UrbanSkaters – Inline Skating Blog

Follow this simple guide, combine it with regular street skating practice and you’ll master skating on rough surfaces in no time: 

Keep your strides short, maintaining a long stride on rough surfaces isn’t easy and can lead to some embarrassing tumbles.

Bend your knees more to absorb the impact, this will also improve your overall balance.

Go faster not slower, it’s much easier to cross a rough surface going fast than it is slowly, plus if you go too slow you risk walking in your skates and it will be difficult to get a decent stride going again.

Bring your skates back under your body as quickly as possible (Higher Cadence) after each stride, this again helps with balance and overall control.

Keep those toes loose and wiggly, because less weight on your toes means greater control for your skates and it helps you to move more naturally over rough surfaces.

If the rough surface is only short and you think you can cross it in one push, then get that speed built up and cross it with one skate in front of the other (aka the Scissor), you should also make sure that your legs are roughly one fist width apart, not too far apart or you’ll lose your balance. Remember to keep those knees bent!

Ultimately the only way to master rough surfaces is through practice. Rough surfaces are a major hazard though, so please be careful.