How to Start Aggressive Inline Skating

Last Updated: May 29, 2021

Many people think that inlining, especially aggressive style, is not fun because it is not hard or scary. Thankfully, those people are wrong. The problem is that the biggest inlining trend right now is to grind, which doesn't look very dangerous; it just looks technical, which describes precisely why these people have forgotten about the grace and precision that surrounds the other half of the sport. The inlining industry may be in a horrible state of downward spiraling right now, but that's no reason you can't learn how to skate inline anyway, and remind the rest of the skatepark why inlining was so huge in the 1990s.

Steps

1
Get a pair of inline skates. Whether or not they are aggressive style doesn't matter yet, but chances are you have a pair of inline skates sitting around your garage or in your closet or room somewhere. If you don't have a pair though, go buy some (if you're broke, borrow some from a friend). Make sure that they provide a good amount of ankle support and get used to the fact that your ankle doesn't move when you're skating, because if there isn't ankle support than you may end up seriously screwing up your ankles if you land on them incorrectly.
2
Learn how to skate; that is, if you don't know how to already.

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3
Practice simple moves such as skating backwards for long periods of time or jumping over small things while on your skates. A few easily tackled obstacles would be things like: the recycling bin (emptied first), jumping off of curbs, jumping down a very small amount of steps (2 or 3), and as time goes on you can move to bigger and bigger objects.
4
Try to mix it up a bit. Instead of just jumping over the objects, try doing a 180 over said object.
5
Go to a local skate park. Start on the smaller flat ramps and either near the end of the first visit or at the beginning of the next, try dropping in on a quarter or half-pipe.
6
Learn how to go up and back down a half-pipe and quarter-pipe. This is called airing out of the ramp.
7
Try some grinds: these are simple tricks when attempted on small enough obstacles (you'll need aggressive-style skates for these).
- Find a curb or a short ledge of some sort.
- Approach the obstacle at a slow speed. When you reach it, jump onto the obstacle placing the h-block or center of your frame onto the corner slide across the surface keeping the center of your balance on your leading foot and jump off when you either feel yourself falling or whenever you reach the end of the object. If you don't slide across your obstacle there are two things you should do.
  - If you have four wheels on each skate, try taking out the middle two. You actually don't need them to roll anyway, and they just get in the way when grinding. With most aggressive skates there are two very small wheels that don't even touch the ground, you don't have to take those out, they are for helping your grinds, and they don’t get in your way.
  - Apply wax to the surface you are grinding on. you can use candle wax for this, but there is special skating wax commonly used for just this purpose.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I balance on skates?

Community Answer

Assume the right posture. Place your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees, lower your backside toward the ground, and lean slightly forward in a comfortable squatting position. This stance will prevent you from toppling over.
Question

Do i just need to take out the middle two wheels of the skates to grind?

Community Answer

No. First, learn how to skate, then start going to a skate park if they have manual pads. Use that to learn the right jumping position, then you can buy some aggressive skates, because aggressive skates have a harder frame then recreational skates.
Question

How do I roller blade backwards?

Community Answer

When you go forward, your skates are in a V position so to go back, point them the other way, like an A. Unless you have good balance, you can fall easily so its better to practice on grass first.

Warnings

In order to get better, you must push yourself, but sometimes pushing yourself to do something that you've already tried and failed at is a bad idea. Seek the help of someone who already knows how to do the trick you're attempting, you're probably forgetting to do something.

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Inlining can be dangerous. No matter how safe you think you are, there is always the chance of falling and injuring yourself.

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Things You'll Need

Skates, preferably aggressive
Proper protection, especially a good helmet and wrist guards. Break your limbs and you're likely to suffer permanent injury, break your skull and you might just die.