Beginner roller skating
Arms Swing, Shoulders Stay Still
The arm swing has a limit, and it is the shoulders. A certified coach says: do not twist your torso or rotate your shoulders from side to side. Chest and shoulders stay locked straight ahead, so all the force of the swing goes forward into stride power, none of it sideways into wasted energy. Swinging arms on a still frame is it. Technique from ICP-certified coach Asha Kirkby.
There is a way of swinging the arms that looks energetic and slows you down. The arms move, and the shoulders and chest go with them, twisting left and right with every stride.
A certified coach draws the line at the shoulders: do not twist your torso or rotate your shoulders from side to side. Chest and shoulders stay locked straight ahead, pointing where you are going, while the arms swing underneath them.
The reason is where the force goes. Every push is meant to travel forward into stride power. A rotating torso sends part of it sideways instead, and sideways energy is simply wasted — it does not move you along the road, it just moves you around your own spine.
Swinging arms on a still frame is the whole skill. If you are not sure whether your shoulders are moving, film yourself from the front for a few strides: a still chest and busy arms is right, a chest that swings like a pendulum is the fault.
Technique from Asha Kirkby of Skatefresh, an instructor certified by the Inline Certification Program. She teaches inline skating, and that is the discipline this page is about.
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