Week 1 - Roller Derby Basics

by Striking Dervish


Week 1 of our boot camp is dedicated to learning how to skate forward with proper form, fall safely, and stop in the first “derby” stop. These elements are essential to learn before anything else, because skating and derby stance are the building blocks for all other derby skills, and we must safely fall and stop throughout training.

Derby Stance

Derby stance is the ideal stance for skating and performing most skills in derby. It ensures proper balance for skating technique as well as (and especially for) taking a hit. Standing straight up on the track is a sure way to get knocked down quickly.
In many things that you do during derby practice, you might find yourself losing balance. Fight the urge to stand straight up to catch your balance. Instead, remind yourself to sit into your derby stance, and you will find your balance much quicker.
For more information about derby stance, including proper form and exercises you can do off skates to work on it, please see The Basics: Derby Stance.

Moving Forward

Watermelons

Watermelons involve leaving all eight wheels on the floor while moving forward. Start by putting your feet in a V shape with heels together. With your weight mostly in the balls of your feet, push your feet outward. Once your feet are approximately shoulder-width apart, pull your feet back inward using your thigh muscles (not by pulling your knees together) until you have reset your feet next to each other. The entire movement should form an oval shape (or watermelon). Repeat the movement, making sure that the feet come back together in between. This position with your feet together is where you will get the power to make the next watermelon. As you get comfortable with the motion, try gaining momentum with several in a row. This can also be practiced at open skates. Don’t forget your derby stance!
The ability to keep up momentum with all eight wheels on the floor becomes especially important when skating within a pack. Making strides by picking up your feet can be a tripping hazard when other skaters are nearby.

One-Legged Glides

The ability to balance on one foot is very important for skating and derby. We practice one-legged glides for this reason.
Make sure to gain some momentum either with watermelons or strides (see below). Once you have some speed, be sure to lean over the base leg before attempting to lift your other leg.
Your knees should remain soft while doing a one legged glide. If you lock out your base leg, you will struggle with balance. Also remember to keep most of your weight in the balls of your feet so as not to fall backward and to keep your core engaged so as not to bobble back and forth.
Speed and leg placement make this skill easier. Make sure you are travelling fast enough before picking up your foot, and hold your knee at hip height to bring the weight of your foot closer to your center of gravity.
You can practice your one-legged glides at open skates. Try to increase the distance you can keep your leg up. You will be tested on the ability to glide for the full length of the track.

Stride

While skating forward normally, you should practice proper form of strides to maximize your pushes forward.
To do so, push your foot down into the floor and back at a 45-degree angle, leaving all four wheels on the floor as long as possible. The stride ends with a slight flick of the foot just off the floor, with the wheel under the big toe being the last to leave the floor.
During the stride, your weight should be over the supporting leg so that it is easy to finish the stride off of the floor with the pushing leg. If you are having trouble with this balance, try pushing with ONLY one foot, thinking of your base leg’s skate as a skateboard.
Finish by bringing the pushing foot back to the starting position so that both feet are together. This is extremely important to find this position between strides in order to get the full push in your next stride.
Again, don’t forget your derby stance! You will get a longer stride the lower you sit into your stance, and therefore, a stronger push forward.  Your knees should never lock out, and your upper body should not move a lot during the stride. While striding forward, your arms should easily move at your sides just like you are walking.
Example of good stride form
From the front:

From the back:

Falling

Falling = Learning

Please try to remember this while you are training. In order to learn new things, you will have to push yourself outside of your comfort zone. That will often involve losing your balance and falling. Even the best roller derby skater falls and will not think less of you for doing so as well. We know it means that you are learning and striving to do so. We practice falling safely for this reason.

Falling Forward

Generally speaking, derby skaters want to fall forward to make use of their knee pads, as opposed to falling backward on unpadded areas. Staying on the balls of the feet while moving forward and staying low (derby stance) will encourage falling forward. See below for specific knee falls that we practice to encourage falling “small” and controlled on the track. When we practice these, we commit them to muscle memory and are less likely to sprawl on the track (safety for all) or fall on unintended body parts (personal safety).

Falling Backward

Sometimes falling backward is unavoidable. If you find yourself falling backward, make a quick decision to PICK A CHEEK! This means trying to fall slightly to one side so that you are landing on your natural butt padding instead of straight down on the tailbone. Remember that staying on the balls of your feet while moving forward will help discourage falling backward. If you find that you are often falling backward, check yourself while skating to make sure that you are not rocking back on your heels.

Practice Falls

One-Knee Fall

The one-knee fall is the first and most basic fall we learn. It involves setting one knee on the floor and using the friction of your knee pad to come to a stop. Proper form involves the following.

