Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-04-20
Ideas ON WheeIs-HoW to Begin

This is the day, more particularly than
| any Othel, when young ladies and children
visit the Rink TO practice rOller-skating and
! there is always among the number some
who are exceedingly anxious to learn but
| who do not know how to do it systemati-
cally, and consequently they are soon ia
tigued and subsequently experience pain.
| 1t must be borne in mind that it is no more
! difficult to stand upon and walk with pair
| Of roller-skates on the feet than otherwise
and that as the travelling is much more rapid
with them on than of, care must be exer-
| cised not to use them TOO long at any one
| time by persons whose lower limbs are
not fully developed and who are unaccus-
| toned to fatigue there. 1t is well known
! that alcoholic beverages can be INDUCED in
| to excess; rOller-skating stands in the same
position to physical exercise; one can get
completely worn out in thirty minutes by
indiscretely using the rOller-skates and then,
probably, will attribute it to the skates and
not take into consideration that the skates
are guided 10y will which the wearer of
the skates is supposed to be able to control.
Probably many young person who has
bitterly complained of fatigue after having
used the skates would be surprized to learn
that he or she had Travelled not less than at
: the rate of seven miles an hour!-and if
this was done with the skates off would
there not also be fatigue?
HOW TO BEGIN.
This is the most serious part Of the whole
business with those who wish to learn. 1t
is not necessary to have some ore CONVOY
you around the room as though you were
aninvald. Having had the skates strapped
Oh, sit down somewhere where your skates
will rest firmly on the floor, then put both
heels close together and keep your toes out
as much as you eau. Stand up. You will
not fall. You cannot if you will
keep your heels firmly together.
Commence walking; only about an
inch at time, toes out as much as possible
and heels so that they cannot but come
quickly together. There will be exceeding
ly little if any rolling at all if you walk very
slowly, but when you commence walking
fast then you commence to roll some. The
same movement that is practiced forward
can be repeated backwards, and in this way
the pupil soon learns to roll backwards as
well as forwards and to do both with equal
facility. 1t must always be remembered
that the feet are not to be looked at. In
looking at them the body is bent forward
and the equilibrium is disturbed. After hay
ing learned to roll forward little commence
counting one, two; one, two, and at each
count of one incline the body right or left,
as the case may be, and in this way you
will soon learn to gracefully execute the
outside roll, one of the most delightful
movements of the art. Care must be taken
not to roll long distance, or in other
words not to take a wide sweep for instance
on the right side and a short, jerky one on
the left, but to strike out evenly on both
sides, and see how near you can execute each
almost without apparent effort. Profession
ais never execute a movement with one
foot that they do not endeavor to do it
equally well with the other All the grace
full skating movements are adapted to one |
two-three-four or one -two-three time. |
"Here endeth the first lesson"