Beginner roller skating
Pushing Inside a Curve Is Advanced Work
Rolling through a curve is one thing; producing propulsion inside it is another. ICP-certified coach Asha Kirkby grades her toe-roll drill in three levels: balance on centre edges for beginners, steering from the knee bend for intermediates, and, at advanced level, the very hard task of generating propulsion in the curves, which she calls essential for mastering the double push.
Rolling through a curve is one thing. Producing propulsion inside it, so that the curve makes you faster instead of slower, is another, and a certified coach grades them very differently.
Her toe-roll drill has three levels. Beginners hold their balance on centre edges, rolling straight. Intermediates use the direction of the knee bend to steer accurately and control the edge. Both are about staying on the line.
The advanced level is the very hard task of generating propulsion in the curves. The skate is no longer just carried round the bend; it is pushing while it turns, and the coach calls this essential for mastering the double push, the stride technique of speed skating.
So a curve that costs you speed is not a fault at intermediate level; it is the level. Getting speed out of a curve is a skill the coach files at the top of the ladder, and this site does not pretend to teach its mechanics. It marks the step so you know it is there.
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.
Keep going: this is one section of the full Roller Skating for Beginners guide — sizing, gear, stopping, and where to skate, in one page. Free, no sign-up, nothing to buy.