Abc - english

1 The fundamental techniques of in-line skating cannot be compared with the basic motor patterns, (walking, running, jumping, etc.). This is a consequence of the mechanical structure of in-line skates. Basic motor patterns mainly carry out sagittal plane actions.
The in line skating fundamentals must be accomplished on three planes: sagittal, frontal and transversal.

In any sport based on the concept of “step”, the width is the only element taken into consideration.
Two further elements, “breadth” and “depth”, must be considered along with width in in-line skating.
2 The width is the distance between the first wheel in landing/rolling and the first wheel of the other skate just before the launch. The width of the step is directly proportional to the angle set by the knee at the beginning of the push.

3 The breadth is the distance between the two skates on a frontal plane. It gives good results if in the straight-away the pushes give a good transfer of body weight from one side to the other, and if the body axis is correctly inclined towards the centre of the curve.

4 The depth is the distance between the skates transferred on the sagittal plane. This distance must be set in a way that it allows to push both in the straight-away and in the curve on all wheels and with a complete extension of both legs.

5 Transfer of body weight (to advance on a straight-away) The transfer of body weight from one leg to another (shifting whole body axis) is one of the most important elements to learn to obtain high-level results. This element is present in all phases of the pushing, including the acceleration.

6 Body axis inclination (to advance on a curve)
This action permits the athlete to execute curves in the best way, and to complete pushing with all wheels up to leg full extension (favourable conditions to shorten distance and to pass the opponent).

7 Skate assembling (shoe, frame, wheels)
A good pushing with “width, breadth and depth” is conditioned by a correct transfer of body weight or by proper body axis inclination.
A very important factor is the correct assemblage of the skate (bad assemblage is mainly found in the children’s skates).
The shoe must give stability, with good support at heel and ankle level. The stiff part of the shoe (made of carbon or other) should cover at least 2/3 of the malleolus area and the upper part of the shoe should close the ankle with a further height of 1-1.5 centimetres. A good fastening is conditioned by the button-eyes position. A good advice before purchasing them: the second to last button-eye from the top must be lined up with the end of the stiff part and the last button hole on the top one must be found in the soft portion of the shoe.

The frame must be set in central position (same protrusion for front and back); its length should be proportional to the foot-frame ratio (max one wheel protrusion both front and back). The choice of wheels will not modify the contact points in this way; the total volume will change according the wheel’s diameter.

8 Edge definition (footprint)
It is called edge or footprint the wheel’s portion in contact with the ground; it is determined by the skate’s inclination or better by body axis inclination (see next).

10 Best pushing angle
It is the maximum width that can be obtained with the skate’s inclination, or better, with body axis inclination, produced by moving the skate from the outside to the inside edge (global use of the wheels).

In this first part I presented my concept of basic in-line skating techniques. These characteristics can be found in the last ten years in all high-level performances. The didactic planning, the methodology, the strategy and progressive exercises will be built on these fundamentals. All this contributes to the acquisition of “real technique”. The confrontation between coaches on these fundamentals is a good starting point to create an excellent technical reference for the future.