Aerial 180 Degree Turning

Aerial 180 degree turning takes a lot of practice with a high degree of fall potential (landing with skates sideways, etc) so do not attempt this unless you are completely padded including head protection. (see the safety page). Try to avoid landing on your heel wheels, all wheels or toe wheels first is best and keep those knees bent. Scissoring on landing gives better stability.

Toe/Toe pivot spinning is a very easy spin/turn technique. You simply rock onto your toe wheels and pivot 180 degrees 'front to back'. Pre-turning your upper body is recommended as it makes the move easier & scissoring is a must for successful spinning.

This is a great way to carve a turn, plus a way to bleed-off speed. If you lose it & tumble you will do a standard frontal fall inside your turn. start by scissoring your inside skate to the rear, pre-turn your upper body & visualize the spin path. Unweight the inside skate & turn 180 degrees. Using both inside edges, spin off vector. The degree of inside lean determines your speed loss due to friction - more lean, more friction, so a lower speed. When your spin is complete, weight the leading skate, turn the trailing skate 180 degrees, re-weight both skates & you have performed a Mohawk.

The move to get you facing forward when you have mastered going backwards is called the Back to Front. To perform it you have to shift your weight to one foot, lift the turning foot & rotate it 180 degrees, pre-turning your shoulders to follow the foot rotation. Place & re-weight the turning foot, simultaneously lifting the other foot & quickly rotating it 180 degrees. Place it down parallel & just forward of the first foot & go for it! Once the turn is understood you can let your pre-turned torso rotation drive the spin, which is easier on the hip joint socket of the leading leg with less leg twist. Combine the Back to Front with a Front to Back for a really cool full 360 degree spin/turn.