In learning to balance yourself on skates, you will find that you
at once bring unused muscles of the ankles and lower limbs into
play, with the necessary result of somewhat painful exercise. But
this soon wears off, if it be not too long indulged in at a time.
Frequent rest for the newly exercised muscles yield more satisfactory
results than too much practice at one time. The fundamental basis
of all expert eft'brts on skates is the movements made while bearing
on the outer edge of the skate on the ice. This once attained, you
liolJ the key to all the variations of the fancy skater's programme.
Confidence in your ability to lean on the outer edge of your skate is
everything. The very fear that }'ou will surely fall if you attempt it
is the cau.se of falling. " Nothing venture, nothing have " is a motto
which comes into play admirably in practicing to skate the " outer
roll." The lines of this movement are the very reverse, of course,
of the inside edge motion or " inside roll," as will be seen by tlie
appended diagram :
104 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
If your skate has a keen edge — a requisite in skating whether for th j
expert or the novice — it is just as safe to lean over on the outer edge
as on the inner. You imagine it is not until you have learned to do
it ; but when you have, one will be found as simple as the other.
Once having acquired the art of the outside roll, you enter the
charmed circle of the fancy skater's arena. Then comes the outside
roll backward, with the various circles, and these movements learned,
you know the grammar of skating, and need only to see the expert
go through all his fancy movements to become an accomplished
skater. A prettier sight than a girl in appropriate skating costume
doing the outside roll is difficult to find in the winter season.
Skating on rollers varies materially from using skates on the ice.
In the first place, in roller-skating there is none of that strain on
the muscles of the ankles there is in ice skating, simply because
while standing on the rollers you stand on a flat surface the same as
on the floor ; with the one exception, however, that you are liable to
slip forward or backward on the rollers — but not sideways — the
same as you are on skates. There is another essential difference
between the two methods of skating, however, which it is veiy neces-
sary to understand in learning to skate on the rollers after having
learned to skate on the ice, and that is, that the roller skate is directed
in its forward movement by your actions in balancing yourself; that
is, if you wish to do the outer roll, you lean on your skate to the
right, not force it in that direction by your foot, and to do the inside'
you lean to the inside. In learning to do the outside roll on parlor
skates, you will find that confidence is everything. You, of course,
cannot do fancy skating on any roller skates such as boys and girls
use in the street, but only on those of the Plimpton patent used in
the skating rinks. There are hundreds of variations of fancy skating
movements capable of accomplishment on ihe Plimpton rollers, but
which are impossible on the ordinary street roller skates.
SPORTS AND GAMES FOR LADIES. IO5
Page 61
Presented as published in 1883. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In learning to balance yourself on skates, you will find that you at once bring unused muscles of the ankles and lower limbs into play, with the necessary result of somewhat painful exercise. But this soon wears off, if it be not too long indulged in at a time. Frequent rest for the newly exercised muscles yield more satisfactory results than too much practice at one time. The fundamental basis of all expert efforts on skates is the movements made while bearing on the outer edge of the skate on the ice. This once attained, you liolJ the key to all the variations of the fancy skater's programme. Confidence in your ability to lean on the outer edge of your skate is everything. The very fear that you will surely fall if you attempt it is the cause of falling. " Nothing venture, nothing have " is a motto which comes into play admirably in practicing to skate the " outer roll." The lines of this movement are the very reverse, of course, of the inside edge motion or "inside roll," as will be seen by the appended diagram:
104 THE hearthstone; or, life at home.
If your skate has a keen edge — a requisite in skating whether for the expert or the novice — it is just as safe to lean over on the outer edge as on the inner. You imagine it is not until you have learned to do it ; but when you have, one will be found as simple as the other. Once having acquired the art of the outside roll, you enter the charmed circle of the fancy skater's arena. Then comes the outside roll backward, with the various circles, and these movements learned, you know the grammar of skating, and need only to see the expert go through all his fancy movements to become an accomplished skater. A prettier sight than a girl in appropriate skating costume doing the outside roll is difficult to find in the winter season.
Skating on rollers varies materially from using skates on the ice. In the first place, in roller-skating there is none of that strain on the muscles of the ankles there is in ice skating, simply because while standing on the rollers you stand on a flat surface the same as on the floor ; with the one exception, however, that you are liable to slip forward or backward on the rollers — but not sideways — the same as you are on skates. There is another essential difference between the two methods of skating, however, which it is veiy necessary to understand in learning to skate on the rollers after having learned to skate on the ice, and that is, that the roller skate is directed in its forward movement by your actions in balancing yourself; that is, if you wish to do the outer roll, you lean on your skate to the right, not force it in that direction by your foot, and to do the inside you lean to the inside. In learning to do the outside roll on parlor skates, you will find that confidence is everything. You, of course, cannot do fancy skating on any roller skates such as boys and girls use in the street, but only on those of the Plimpton patent used in the skating rinks. There are hundreds of variations of fancy skating movements capable of accomplishment on ihe Plimpton rollers, but which are impossible on the ordinary street roller skates.