May 2023 Practice Schedule
May the force be with us.
Hehe okay that’s enough Star Wars. Let’s talk about skating!
So much to go over! Switching edge and finding our groove are our main focuses this month. We are working on edges, 3 turns, building strength to control our body lines, knee bend, and so many fun skills within our choreography!
Below is my recommended workout and practice schedule for April 2023.
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Week 1: 3-Turns
DRILLS 11 (static turns — 2-3 days this week)
held-open 3-turn (Use your freeleg to help you turn)
Extra Credit:
strong outer forward edges
c-step
traveling turns
inner forward 3-Turn
If you don’t know what a 3 turn is, it’s the first one foot turn that we learn in roller skating. We use it to turn from forward to backward and backward to forward while switching edge. What I mean by this is that if you enter the turn on an outer forward edge, you will ideally exit the turn on an inner back edge. I say “ideally” because you can get away with doing a 3 turn on a flat (non-edge), but a technical 3-turn does indeed switch edge. Hence the name! Draw a 3 on whatever surface you have near you. That’s the exact pattern of your turn!
We will be starting off-skates to learn and drill our 3-turns. I recommend drilling your turns with socks on so that you can get the feeling of “sliding” the turn and feel where the pressure needs to be in your foot without the weight of a skate. If you do this in front of a mirror or camera you can even see where you are pressing down in your foot…pretty cool! In order to do a nice 3-turn, we have to have a stable base, a controlled freeleg, strong core, and proper arm placement. We will be going over all of this in our Drills 11 - Static Turns Video. Static turns are so easy to practice and also very exhausting (the workout sneaks up on us in the best way). I encourage us (yes, myself included) to practice our static turns whenever possible: while cooking, brushing our teeth, waiting in line at the grocery store. Others might think you’re stepping on a bug or putting out a cigarette, but other skaters will know you’re practicing your turns! 😂
Then we will be putting that static turn practice to use with our Held-Open 3-Turn Skills Video. Adding the weight of our skates to the mix is exciting. I recently posted on Instagram about skates being heavy. Let’s not forget that! We are truly lifting weights every time we lift our foot with a skate attached to it. Good job!!! The “held-open” portion of this skill’s title means that our freeleg is along for the ride and assisting us in our actual turn. We will be stretching the freeleg in back and then using the weight of it like a pendulum to bring our turn around. You can do a 3-turn many different ways with various freeleg positions, but I highly recommend learning this way first because it will teach much needed technique for the future…plus it makes us sooo strong…and it’s really pretty! All wins!
Because we need to have control over our edges to correctly execute a 3-turn, I do recommend checking out the Strong Outer Forward Edge Skills Video. It’s a great one to re-visit over and over again. And this one may seem a little strange, but I also recommend checking out the C-Step Skills Video. The c-step is a really fun dance/rhythm move that uses our inner back edges to draw a C on the ground. Well guess what! That’s the second half of our forward to back 3-turn (or the bottom of the 3). Cool, right?! Solid 3 turns will lead us into so many fun things in skating. They can take a while to start to feel comfortable, so please be patient with yourself. Good things take time! For those of you who are feeling confident in your turns, please check out the Traveling Turns Skills Video as well as the Inner Forward 3 Turn Skills Video. One-foot turns are one of my favorite things to do and to teach, so please let me know if you want or need any extra guidance!
Where to find these videos:
Drills 11 - Drills & Workouts page [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Held Open 3-Turn - Skills page (turn section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Strong Outer Forward Edges - Skills page (edges section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
C-Step - Skills page (edges section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Traveling Turns - Skills page (turn section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Inner Forward 3-Turn - Skills page (turn section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Week 2: LET’S GROOVE
Choreography (Beginner/Intermediate & Advanced)
Extra Credit:
downtown (we have a few variations)
Bunny hop (to get used to those toe stops)
Crazy Legs
toe Manuals
You can never go wrong with Earth, Wind & Fire! If you are ever in need of instant skating rink session vibes - Let’s Groove by Earth, Wind & Fire is a must! I originally made this choreography in 2020. Yes, all the way back when it felt like the world was collapsing in on us and we all turned to roller skating to find our way out. Oh thank goodness we did! No matter what level you are, choreography is for you. And no, you do not need to be a dancer. In fact, no dance experience is required. Choreography is a tool that helps us connect moves and get out of our heads while having some fun!
