Skate skills:

SKATE TIP OF THE WEEK
Inline secrets from the world's top skaters and coaches

This week's tip:
Play It Cool
By Naomi Grigg
(July 14, 2006)

Try to look really cool, relaxed and laid back when you skate — and not just for vanity! It actually makes you skate better.

For freestyle and aggressive skaters, it will get your torso more upright, with better posture, and will also force you to bend your knees more.

For speed skaters, it will improve your posture and body position and give you a psychological boost — thus making you even faster than you already are. (If that's possible!)

It works for me: I'm trying a really difficult freestyle trick at the moment (the traveling backscrew) which I haven't managed progress with for months, no matter how much I practice.

Then yesterday I decided that if I'm going to mess up really badly in my upcoming competition, then I may as well do it with dignity, so I had a go at trying to "look good whilst failing miserably with the move."

Suddenly, it came together! The reason being that I was no longer leaning over and leering at my feet; I was holding my shoulders and head high and was more central over my centre of mass and feet. ... It works!!

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Naomi Grigg is one of the top freestyle skaters in the world. (If you want proof, check out her latest video.) She won last year's UK Freestyle Slalom Championship and also competes regularly in international competitions. A resident of London, she teaches workshops and seminars and will give a series of seminars this summer in the United States. She is sponsored by Rollerblade USA.

- Go to Naomi's web site.

- Go to the Skate Tip of the Week Archive.

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