We took the Rollin’ With The Skills series on the road recently, heading up to Turrbal Country to catch up with some of our Brisbane RollerFit coaches. Tune in to Sarah, Kimmy and Stacey showing you their fave ways to roll backwards.
Skating backwards can be daunting at first, but with lots of practice, it could soon be your favourite way to roll. Just remember always bend your knees, keep your chest and shoulders up nice and tall and push your bottom out a little. Now you can spice up your next skate sesh and have a go at some of these backwards skating techniques.
1. Start off easy-breezy with a waddle
We always get our new RollerFitters rolling forwards with a waddle, and the same goes for skating backwards. To do a backward waddle point your knees and toes inwards to face each other, but don’t let your skates touch. Give your knees a soft bend and then shift your weight side-to-side as you lift one foot up and put the other down. Now embrace your inner penguin and get your waddle on!
2. Bubble it up
Another introductory manoeuvre for backward skating is bubbles. The movement is the exact same as how you would normally do bubbles moving forwards, making sure you’re pulling on the inside edge/inside of your feet to bring your skates closer in a V shape then pushing on the outside edge/outside of your feet to create an A shape. If you’re struggling to get going, start with a few waddles to build up some momentum.
3. Get twisty with some twizzles
Level up your backwards skating game with some twizzles. Twizzles use the same pulling in and pushing out motion as bubbles but this time you are staggering your feet (one foot in front of the other). Switch the foot in front of your body each twizzle and remember you’re crossing in front of the body and not behind.
4. Add a little style with some backwards flair
Get groovy and add some flair to your backwards skating with this move! Build up some backward rolling momentum, bring your feet close and get your balance. When you’re ready, let one foot roll to the front of your body with your toes pointed out to the side. You want this foot to roll on the toe wheels of your skates whilst the heel wheels are raised off the ground. Switch the foot each time and add in a glance over the shoulder of the turned out foot for some extra style (and safety).
5. Test your balance by rolling on one leg
Put your backwards skills and balance to the test by rolling on one foot. Get some backwards momentum, bring your skates close but don’t let them touch. When you’re ready, lift up one of your legs and keep it close to your body and hold it for as long as possible. Make sure you have a soft bend in the knee and practice doing this with both legs.
6. Get groovy with some strutting
If you’ve scrolled through some roller skating videos on Instagram or Tik Tok you’ve surely seen someone in the most picturesque location doing this move. It’s a go-to for showing off some style. To strut you want to start with a little bit of backward momentum then cross one foot over the other, or, just replace one foot with the other. Just like twizzles, the crossing action happens in front of the body and think about placing your toe wheels down first. Bend your knees and bop on each landing to maintain speed.
If you like what you’ve seen here and want more detailed instructions along with other roller skating and hardware knowledge why not try out one of our digital Learn to Skate Programs. We’ve got Absolute Beginners covered and another Beginner Plus program to help you continue progressing. The online programs contain a detailed pdf booklet and accompanying instructional videos from some of RollerFit’s most loved coaches.
We’d also love to see in you a RollerFit class! We cover these basic skills and so much more. You can check out our venue locations across the land of Oz over here.
Have fun skating backwards and we hope to see you rolling out and about soon!
