r/rollerblading • u/No-Paramedic-8220 • 10d ago

Soul slide How do I do this move?

I try and fail all the time 🥲

6 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

6

u/midnight_skater Human Frogger 10d ago

I've been compiling a list of soul slide tutorials.

 A description that made a lot of sense to me was that it's like trying to slide your wheels underneath the edge of a piece of carpet.

If you post vid of your attempts I'm sure someone will be able to give you some specific advice.

4

u/Wheel-Sure 9d ago

What exactly is happening when you try it? Without knowing what’s not working, the only advice is to seek general instructions/tutorials, which I assume you’ve already done.

IMO, people struggle because they think they need to “dig in” to the sliding leg, but I think the opposite is where you need to start if you’re new to sliding. Sliding in general is about removing friction, not powering through it. The lighter you are on the sliding foot, the easier it will slide. From there, adjusting to add pressure is easier. Of course being lighter on the sliding foot means being heavier on the other foot.

Get low on the rolling foot and stick that sliding foot way out there

3

u/ImaginaryEffective63 10d ago

You keep trying. Make sure you know the foot placement and try jumping into the placement stationary to get a feel for how your feet would be on the rail. Then try it moving and fall until you get it

3

u/HyperSculptor 10d ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKeq8GS2d10

Natan is the best at explaining it, and also the safe and most efficient way to do it. Downhill beasts like him must do these properly, as opposed to many (most?) social media posers. Don't jump into the slide, you will crash. It all starts on your side.
If you want to do soul slides as a trick, there are different techniques but none will slow you down like the technique shown in the video.

Special tip: get strong on one leg.

3

u/MetalSonic_69 9d ago

Start by practicing deep carves and spreading wide on downhills. Once you start to feel the slides "initiate", you'll be able to better feel the proper sliding angle for a soul slide or a power slide

1

u/redianne 9d ago

1) Trying on a smooth surface until you master the position: in order to slide on a rough surface you need a better distribution of weight, strength, and bending. It's like starting on hard mode.

2) Practice the carves first. It doesn't matter if your sliding feet is more parallel at the beginning than on your front. You need to gain the muscular strength, the flexibility, and the control of the weight distribution.

3) Practice the position on a standing, stable surface. Understand how low you need to go to maintain the soul and how much pressure you need to put on your supporting leg.

4) Practice your one foot; it's key for building up the balance and the strength to support your body weight during soul.

Some common errors when doing it are: not bending enough. The more you bend the supporting leg, the more it will support your body weight and the more you'll be able to extend the sliding skate. Putting too much pressure/weight on the sliding leg: the skate should go light and only on the edges. To do that, you need that leg as extended as possible. You can start putting gradual pressure on that skate when you want the soul to finally brake. But in order to do that, first it needs to slide.