Aggressive skating

Aggressive skating is a stunt-based form of inline skating. Aggressive skating is performed on specialized inline skates made for grinding, as opposed to fitness or racing skates. Aggressive skaters attempt tricks such as grinding on the edge of concrete ledges or handrails, jumping, spinning and flipping over stairs or other gaps.

The term "aggressive skating" is used outside the industry to describe the specific style of inline skating, but it is not a term people within the sport use. Instead, those who practice the sport simply refer to it as "skating", "rollerblading", "blading" or simply, "rolling". Using any variation of term rollerblade is a trademark dilution.

Aggressive Inline is considered an extreme sport, though many aggressive inline skaters consider it to be more than that, elevating it to the level of art or form of lifestyle.

Types of Aggessive Skating

Aggressive skating is broken down into to Vert,Street and Park skating.

Vert skating generally refers to skating in a halfpipe, and performing aerial tricks.
Street skating literally implies skating in the streets or other public areas. Skating that does not take place in designated areas or facilities, such as in a halfpipe or a skatepark. This form of skating is illegal in some cities.

Park skating is similar to street skating but is done in a skatepark rather than on a city street. Many skateparks include elements meant to recreate a street (stairs, rails, etc.) in addition to the ramps, quarter-pipes, and halfpipes. Aggressive skating competitions often refer to the park skating competition as "street".

USA Roller Sports (USARS), considers itself the governing body for roller sports in the United States, has an "aggressive skating" category on its membership application for individuals. In 2005 the category encompassed both "extreme inline skating" and skateboarding and roller derby. In 2006, roller derby became its own category.

Aggressive skates

Aggressive skates are specialized inline skates that typically have the following characteristics:

• Hard shell, which may or may not be covered by a soft layer for style
• Small wheels with a higher durometer, which may be "anti-rocker"
• Sole plates
• Frames that feature an "h-block" (or, alternatively, a "freestyle frame")

The hard shell, made of high-impact plastic, is for protection of the skater's feet. Aggressive skates are exposed to greater impacts than fitness skates, due to the stunts attempted with them. Aggressive skates are often partially or fully covered with a tough, durable cloth covering. These coverings, called "skins", can be purely aesthetic but are more often designed to protect the shell from abrasions. As the sport has evolved, several brands now manufacture soft skates, which provide greater flexibility, allowing for more comfort and a higher ability to "bone" the skate over.

The smaller wheels and higher durometer rating found on aggressive skates serve multiple purposes. A smaller wheel diameter (ranging from 52mm to 60mm) decreases the top speed of the skate while allowing the skater to accelerate and decelerate much quicker. The durometer measures the hardness of the wheels, and generally ranges from 72A to 101A. Softer wheels are used for gripping and turning, but generally wear out faster and have a decreased top speed. Harder wheels have less shock absorbance and grip, but do not wear out as fast and provide higher top speeds. Generally, park skaters use slightly harder wheels than street skaters.

The sole plate is a flat plate made of high-impact plastic that is affixed to the bottom of the hard outer sheel, providing a stable platform for the soles of the skater's feet. It is generally oversized and is used in many aggressive skating grinds and stalls. Sole plates can be a single part, or can be made up of several different parts. Sole plates can also feature a backslide plate (an indentation in the side of the sole plate that is in line with the h-block) and a midsole (an outer covering that protects the sides of the soul plate from wear).

The wheel chassis of the aggressive inline skate is commonly referred to as the frame. The frame of an aggressive skate is vastly modified from normal inline frames, featuring thick plastic sidewalls, internal reinforments, spaced axels that leave a gap in the frame, and molded grooves in the center of the frame that hold an "h-block". The H-block is block specifically meant for grinding, and is usually made of nylon-infused plastic or UHMW.

Frame design in skates has evolved greatly since the sport's beginnings. Originally, stock frames came molded with the soul plates of the skates, and were unreplaceable. In 2000, a universal frame system (UFS) was developed jointly by several companies and people involved in the aggressive inline industry. The UFS was developed to enforce standardization between different manufacturers, and to allow smaller, specialized companies to enter the market. There has, as a result, been a massive advancement in frame technology following its widespread adoption. The UFS is characterised by a flat, rectangular frame, with a fixed width, which allows for compatibility between all participating manufacturers. Current aggressive skates have stock frames that can be replaced with a variety of general or specialized after-market frames. Virtually all aggressive skates are now UFS compatible.

There are several recent variations on the traditional frame, such as suspension and freestyle frames. Freestyle frames are characterised by the absence of the two middle wheels, which lightens the overall weight and increases the skaters grind area, at the expense of some stability. These frames are popular among street skaters. Suspension frames add spring suspension to the skate wheels, which allow the skater to make bigger jumps and drops (often termed "gaps" in the sport).

The Anti-Rocker wheel is generally 35mm to 48mm in diameter and is specifically meant for grinding. They are placed on each side of the H-Block and do not actually roll on the ground, however, they still need to rotate to avoid snagging on obstacles on varied terrain.

A skater that has all normal wheels in his frames is said to be riding a "flat" setup (also known as "all four down"). That is, all the wheels touch the ground and roll. An Anti-Rocker setup has two normal wheels on the outside and two anti-rocker wheels on the inside. Another setup, called "freestyle", only has two outer wheels and no inner wheels at all. The disadvantage to anti-rocker and freestyle setups are that they can slow a skater down (due to less wheels) and can lessen maneuverability. However, grinding is easier and faster, due to less wheel resistance (called "wheel bite") and a larger grinding area.

