Hi, this is Patrick Eaves. Today, we're going to talk about how to jump on your inline skates. So the first thing we want to establish is that you're probably a beginner so you've probably seen guys in skate parks doing huge jumps in the air and back flips and all kinds of stuff. That's not what we're going to be talking about today. Today, we're just going to be talking about a simple jump. For most people that are beginning, what you want to do with rollerblading is just get out, get fit, have fun. You're going to be on flat areas either without any hills or with just rolling hills, and you're going to be going relatively slow in the beginning. So your reason for learning to jump is basically once you start getting the curbs or small obstacles in your path, you want to be able to get over those without stopping your momentum. Really, jumps need to be slow in the beginning, controlled, not very high. So basically what you're going to do is when you're skating up to an area where you need to jump, you're going to stay low in your ready position, which is having your knees bent, your arms are in front of you, your weight is straight over your skates. If you need to propel yourself up and over something, you're going to bend down further. Remember, keep all your weight straight over the skates. You don't want to be leaning too far forward or you're going to get unbalanced; or too far backwards, you're going to get unbalanced. Straight over your skates, lower yourself down some and then propel yourself up. And that's the jump. Bend down, push up and back down. As you come back down, remember to bend your knees again. Don't jump up and come back flat. If you come back straight, you're probably going to fall down. So this is a perfect example of a place where you're going to need to use your jumping skills. You're going to stay in your ready position. You're going to have your knees bent with your weight straight over your skates. And as you go off the jump, you're actually going to unweight your skates a little bit, just as if you are jumping, and be ready to come down on your skates with your weight straight over the front. Remember to keep your hands out in front of you in case you do fall. Again, when you're learning, you want to stay away from curbs and intersections where there are cars and stuff. So if you are practicing jumping off of small objects like this, you want to make sure to do it in some place that's safe. I recommend definitely going to an instructor, whether they're an inline skating coach or inline hockey coach or at your local specialty skate store, and they'll be able to show you how to skate and jump safely. Again, start out nice and slow, no need to go too big your first few times. Get out there and have fun.
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