Style is the name of the game now.
This page will talk about: leg & foot movements, body positions, speed modulation, strides, arm usage etc.
This page will not talk about:
regional styles, skating styles that are influenced by your rink, local skaters, and the music you skate to.
dress/apparel
note: This page is a work-in-progress
Kicks are pretty fun moves that add dynamics to skate styles. Standard skating motions have the skater's feet attached or slightly lifted off the floor. Kick direction, speed, and height can be varied to great effect. Lower, slower kicks have smooth looks while higher, faster ones look dynamic & sharp.
I personally use foot flairs or slight ankle movements while skating as repositioning tools as I usually skate on fiberglass wheels. The core concept is doing a heel-toe motion either sliding on the
Tracking the beat is a sure way to add flavor to your skating style. It is usually done by stepping but stomping can be a more exciting way to add an auditory element and more aggressive feel to your style. The premier style that uses stomping regularly is Cleveland Freestyle where skaters will stomp on the one or four of the beat. Think of the times when you are in elementary school and somebody bangs out the beat from No Music. Not everybody has to clap at the exact same time, making a harmonizing beat to go at the same time makes the complete sound more interesting. You can take that same concept on skates.
As a style skater progresses, every specific movement can [and should] be used as a transition.
Bend your knees can be extended into style skating. Standard pace with height modulation turns into a (Cleveland-style) stride. Dropping into low squats resolve moves like (JB) Big wheel. The key here is rhythm. Simply holding a low or high position doesn't demonstrate style.
Pistol squat (the stationary jam move) looks good when alternated between the left and right leg on the beat; the same would go with elements like shoot the duck or coffin.
Rolling heel-toe or toe-toe at different heights may not feel comfortable at first but as the movement itself is not common, it can spice up any skater's style. Moving to the beat is +
Striding generates speed; it can be used to replace the standard push motion that are ordinarily used to get around.
Weaving - Left foot in front -> neutral -> right in front -> neutral
Over-emphasized weaving (California Stride)
Rock bodyweight and drop height (Cleveland Stride)
Step pattern variations - Stepping on the beat, engaging edges to build speed, step on the 1,3,5,7 or 2,4,6,8
Slides are my favorite elements add to my skating. They introduce a kind of smoothness that is missing from other styles that are considered smooth. Of course, this can only be done on harder wheels, mainly fomac wood and fiberglass. If you have the option to use some, they can significantly change the texture of your skating. The full list of slides is pretty extensive and would continue to expand with creativity however just sprinkling in a short slide between other elements it's a good way to accent you're skating.
Small power slides can be used as transition from forward skating to backwards skating. They shave some speed given floor and wheel types. This element if done quickly or slowly, demonstrates fine control.
Star slide is an extension of the power slide where the rolling foot rolls on the heel as opposed to all four wheels. Star slide is more committed and demonstrates flexibility and balance, things that may not be demonstrated in standard style skating.
Ignoring some of the artistic style jumps 180°, 360°, 540° and beyond are extremely cool to watch. Doing them on the beat adds an extra dimension and shows your musicality. Cleveland freestyle skating has these jumps baked into routines and to freestyle dance they can start from skating forwards or skating backwards and typically these jumps are done straight in the air like the skater is a popping piece of popcorn it doesn't really follow the same technique as artistic skating where there's a particular way to launch and a particular way to land. One part of this jumps that may make skating even more interesting is landing on the beach. To that end the challenging part is timing your jump knowing how high you're going to jump how long you will stay in the air and when you land to make it emphasize the beat. It's important to note that you can fail these jobs pretty easily if someone knocks you out of the way or there's not enough space to land so using this element is usually reserved for more tactical style skaters.