Jan/Feb 2005

Good Jammin' News

THE MANY FACES OF ROLLER SKATING The following is from a recent interview RST conducted with Bill Butler [BB}. RST - How does one get used to new wheels when they are a higher durometer/hardness than other wheels, i.e., they are "slicker"? BB - You're gonna start understanding surfaces now and how they work for you......the floor never adjusts to you, you have to adjust to it, it's that simple.  You have to come in and know what you're dealing with.  You should go around the rink every time, this is in my book, you should skate around the rink and find out where they didn't clean it or if they left debris on the floor, stuff that could trip you up.  Anybody that's skating on a real hard wheel should do that, take the time, skate around, and look.   Check it, especially all the places you think you're going to be skating - go look....test the floor because some places might be slicker than others.  Then you might still blow it after you do your intense inspection, unless you get down on your knees with your nose to the floor and check every little inch. RST - So you have to get adjusted to the new wheels before you can start trying moves? BB - Yeah, if the seriousness is there.  If you're serious about skating, and these are really the only people I'm referring to,  you're gonna want to know about the wheels, how to make the necessary adjustments to your trucks, you got to know what the trucks are for, what kind of cushions you need for your weight distribution..and all the things that are attached to becoming a better than average roller skater. Roller skating has many different faces and the more faces that you're familiar with, the more you know about it, the better you'll function on the skates.  Then you will have more fun because if you're not having fun you should take up something else.   If you're not doing anything that's fun, why do it in the first place? Skating is dangerous, you could end up in the hospital fooling around with some skates and it happens so quickly.  I give anybody credit that goes in a rink and ends up in their cars going home because roller skating is no joke, it's something that can get you hurt when you least expect it.  So you don't get on those skates frolicking around unless you know what you are doing. I don't care how you know what you're doing as long as you know what you're doing...to keep yourself off of a gurney. If it's someone else that causes it, the only thing you're gonna get from that person is ‘I’m sorry.’  But they're taking you off to the hospital, your life has been cut off for 8 weeks or better, and that would be considered the good end of it rather than to have a fractured skull or compound fracture.  If you're looking at 8 weeks and you'll be back on those babies, you've got the good end of the stick, otherwise, it's severe.  Depending on the person, that may be the last time they think about putting skates on because they become very shy about it.  Especially when it comes to adults out for an evening with their friends, something like that, man, you can hate skating in two seconds. RST - I got knocked down the other week by a guy in brownies [rental skates] and you could tell he couldn't really skate well. BB - What did he say? RST - First of all, it was a slow song and my knee was bothering me so I was headed off the floor and the next thing I know somebody banged into me and I fell hard on my rump, and he said, ‘Are you o.k.?’  I was pissed off and I said, ‘I suppose so.’ BB - You just don't come up with eloquent stuff at that point ..it's hard because I don't think anyone is deliberate about it.  Remember awhile ago we talked about an incident that happened to me, I was skating backwards and this guy, the next thing I knew I was flying and I wanted to just kill [him], but I had to remember that for that split second I didn't look.  It's like a 2-way street, so it's kind of hard to differentiate between who's responsible right off the bat. If you think about it, I was responsible because I didn't look.  That means I could have diverted, went another way or something so I'm sure that person didn't just lay down and say ‘Here comes Bill...’  I’d have to share that blame for sure. RST - Well, I think I'm going to put all the blame on that guy. [laughter] BB - You were hit from behind, right? RST - He was going backwards and (#1) he couldn't skate anyway and it was a slow song.  I don't understand why he was going that fast.  But I guess I put my guard down because I was headed off the floor so I wasn't looking to my right side. BB - It's all about looking, that's why the insurance companies that are in business today, they know they got this thing all figured out.  They know when somebody blew it and - outside of somebody getting killed - who caused what for the most part.  In an accident, it's hard to come up with the who because you could have a heart attack, a lot of things could be the reason but anything short of a heart attack, somebody was not defensively driving that vehicle.   It's the same thing with roller skating. You must watch where you are going, that's the end of it.  You can't for that split second, not be watching.  If you are rolling, you should be looking, i.e., let's say for every time you don't look, the skates were able to stop by themselves.  You'd be surprised how many people would be stopping.....if the skates could just react to you not looking where you are going.  I think all skaters are guilty of not watching where they are going. My percentage of not watching where I'm going has been cut down low because I'm very serious about it.  For the time I'm not watching where I'm going, the percentage of that is too low because I am watching and it's a rare time that I don't watch where I'm going. RST - Do you think experienced skaters have more responsibility to be on guard?   I let my guard down because I was so used to skating and was heading off the floor.  I wasn't really paying attention. BB - When you use the term ‘experienced’, then we give the credit right away.  The word ‘experience’ means the experienced skater would watch where they are going, yes.  Absolutely. It would behoove everyone to become experienced in looking right along with learning because you never stop learning how to look, you have to look all the time.  If you're moving that way, look that way, that's my theory.  If you're moving, you should be looking in that direction.  You can't be on the floor talking to some girl or a friend and not watch where you are going because you're on the floor with other people and everybody is responsible for everybody - it's that simple....When you get off the floor, you're responsible right up until the time you sit down. If you're in that area where people pass by you on their skates, you have to walk on the carpet, that walk and roll thing, you're supposed to keep your feet out of the way.  Don't sprawl out like you're in your front room.  You have to look out for other people all the time because skating is a danger zone. Why do you think the people who own the rink have signs everywhere that say ‘Skate at your own risk’?  That's what it is.  If it was so peachy they wouldn't need the signs.  Skating is dead serious, that's why it's very hard for the roller skating industry to find an insurance company in the first place because it's so dangerous.  You know anytime you have problems getting insurance you're supposed to be watching what you're doing. RST - I don't think we really think about that as skaters. BB - That's what I mean.  Either the skating rink has to have tight insurance or you better have good insurance coverage yourself - that's how serious skating is and I think its taken for granted too much.  It only needs to happen once and you immediately awaken to that fact.  Especially the once-in-a-blue-moon skater, those are the ones most vulnerable because they come there with friends and haven't skated for years.  You better be taking that serious because your life is going to change abruptly if you're not careful. RST - Or if somebody else isn't. BB - Exactly, it's amazing.  It happens so quick and you'll wish you'd never seen a pair of skates.  It's instant ‘I am hurt’ and the pain is so quick the body can't take it.  I've just been fortunate and like I've said, for you to go to the rink and leave in one piece, you have to pray when you get outside, ‘Thank you Jesus that I made it through this night.’  It doesn't take much of anything for you to be jammed, and it's unfortunate, but that's the risk.  Here I have this love affair with this risky sport. It's very important to be cognizant every time we go past that door, you put those skates on you better be skate worthy, watching, aware and trying to be as flexible as possible. The rigid person is the one who gets hurt, the flexible person is more apt to survive it just because of the flexibility.  That in itself tells you something about life. If you are rigid in your day to day life, you have more trouble than the average person who's flexible in their manner.  If you're flexible, you can get through the day, when all is going to hell you can make it.  But if you're rigid and trying to go against things, it gets you nothing but misery.  I use roller skating to teach me lesson after lesson after lesson. RST - Thank you. Do you have a specific question on the above information or the Jammin technique?  Ask Bill Back to Top