How to Spin on Roller Skates

Learn how to spin on roller skates from former World Champion speed skater Gypsy Lucas in this Howcast video.


Hey, guys, Gypsy from the Skate Truck NYC. Today we're going to talk about how to do a spin. So you need to figure out if you're going to spin to the left or to the right, and that will make a difference as to where your feet need to be and where your weight transfer needs to be.

So the basic two-foot spin is starting out inside your power box with your feet a little bit farther apart, knees bent, shoulder width, and keeping your shoulders square and your hips square. As you start to turn, you're going to rotate your arms and pull them together, and then your skates will follow. I'm going to turn to the left, so my right foot is going to go forward, and my left foot is going to go backwards.

So I'm going to be using my inside edges, and I'm going to spring up and rotate. So my arms are going to start off in the L position, knees bent, and I'm going to bend, pull, and back together. So again, arms are helping as well. The tighter I pull my arms, the faster I can spin. And the further I push my feet out at the beginning and then pull inside that top, the faster I'm going to go. So knees bent. Rotate around, and then stop. So I've got a lot of pressure on my toes on my left skate and pressure on my heels on my right skate. So my right's forward. Left is backwards.

So again, knees bent, rotate around, and that is how you do a two-foot spin. You can also do a one-foot spin doing the same techniques, except what you're going to do is pull with your left. And your right knee will come up, and you'll be spinning on one leg. So I'm going to come out. And I'm on my inside edge on my toes. So knees bent. Make my turn. And there you go. So as you can tell, I was kind of wobbling. You need to make sure that your body is straight in line so you've got a nice ride from the toe all the way down to your skate, keeping your core engaged and core tight. One more time. And that is how you do spins on roller skates.

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