my feet were aching and I was utterly exhausted.