Choreography is broken up into Beginner/Intermediate and Advanced. We’re going to take it a step further and break it into two parts and go over Part 1 this week. This song is quick, but don’t let that fool you. You can take as many beats as you want. Take your time and find your groove. That’s what it’s all about! Our Beginner/Intermediate Choreography starts with alternating lifting our heels and toes to move us across a surface. We will then be doing a downtown back to where we started. This method of alternating the lifting of our heels and toes helps us to get comfortable with our one foot turns. It is the same method used when “hopping” turns. If you want a little extra work beyond the choreography with your “Downtown”, we have a few different skills videos on that (linked below). And if you want to take your downtown a step further, work on your singular crosses in front and cross behinds. You can find those videos below as well.
Our Advanced Choreography starts with using our toe stops to hop around a bit and then gets into some quick crazy legs! So much fun! If you don’t usually wear your toe stops, that’s okay. All of this can be done without toe stops. But if you want to get comfortable skating with them in, this is a great piece of choreography to practice. Many people ask how I am able to do so many different toe skills while wearing toe stops. It’s easy…let me explain. When we skate on our toes, our weight shouldn’t be so far forward that we would hit our toe stop. Practice balancing on on your axis, the part of your plate that connects your two front wheels. Being able to balance on that axis will open the doors to being able to wear your toe stops all the time. Toe stops are a tool. You don’t need them, but they sure are fun and helpful when used correctly.
Where to find these videos:
Let’s Groove (Beginner/Intermediate) - Choreography page [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Let’s Groove (Advanced) - Choreography page [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Downtown - Skills page (dance section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Downtown (Flow) - Skills page (dance section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Bunny Hop - Skills page (toe stops section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Crazy Legs - Skills page (dance section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Toe Manuals - Skills page (heel-toe section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Week 3: ROCKOVERS
DRILLS 10 (Body line control —2-3 days this week)
Edge rockover (aka slalom or zig zag)
Extra Credit:
Inner Back 3-Turn
Backward cross pull
outer forward edge
Inner forward edge
Alright, so we know what outer edges are, we know what inner edges are, but how do we get from one to the other? Rockovers!! If you have ever watched me warm up, edge rockers are the first thing I do when I get my skates on and gain some speed. If you’re not yet comfortable skating on one foot, that’s okay. You can do edge rockovers with both feet on the ground. These are also sometimes called a slalom or zig zag. They are a great way (the best way in my opinion) to get your knees warmed up and get used to a skating surface quickly.
Our feet are very important for an edge rockover, but we can also use our body to help! We often talk about “lines” in dance and skating. “Lines” describe our limbs and the way we move them through the space around us. We also have a “body line”. We use our body like a line to control the angle and presentation of our skating. If you take a picture of a skater skating on an edge, you want to be able to draw a line all the way down the body: from shoulders to hips to knees to the skate. This line may be angled to represent the angle of the edge, but you want your body parts to line up. You don’t want a zig zag line (although zig zag is another name for the skill we are building up to lol). To get our bodies used to this technique and feeling, I have developed some drills. We will be going over Drills 10 to build up our body line control. When you are going through these drills, please be aware of how tight and still you can keep your core. The center of our body keeps us stable so that we can focus on all the fun stuff happening above and below.
Now to the actual rockover. When stepping onto a new surface (a tennis court, skating floor, or street, etc), it is hard to know what to expect. Is it slippery, tight, or rough? Edge rockovers are a great skill to get comfortable with to quickly adapt to any new surface. Digging into edges puts the surface and your wheels to the test. Switching from one edge to the other may seem simple, but there is a lot of technique to talk through to make it comfortable and consistent. Consistency is key with so much in life and our edges are no exception. This skill will develop your knee bend, outer edges, inner edges, and body control all in one. You may see skaters do these edge rockovers very quickly, flipping from one edge to the other in a millisecond. While that’s fun, I want us to really dig into the edges and hold them, taking our time with the rockover. Think soft waves. These rockovers are also a lot more than a great warm-up, we use them in so many different skills without thinking about it. 3-Turns for example! And in reality, just about every one-foot turn!
