What Skating Level Am I, Inline Skaters?

PeterdabladingdadPeterdabladingdad
in General Skating Discussion

Hey skaters, I'm new here, and I have a question. A little background: I've been skating for the past year, not daily, more like 1-2 times per week. And I have even lost some weight (10+ kgs at last measure). 43M. My question is: What's my ability level? I can do the following:I skate forward with my ankles (mostly) straight. I understand how edging is supposed to work and you won't catch me pushing on my inner edges. It's usually on the center edge and sometimes on the outside edges, particularly when skating downhill. Skate down most hills without worry. Skate backward, but not anywhere near proficient. I understand the mechanics of this skill, but I still can't do it fluently. Stop: I can do the following:

  • Use the plow stop and spin stop effectively for slow to moderately fast stops.
  • Use the T-stop proficiently, but not with both feet; I'm right-foot dominant.
  • Do the soul slide when inline skating downhill, but while I can stop using this technique, my stance doesn't look as clean as what I've seen people like Bujie of skatingmagic.com do in this video. My soul slide is pretty rough, but it's quite effective.
  • Slide with both feet (on the inside or outside edges) to stop, and this method works beautifully for me. I don't even know what pro skaters call this technique, and I don't remember seeing anyone using it to stop. I do a lemon drop and near its end tilt the skate while flexing the ankles inward or outward and slide to a stop. I slide on both skates at once, usually on the inside edges, but I can do it equally well on the outside edges. I call it the double soul slide, haha. I know that inventing a new stopping method when you don't even know your skating level smacks of baseless audacity.
  • Use parallel turns to control speed when rolling downhill.
  • Can do the powerstop, and while it's not super clean, I stop every time.

Tricks I can do:

  • Do simple jumps on my K2 sot boots as well as lying Eagle freestyle skates
  • Ride on rough ground with scissored skates in the predator position. I am in a country with some of the worst roads ever made.
  • Slalom around cones with both skates as well as on one foot.
  • Skate on one foot, or what most people I skate with think is an impression distance.

I have yet to learn the powerslide, the magic slide, the parallel slide, acid, and so many other techniques and skills. Wizard skating and aggro? Well, that's for pros! I'm not an absolute beginner for sure, but what skill level am I at in your opinion? One more thing: I love reading content on inlinecruise.com because the main author, Rogers, seems to be an experienced blader. Dude says he's even won contests! (marathon), and the content itself seems practical, nothing like the boilerplate sh*t you see on most ''skating sites.'' Any other legit sites you can recommend?

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