A detailed history and thesis on the evolution of the anti-rocker wheel & frame can be found at anti-rocker.com

Tricks

Grinds

Variations on grinds are virtually limitless, and grinds are given new names when they have been modified, despite being a variation on a basic grind. For example, a topside, alley-oop mizou is called a Kind Grind. For simplicity, the following is a list of the more common grinds.

• Frontside
• Soul
• Backslide
• Fastslide
• Makio
• Mizou P
• ornstar/Sunny Day
• Pudslide
• Royale
• Torque
• Unity
• Soyale
• Topside mistrial
• Citric Acid
• Kind grind
• Farvernugen
• Backside
• Cab Driver
• Acid Rain
• X Grind

Grind Variations

• Backside - Only h-block based grinds can be done Backside or Frontside, the grind is 'backside' when the skaters back is facing the object being grinded. A "Frontside" grind is actually called a "Backside" when the trick is performed in the backside variation.
• Farside - Any soul based grinds can be performed farside. It means to jump over to the 'far side' of the object and land in a grinding position.
• Frontside - Only h-block based grinds can be done Frontside or Backside, the grind is 'frontside' when the skaters front is facing the object being grinded.
• Alley-oop - Jumping 180 degrees in towards the object and landing in a reverse position of a typical soul based grind i.e. on a soul grind the soul foot is grinding in front of the other foot. Only soul based grinds can be performed alleyoop.
• Truespin - Jumping 180 degrees out from the object and landing in a reverse grind (See 'Alley-oop').
• Inspin - Riding backwards and spinning towards the object into a grind.
• Outspin - Riding backwards and spinning away from the object into a grind
• Rough - Lifting the front of the soul foot whilst in a grind. Eg. Rough Mizou
• Tough - Lifting the rear of the soul foot whilst in a grind.
• Negative - All soul based grinds can be performed 'negative', using the inside area of the sole plate located on the opposite side of the frame
• Topside - Soul based grinds can be performed topside, frame ontop of the obstacle as opposed to being beside it.
• Switch-ups - sometimes called transitions, switch-ups involve changing grinds by switching foot positions mid-grind.
• Budget - A budget 'switch up' is where only one foot is moved when changing between grinding positions.ie soul > mizou > representing the switch
• Grabs - When performing single-foot grinds, it is common to "grab" or hold the foot that is not involved with the grind to demonstrate control and balance. Variations can be performed on grabs as well.
• Freestyle - Only used in single foot grinds. The trick is done freestyle if the free foot is not grabbed.
• Mixed grinds - sometimes foot positions of grinds are mixed to create a new grind. For example, a Soyale (soul + royale) is a mix of both royale and soul grinds.
• Disaster grinds - When you jump from a distance or height of the obstacle, or over an obstacle, into a grind. Eg. Disaster Topside Soul.

Grabs

• Abstract (not essentially a grab)
• Big-0/Flying squirrel - Both legs bent behind body, and grabed right hand to right ankle same on left.
• Crawford - Left leg under right leg, grab left skate with left hand over right leg (or right leg under left grabbing with right hand over left leg).
• Express
• Flying Fish - Right leg forward and left leg behind, grabbing the right leg.
• Indy - A variation of any listed grab, where the feet are at an angle leading the rotation of the individual as opposed to lagging behind as traditionally performed.
• Japan - Both feet bent behind back except left foot held over the right, grabbing the right.
• Judo - Right foot behind back and left leg forward, grabbing right foot with left hand.
• Lui Kang - Leg pulled under body, held with hand from the same side, with the other leg extended out in front.
• Kung Lao - Similar to the Lui Kang, although the opposite hand is used to grab the foot under the body.
• Method - Both legs bent backward, held at the ankles with one arm.
• Mute - Grabbing the opposite side foot with one hand, usually left hand to right foot.
• Parallel
• Rocket - Both legs stretched out infront whilst grabbing a foot with one hand.
• Cross Rocket - Same positioning as the Rocket, although the grabbing hand grabs the opposite foot.
• Safety - Legs hucked up under body, with either the right hand grabbing the soul plate of the right skate, or vice versa.
• Stale/Stalefish - Grabbing the wheels.
• Stiffy - Similar to a Rocket, with legs skewed to one side.
• Unity - Both feet crossed, usually held with the right hand.

Aerial

• Backflip - Spinning head over heels, spinning backwards.
• Berani Flip - A 180 Frontflip
• Bio - Spinning parallel to the floor.
• Brainless - 540 Backflip.
• Cabalero - Trick appropriated from skateboarding in which a 180 degree (half-Cab) or 360 degree (full-Cab) is performed while going backwards.
• Corkscrew - Spinning horizontally through the air, in the same plane as a bio spin, the head or feet lead, and the spin, hence the name, has the same motion of a corkscrew being turned.
• Flatspin - Most popular on vert but it can also be done over a spine or launch box. It can be thought of as a backflip done on the side, parallel to the floor.
• Frontflip - Spinning head over heels, spinning forwards
• Inverted - Any spin that is done upside down in the air.
• Hot Flip - A sideways flip similar to what is often called a 'Barrel Roll'.
• McTwist - 540 Frontflip.
• Misty Flip - where you turn 90 degress and sideflip then turn another 90 degrees so you land backwards.
• Vile - Off-axis Bio.
• Backside Moon side harvester - trick that is impossible to describe by words, one can only understand it when seen with own eyes. Only two people have succeed in this trick, the two Finnish infamous bladers Royale-Tapion and Jyrskä who also have invented it.