Skating has gone down in popularity overall, but it still has a lot of fans who enjoy the activity.
Skating is something that requires practice to master. Learning to stop and think about how your balance affects speed is important to protect yourself.
You can learn to T-stop by scissoring your legs, planting your back foot perpendicular and pulling it to a stop, and plow stop by spreading your legs wide with the toes pointed inward.
You can also learn a few other methods like the knee stop and so on.
Table of Contents
Toe Stop Drag
A ‘Toe Stop Drag’ is a technique that creates more friction by balancing on one foot to slow your speed. It’s a popular method among roller skaters.
Bend your front knee to balance out more of your weight on this leg.
Let “the toe stopper” scrape along the front side of your skate until it slows you down.
You should also bend your back knee, the foot you slide on, and point it towards the inner side of your foot like a ballerina.
The magic happens when you place your skate heel on that inner heel to push up. See for yourself!
Top tip:If your toe stopper bounces along instead of slides along, Try using less weight in your toe stoppers by shifting your weight onto the front skate and bringing your body upright, shoulders over hips.
Knee Stop
Although this next stop is great for beginners, it does have a single requirement – you must wear knee pads to perform this method of stopping.
For beginners, this method is helpful on the quadriceps and the knee joint, meaning that it works better than conventional methods of stopping.
First, begin by rolling forward
Next, put both of your feet next to each other.
A stretch your arms out into a T for balance
Slowly drop down to one knee.
Let your knee pad scrape across the ground as you stand up on one foot. It’s like a rolling kneel
You will gradually stop
Some roller derby players and other skaters mainly use a knee to stop their momentum when learning how to skate. The technique is not as good when compared with stoppers, though.
This stop requires really good pads, so it’s not ideal if you’re going fast on your skates.
There are different types of pads for different stops, so be sure that you know the ones suitable for this skate stop.
Slalom Stop
The slalom technique is a way to keep your speed at a minimum while also using body movements to maneuver.
The act of rolling from side-to-side results in being able to store up energy and eventually reach the standstill without slowing down.
Begin by rollerskating forwards.
Next, with your feet parallel to each other, turn your skates to one side.
Then, change direction and head to the other side
Place your body weight on the inside of each turn
Your skates will slowly come to a halt.
Plow Stop
Performing a plow stop on skates is another solid way of stopping on skates and is my personal preferred method today for stopping.
One of the ways to use the plow stop is by putting your feet in and out in a scissors-style motion.
You can slow down or speed up one part of this scissor, either when your feet are wide and moving away from each other or when your feet are moving towards each other.
If you don’t wear toe stops, this is a great way to slow down.
While rollerskating forward, bend your knees and have your feet parallel.
Next, slowly widen your legs while keeping them parallel. You want your legs to be about 1-1/2 to 2 shoulder lengths apart (or more).
The more you open your legs out wide, the slower you will go. Push at the outside edge of your skate as you push off to keep skating.
You can also turn your toes inwards while you continue to roll forward. This will make your feet come back together, and it’s much easier to do than it looks.
As your feet are coming back together, bend your knees, lean forward a little and press down on the inside portion of your skates.
Pushing down on the inside edge of your skate will allow you to come to a complete stop.
Note:Pay attention to what you’re doing, or else you might mess up and fall pretty hard.
Two Toe Stops Going Backwards
It uses the same stopping style as we did in the first method since it only relies on toe stops.
But for this one, you need to use your brakes on both feet simultaneously. It’s not a method I see used with quad skates in reverse, but it may be worth trying.
Turn around and go in reverse.
Bend your knees and lean slightly forward.
Next, push the toes of both skates down at the same time.
Your toe stoppers will slide across the ground until you come to a standstill.
Note: Please remember to make sure you are comfortable stopping on one toe stopper going backward before performing this position. You can easily face plant if you go too fast while going through these steps for the first time. Start as slow as possible and work your way up once comfortable.
Heel Brake Stop
Some quad skates have a heel brake at the back that makes stopping easier on steeper downhill slopes or when you need to come to an instant stop and avoid hazards.
Begin skating with both skates on the ground and bending your knees at a 45-degree angle
Place 70% of your weight on one skate and then roll the other skate (with the brake on the heel) in front of you and apply the brake when it’s just past the front wheel of the back skate.