• Having both legs at a 90-degree angle. Do not sit back onto your skates!
• Having your shin parallel to the floor. In other words, you should be using the front of your kneepad, not the top.
• Keeping your upper body straight and controlled. This involves tightening your core as you fall. (Think of engaging your abs and squeezing your glutes.)
• Keeping your hands off of the floor. Always, always, always try to keep your hands off the floor so that your fingers don’t get rolled over by another skater.

While you are learning, you might set your hands on your thighs in order to control yourself downward. Eventually, you should build up your thigh and core muscles enough to avoid using your hands and keep them at your sides.
For practicing one-knee falls, be sure to come to a complete stop. You should be able to get up within 3 seconds from the stop for testing purposes. Ideally, you will be:

• Looking around you before getting up (practicing track awareness).
• Remaining stable without bobbling back and forth.
• Pushing upward with your weight over the front skate.
• Avoiding using your hands while getting up.
• Immediately transitioning into skating forward once up.

Please note that setting your front toe stop down can be beneficial for balance when getting up and readiness for getting skating again. We will talk more about toe-stop starts in Week 3.
If you need some extra help in getting up for now, you can put your hands on your front thigh to push downward. You will eventually want to gain enough strength in your core and legs to avoid using your hands. One way to build up this strength is to practices lunges off skates.
Be sure to practice your one-knee falls on both legs!

Double-Knee Fall

A double-knee fall is used when a fall has more momentum than could be handled with a single-knee fall. It involves landing on both knees but still remaining controlled.
To fall on your knees, you should be rolling over the top of your skates. Staying in derby stance will encourage a controlled fall because your knees will be closer to the floor. Do not jump into the fall or fall straight onto both knees.
Your knees should not make contact at the same time. Make sure you hear a separated “tap-tap” to avoid landing too hard on your knees.
Keep your upper body controlled while you fall by engaging your core. You should not be sitting or leaning back into your skates, but should be leaning back slightly to avoid falling forward.
To get up, there are a couple of options.

1. Pick up one foot and set it on the floor to get up in the same manner as your one-knee fall. Be sure not to bring your foot around the side of your body (a tripping hazard and a danger to yourself and other skaters). Instead, bring it through underneath your body.
2. Set your hands in a diamond shape in front of you. It is important that your hands remain within the width of your own body to avoid the possibility of another skater rolling over your hands. While leaning onto your hands in front of you, hop up onto both toe stops near your hands, and stand up on your toe stops. This is similar to the motion used when standing up from a burpee.

Whichever method you use to get up, you should strive to do so within 3 seconds of coming to a complete stop. Always be sure to look around you before getting up to practice track awareness.

Four-Point Fall

A four-point fall comes into play when a fall has so much forward momentum that you must catch yourself from splaying out on the floor or falling on your face. Practicing this fall encourages falling “small” and controlled.
In a similar manner to the double-knee fall, you will still be rolling over the top of your skates to avoid slamming onto your knees. This will be followed quickly by a fall forward to the elbows and wrists. (In this way, you can think of it as a six-point fall despite its actual name). In order to properly simulate the application of when you would use this fall (when your momentum is pulling you forward toward your face), the transition from your knees to your elbows and wrists should be one continuous motion, as opposed to landing on your knees and then falling over to your elbows and wrists.
Always practice looking around before lifting your body. This is done to simulate track application when a skater might be coming toward you, and it would be important to stay small. Be sure to keep your fingers off the floor (point of contact is at the wrists, not at the fingers) until you look around and know that it is safe to get up.
To get up, you can use one of the two methods previously described for the double-knee falls.

Stopping

In roller derby, we do not stop by dragging our toe stop behind us as we were taught to do as kids at the roller rink.  To do so would be a tripping hazard with so many people in close proximity on the track.  Instead, we use a variety of roller derby stops, the first of which we learn is called the T-Stop.

T-Stops

In order to execute a T-stop, shift your weight onto one leg and turn your free leg so that your toe is pointed to the outside of your body.  You will then gently set it on the ground about a foot directly behind the base foot and pull it in towards your base foot while gradually applying pressure downwards on all four wheels to provide enough friction to slow to a stop.  Be especially careful not to tilt your foot so that you are only making contact with the two wheels closest to your front foot; this is a good way to turn your ankle!  The end position should form a capital T with the foot behind perpendicular and centered on the front foot.  Be sure to keep your knees soft while completing this skill.  It is very common to lock out your legs and stand straight up, but this will hinder balance.  

Conclusion

Please ensure that you can perform these skills well, as they are essential for the rest of your training! All of these skills can be practiced at open skates with some care given to the space of others. Make sure you are wearing your safety gear when doing so!