Rollerblading and extreme sports?

I've actually done some extreme inlining...been to a couple different skateparks (still classified as a "beginner", and I'm terrified of just the thought of doing a backflip on a halfpipe, but I've seen other people do them).

I saw Brink, and they're pretty much accurate, so it's not a bad reference to have.

Anything on the X-Games will be a good reference...I haven't watched it in a couple years, but they have all sorts of extreme competitions there. Unless they put it back in since a couple years ago, they did take out street skating for aggressive inlining, though, as well as the woman's division...

Or, just do a Google search for "aggressive inline" or "aggressive inlining", and a bunch of sites will pop up. Some will be stores, but there are other sites that have explanations and demonstrations of various tricks, from air tricks to grinds.

Here's some info I can recall off the top of my head:

There are typically two classifications with skateboarding or inlining:
Vert and Street.

"Vert" is basically halfpipes in competitions, though some people consider bowls to also be vert since it's like a giant quarterpipe, only its coping curls around to form a circle.

"Street" involves what's typically in a skatepark aside from the halfpipe...quarterpipes, grind rails, small ramps, pyramids, etc. Depending on the course, some parks even set up items that you'd find in a city (like benches and rails over stairs).

There are various types of mid-air tricks (grabs, spins, and flips), as well as grinds (ways to position your feet...just changing the direction of one foot will give you a different sort of grind).
It's hard to describe without a diagram.

The skates that are used are also different from normal rollerblades. Typical rollerblades have large wheels that range from 3-5 wheels (depending on the make, though most have 4 wheels). Aggressive inline skates have up to 4 small wheels, though some only have 2 wheels (one in the front and one in the back), and are generally much heavier in weight than rollerblades.
-Four wheels gives greater stability for landing a trick on a gap or drop, or even from a spin. It's also recommended for beginners to use that sort of set-up. There is a small arch between the second and third wheel for grinds.
-Two wheels are for people who like to use grind rails. Having less wheels means that there's a smaller chance that one will get in the way of a grind. The arch between the wheels is still there, but there's also more room with only two wheels.

Other things I can think of...
The railing at the top of a quarterpipe and halfpipe is called the "coping", and is used for grind tricks or something called a "stall"...that's where you skate up to it and get on top of it on the skates (with the coping under the arches between the wheels), before you drop back in.
"Dropping in" is the term used for entering the quarterpipe or halfpipe from the coping.

Some sites will have different definitions for tricks...there's one trick called the "Misty Flip" that has been changed. It used to be an upside down 540...now, it's just an upside down 180 or more. I haven't taken a look a the list of air tricks recently, so it's possible that others have changed since I stopped, as well...but most are prolly the same, and as far as I know, grind/rail tricks have been the same since they were first named.

Hope that helps!

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Okay, thank you. I'm probably going to go back and watch Brink again, but your explanations helped, though I'm definitely going to check out the websites.

you may want to spend a little time watching Fuel TV (if your carrier has it) or spend some time on their web site... but I think their focus is more around skateboarding than inline skating.

There's also a good portal out there: http://www.inlineplanet.com/Departments/Aggressive/AggressiveSkating.htm... with a lot of information and sites about inline skating.

Good luck. :)

Pika

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