Allow it to slide along the ground, keeping it at that position, so the brake is near the front wheel of the back skate.
This will bring you to a stop faster and easier than the Toe Stop Drag because your weight is behind the brake.
Spin Out
Spin-out stops are one of my favorite skating moves. They slow me down by quickly spinning in a wide motion and look cool!
You’ll need to learn how to spin properly when practicing these moves.
Start by skating forwards.
Next, turn 1 foot 180 degrees and place it behind your front.
Keep your feet with a little distance between them. 1-2 skate lengths are enough.
Lean on the inner edges of your feet. You want your momentum to start to take you into a wide circle.
Use this wide circle and the pressing down on the inner portion of your feet to come to a halt. I often will spin my way to a standstill.
T-Stop
When you’re trying to slow down on quads and preparing for a stop, the T-Stop is similar to what you already know when out on inline skates.
But to master it and make sure that you come to a complete stop, here’s some advice.
It takes good core strength and balance to maintain this almost one-legged stance throughout the system’s surface consistency, direction, and deceleration.
A simple “deceptively” looking move can often cause huge problems for beginner quad skaters when asked to come to a stop suddenly.
But I always say, “Practice makes perfect,” is a good way to start having faster stop accuracy. By using your reflex training for more consistent speed, you will maintain it better and use it when needed.
How to do the T-Stop on quads:
This drag move is similar to the Toe Stop Drag above. Your body weight is on your front skate.
Bend your front leg and keep yourself upright, with most of your weight on your front foot.
Drag / slide your other skate behind you on either the two front wheels, two inside wheels, or all four wheels flat.
Sliding Plough Stop
Bracing your balance in the A-frame position requires making sure that your feet are wider than your shoulders and parallel to one another. Your knees should also be bent, and you should remain upright while trying this move.
Rolling downhill like this can be difficult, as it will take a while to stop.
The tricky part of the sliding plough is to apply pressure through the heels by angling the heels out and the toes in slightly while at the same time resisting the natural joining of your skates.
You have to keep pushing your skates apart laterally after applying heel pressure outwards. If you watch from the side, it will become clear that the skates remain more separated as your push through the heels.
You should be able to stop faster with this method, even if your heels don’t actually slide.
Note:the heels will slide much easier on an indoor surface than outside.
Parallel
It’s also called shuffle or cess-slide.
It is probably the most advanced technique and is easy to learn, but its principle is simple.
This can be played at any level of speed; however, to fully benefit from it, you’ll need to catch on quickly.
This is an excellent maneuver that allows you to go around curves at high speeds while still being able to stick your skates to the road. It’s been officially recognized as a discipline of freestyle inline-skating since 2018.
Stepping Plough Stop
It starts with your skates parallel and wider than your shoulders. To decrease speed, you need to combine forces in the A-frame position.
Lift each skate alternately and place each skate angled inwards (toes in, heel out) each time you change feet.
Each skate will roll towards the center, so each step should go slightly lateral in a sideways direction, again so your toes never come close to each other and trip you up. Remember, this will only work if you’ve correctly stepped with the skate pointing inwards
Hockey Stop
Skaters have several ways to stop quickly, but the best way has always been up for debate.
The hockey stop is still one of the hardest methods, and it sees quick action in most high-speed situations.
Some argue that doing a spin-out is harder than stopping suddenly with your skates together. Still, it really just depends on your skating ability.
To get started, you’ll want to keep your speed low when practicing the method:
Start by rolling forwards.
While at full speed, turn your feet in a curve.
Press your parallel feet out in front of you and lean slightly back.
Your wheels will slide across the surface until you come to a standstill.
When you glide along on a slippery, wet surface and stop in one spot, it can cause the floor to make a lot of noise. You might also notice some small flakes coming off it with each movement. This can be really fun when you get good at it and look really impressive (not to mention loud!).
Conclusion
Stopping on quad skates helps a lot when staying safe while rollerskating. When you’re skating, use any of the 12 stoppers mentioned above to slow down and stop at any time.
You can learn all 12 stopping strategies, but some are definitely easier than others. I recommend using different ones as often as possible to keep your knowledge refreshed.
You learn as you practice, so keep practicing and improve with time! You’ll feel happier and more satisfied once you’re done.