One of the most fun 3-turns to do once comfortable with edges and rockovers is the Inner Back to Outer Forward 3-turn and we have a Skills Video on it! For those of you who have been working on this turn for a while, you’re probably laughing at my use of the word “fun”, but I seriously love this turn! It is super fun to practice it out of a backward cross pull. If you look back at just about any video of me skating on a large surface, you will spot this turn out of a cross pull. I like to swing my freeleg around like I’m entering a salchow jump. If you give this a go, remember to push your booty out a little as you turn and kind of crunch your abs forward. It helps a lot! And of course, please continue working on your edges. If you haven’t watched the Inner Forward Edges Skill Video in a while, check that out. The Music For A Sushi Restaurant Footwork is a beautiful piece of footwork to practice those big flowy inner forward edges and so much fun! Please play with that and let me know how it’s going. I’m here to help!
Where to find these videos:
Drills 10 - Drills & Workouts page [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Edge Rockover - Skills page (edges section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Inner Back 3-Turn - Skills page (turn section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Backward Cross Pull - Skills page (edges section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Outer Forward Edges - Skills page (edges section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Inner Forward Edges - Skills page (edges section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Week 4: stay groovy
CHOREOGRAPHY (Beginner/Intermediate & Advanced)
Extra Credit:
Two foot spins
Heel manuals
Toe Pivots
Moonwalk
Into Part 2 of our Choreography and so many fun skills to talk about! Hopefully you’re finding your groove to this song. If not, keep bouncing those knees and continue to feel free to take as many beats as you want.
To finish off our Beginner/Intermediate Choreography we will be using our toe stops (if you have them in) and using our body to dance around a bit. We will finish it off with a two-foot spin. I want to talk a little about using our bodies while on skates. I feel like a lot of people are afraid to move their bodies out of the axis. For example, leaning forward or to the side or lifting your arms up and waving them around may seem like a bad idea while trying to balance on wheels. It doesn’t have to be and I would love to teach you how to do all of this safely. I tend to trick people into getting comfortable with this in choreography (cue nice but slightly evil laugh muahaha). The secret is…bent knees and a tight core. Always. Dancing on skates is soooo much fun and is totally possible. Let me guide the way. 🤍
Our advanced choreography starts quick and strong and ends even quicker and ever stronger. I’m not gonna sugar-coat it. This one is very fun but tough, so buckle up! There’s a lot happening. In the second half, we will be doing an optional quick heel-toe spin into some heel balancing. Just like I mentioned in the advanced portion of our first half in Week 2, to balance on our heels, we have to find the balance point on our axis that connects our two heel wheels. This takes some time, so try it out little by little and remember to push that booty back to help you balance. But we’re not stopping there. We are also going to do a back pivot and a moonwalk to finish things off. I told you there was a lot happening! So many skills to play with! Please take one step at a time and please let me know if you have any questions at all!
Where to find these videos:
Let’s Groove (Beginner/Intermediate) - Choreography page [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Let’s Groove (Advanced) - Choreography page [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Heel Manuals - Skills page (heel-toe section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Toe Pivots - Skills page (toe stops section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Moonwalk - Skills page (dance section) [Link: Roll With Me , On-Demand, YouTube]
Keep in touch about how you’re feeling. Know that I am right here, practicing all of these things alongside you. And remember to submit your progress for our community progress video! It doesn’t matter how new or experienced you are in skating, it is very important for all of us to stay consistent with our drills and practice. I am here to help with technique, movement, and most importantly with motivation.
What was your favorite part of this month? What was the hardest for you? What kept you going when you wanted to quit? Leave a comment! If you are practicing on instagram, please tag me and #quadsociety! I love to see and share your progress! Lastly, don’t forget about the wonderful community on the Discord. Everything is better with friends!
