Though you may say you're going out rollerblading, technically you may not be doing any such thing. Rollerblade is the first major manufacturer of inline skates and continues to dominate the market today. The word is a proper noun and is not a verb as it is often used. Inline skating is the sport which uses Rollerblade brand skates. Thus, while all Rollerblades are inline skates, not all inline skates are Rollerblades.
Origin
It may surprise you to learn that the first skate was more similar to an ice skate than the quad skate of the disco era. According to the National Museum of Roller Skating, the latter half of the eighteenth century saw the creation of a skate with a single line of wheels. Through the 1800s, this inline design was patented with varying numbers of wheels. It wasn't until 1863 that James Plimpton, an American inventor, took the wheels out of alignment and placed two wheels side by side in the front and back of the skating boot to create the quad skate.
Evolution
Through the 1900s, the inline skate saw variations in the number of wheels and to the shape of the boot. A 1966 design by the Chicago Roller Skate Company is the design most similar to what we're familiar with today. It sported a boot with an inline track that supported four wheels that extended in front of and behind the boot.
Rollerblade
Scott Olson, a former professional hockey player, was heavily influenced by that Chicago Roller Skate Company's design when he and his brother discovered it in 1980 and realized its possible applications as an off-season training tool for hockey players. With some modifications, they created the design that would become the flagship skate of their company, Rollerblade, which began producing inline skates in the 1980s. At the time, it was the only mass produced inline skate, which probably contributed to the assumption of the name Rollerblade as both a verb and all-encompassing term for any skate with aligned wheels.
Design
Inline skates borrow heavily in design from snow and ice skating boots. The rigid boot is mounted on a linear frame to which four wheels are aligned. A pressure brake is usually attached to the rear of the frame behind the last wheel. The design makes it ideal for use by ice skaters and hockey players who wish to emulate the leg strokes required for traversing ice.
Skating
Using an inline skate presents coordination challenges that are not present in quad skates. In addition to the possibility of falling forward and backward, the inline placement of the wheels means you can also fall sideways. Ankle and lower leg strength become factors when initially learning to use inline skating and you should be prepared to fall often. Turning is also different when using inline skates, akin to parallel turning on snow skis.
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