My favourite hobby is Aggressive Skating. When people think of skating they perhaps think of people skating along Brighton Pier. Aggressive Skating is totally different. If you have never heard of it or tried it you are in for a treat. Aggressive skating is expensive to start if you are new to the sport. Specialist shops sell everything you need, they are Roller Snakes, SS20, Transition, Skater’s Paradise, H. P. S (Half Pipe Sports), UK Skates, Blue Room etc. There are lots more shops that I could name, but those are the better ones.
The costs of the skates vary. There are two different types of skates; hard boot and soft boot. The main difference is hard boot is made all out of plastic, soft boot is made from material and fabric and plastic inner boot. You can buy extras for your skates like frames and wheels. Unlike skateboarding there is not a set clothes style as such. You can buy some shirts and jumpers with some sponsors or brands on them but not a lot. The style that most skaters wear is long shirts and baggy jeans. They wear baggy jeans because they last much longer than other clothes.
The basics of aggressive skating are learning to go up ramps and how to jump. The skate is much heavier than shoes so when you can jump with them on you are ready to try some tricks. There are many different styles of skating such as ‘Street’. Street is very different to other aspects of skating it is when you skate around looking for flat ledges and handrails. They can be small, tall long or even fat rails. My motto is ” as long as you can reach it you can skate it”. To skate Street is illegal because you are skating on other people’s property without their permission. Street skating is unsafe because the structures are untested. Street is very hard to do there is no safe way to skate street. The best you can do is wear shin guards. You should not street skate alone. It is safer to skate with friends because if you have an accident they will be there to call for help.
You go out try it and find more and more sites to skate. Another style of skating is ‘Park’. Park is not illegal to skate at because it is purpose built. The one rule is that when in a skate park all injuries are your fault and the park does not acceptresponsibilityfor any injuries. There are some places to skate such as Playstation in London, Wandle Park in Croydon, Skaterham in Caterham and others. Park is safer to skate because it is structured to last a long time. You can go to Skate Parks at any time and usually they will have some low rails to practice on for beginners. Park has different ramps such as, Half-Pipes, Spine, Volcano, Mini Street course, Death Box.
Competition skating is for those who are sponsored or want to be sponsored. The prizemoneyis quite good but the extras are better. If you skate competition then you may get spotted and you could get sponsored. When you get sponsored you get free merchandise such as skates, wheels, clothes, frames, bags anything to do with skating. They want you to advertise their gear so others buy them whilst you get it all free.
The social aspect of skating is basically all about friends. I started skating a year ago and I only knew three people but now I know 47 people who are my friends. Whenever the weather is good we arrange to meet each other at a particular park and we skate all day! Sometimes parents get angry because we are missing all day. Time flies when you are having fun. I remember when my friend was supposed to go home but he stayed at the park for an extra two hours and his mother came to get him. His street credibility was washed down the drain, because he was embarrassed and we never let him forget it.
Each skater has a move that no one else can do. My trick is a 360 over the Volcano. This trick needs speed, height, spin and a good landing. It is very hard to do and I am the only one to land it. If you want to socialise with the best you must prove yourself worthy. If you socialise with people that are a bit better than you are then it pushes you to try harder and do more difficult tricks. There are some games that we play like trick for trick. This is when someone does a trick and you have to do the same one. Slam is another game it is when someone sets a trick or combination of tricks then you get three tries at it and if you don’t do it you get a letter if you get all four letters you are out.
There are three main different trick types the first one is spins. Spins are very fast and hard to land. There are different types of spins, such as late spins where you get air wait then spin near the end of your jump. Flat spin, this is when you approach the ramp at an angle and you spin at a horizontal angle then come back down and land vertical. This trick is hard to do. The most spins a skater has done is 1260. The spins I have achieved is a 720. For me this is hard but my little brother who is 13 can do a 900 and land it. The second trick type is Air this is where all the back flips and grabs come in. I can do lots of grabs but I cant back flip or front flip. Some of my friends can do somersaults. One day soon I will try a back and front flip then get into the complex stuff. The third trick is grinds and there are many different grinds I can do all the basic grinds and I can do some hard ones too. I can True Spin, Full Cab, Unnatural, Topside, Zero Spin and Ally OOP. These are different ways and types of grinds.
In skating, you must be safe, you should be prepared for anything. The type of protection you can buy will help you not to get injured badly but you will still get hurt. There is a very high danger level and injuries can be as minor as grazes to broken bones, but it is an adrenaline rush and you must try it.
