I recently got new boots and plates and I'm readjusting. I'm okay with my new center of gravity (it feels new anyway), as far as not falling on my ass while blocking and being able to be sturdy.
Now I need to work on getting back to balance once I'm thrown off balance, instead of falling. Are there any drills I can use to help me figure this out?
Posted Oct 31, 2016, 7:46 PM UTC
Clock taps. Stand on your left leg. Tap your right foot at 10, 12, 2, 3, 4,6, 8 (ish) and then go back. Repeat a few times and then switch to balancing on your right leg.
Do you tap with your toestop, with the front wheels, or all wheels?
Oh I do them off skates. My balance is pretty atrocious right now. Perhaps once it gets better I'll do them on skates.
To learn to recover from off balance positions, you need to actually be in off balance positions and recover from them.
Part 1: Find where you balance points are, lean all the way forward, until you fall. Try to lean even more forward, see how far you can lean before you fall. Do the same for leaning backwards and sidewards. Repeat it all again on one leg, then the other leg.
Part 2: Run and spin and jump and turn, throw your body, arms and legs in awkward positions at great speed. Deliberately try to lose control, and then try to recover from it when it happens.
You're going to fall a lot doing this drill, but that's the point.
Gonna mention my hero Snot Rocket Science. If you watch her play you can see that sometimes she looks like she is stumbling all over the place...BUT she is back up and running in less than a blink of an eye. She encourages it so much in her clinics, being able to go fast and recover just as quickly. Her playing style is an amazing example of how important recovery is. It's nearly impossible to plan an attack against someone with skills like that. By the time you're considering your next move, she's already up and halfway across the track!
I absolutely agree with that! Falling and getting up quickly, or ALMOST falling and recovering quickly, are just as important as being able to avoid that.
Sorry to comment again but I also thought of another thing that helps my balance and positioning inside my skate- Flex your toes! It helps put my balance back into my heels, along the arch, and into the balls of my feet, instead of forward into my toes. Helps with edging too.
I appreciate all your help! That's a good one for me because I still feel kind of uncomfortable putting my weight backwards because I'm worried about falling. I would think this will help me with that.
I like practicing a lot of footwork drills on carpet if I can't get it right on the track. I find it can be a lot more forgiving.
Tying a resistance band around you and a stationary object and trying to do your footwork against that is another good way of improving balance :)
I like that resistance band idea. I definitely need to do some more footwork focused things.
Stand on one foot (off-skates) and throw a ball of some sort against a wall and catch it, while staying on one foot. If this is too easy, then you can make it more difficult by standing on a pillow (the movement of the fabric under your foot makes you less stable). You can also do this with a partner where you pass the ball between you.
That sounds interesting thanks! Luckily I have some tennis balls lying around.
Balance has a lot to do with being able to balance on one foot at a time. In derby though we don't stay for long on one foot, any kind of hit or lateral movement is a shift of weight from one foot to the other.
In addition to being on one foot at a time stationary, you should be skating on one foot skating forwards, while turning left and turning right/one foot slaloms. Then all the same while on one foot skating backwards. Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1P0w73Ca7Q (don't forget to practice it skating backwards too!)
Hard carving/cuts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRRWyDwUPXk Not as easy backwards, but might as well try it backwards too.
Practice lots of 180 and 360 transitions both directions.
Mohawks.
Crossovers to the left and right skating forwards and backwards.
Jumping. Both feet at the same time. One foot to the other foot forwards. One foot to the other laterally/juking. Also do this skating backwards.
Skate on one foot forwards. Let's say starting on the left foot. Then open your right hip, put down or hop on to the right foot while pulling your left foot off the ground. This is sort of like a mohawk, but on one foot at a time if that makes sense?
Thank you so much! These are going to help me a ton!!
I've been doing split squats lately. My balance just keeps getting better.
This is great! We just got weights in my apartment gym but I didn't know what to do with them. I'll have to try this next time. Thanks!!
Split squats can be done without weights, too. But since you have dumbbells, you can do single-leg "deadlifts" as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oiKWA-K6-g (edited because pre-coffee makes bobo forget how to think)
Off skates- Lift one leg, close your eyes, balance for 30 seconds on each side. It's crazy hard.
On skates A): Start on your right side and lift your left leg. Lean allllll the way to the right as far as you can, and hold it. Try a little further. Then try alllllll the way forward and alllll the way back and then allll the way to the left. Switch legs and repeat. ( Falling is encouraged, it means you're pushing yourself to the limit!)
On-skates B): Get up to a decent speed, get LOW in your derby stance, lift one foot and hold it out behind you, and load your weight onto the other. Try to get lower and lower into that one-legged derby stance.
On skates C) Get up to a good speed, load your weight onto one leg in deep derby stance, stick the other out in front of you. Now do your best to propel yourself on that one foot. It's not easy but it's effective!
Yesss thank you for these on skates ones especially!!
For a variation on that second one, try pulsing up and down, in and out of derby stance. Definitely good for quad strength too.