Aggressive skating

From Free net encyclopedia

This article is mostly about aggressive inline skating. For an extensive treatment of skateboarding tricks, see here.

Aggressive skating is a stunt-based form of inline skating. Aggressive inline skating is performed on aggressive skates, as opposed to fitness or racing skates. Originally starting on half pipes and spines and moving on to city streets, aggressive skaters attempt tricks such as sliding ("grinding") on the edge of concrete ledges or handrails, jumping, spinning and flipping over stairs or other gaps.

The term aggressive skating is a name only used outside the industry to describe the specific style of inline skating, but not a term most within the sport enjoy hearing or using. Instead, those who practice the sport simply refer to it as "rolling" or "skating". It should be noted that using any variation of term "rollerblade" is, technically, trademark dilution.

In the past, most people inside and out of aggressive skating would have defined it as a sport. But currently the more popular view is that it is a cross between a sport, an art form, and lifestyle.

Historically, skateboarding has always looked down on aggressive inline skating. The reasons for this vary. It's not uncommon for hostilities to break out between skateboarders and inline skaters that come in direct contact. But it's equally as common to find the two interacting with no problems, to find people who cross over from one to the other, and to see groups of skaters containing both variations.

Contents 1 Types of Aggessive Skating 2 Aggressive skates 3 Aggressive Skate Manufacturers 4 Hardware Manufacturers 5 Champion Aggressive Skaters (by country) 5.1 Australia 5.2 Brazil 5.3 Bulgaria 5.4 Canada 5.5 France 5.6 Germany 5.7 Japan 5.8 Netherlands 5.9 Switzerland 5.10 United Kingdom 5.11 United States of America 6 External links

Types of Aggessive Skating

Aggressive skating is sometimes broken down into to vert skating and street skating, though the latter can have multiple definitions.

Vert skating generally refers to skating in a halfpipe, and performing aerial tricks.

Street skating, to some, refers to skating which involves grinds, jumps, and other tricks that do not require special terrain (such as the halfpipe). Others, however, consider waxed rails as "special terrain," and refer to street skating as a smaller subset of tricks (a minority of grinds, stair stalls, stair bashing, and jumps). Holders of this definition argue that street skating in its purest form involves complete mastery of the basic elements, so that a street skater can easily glide through an unpredictable and uncontrolled environment while still making it "look easy." In this respect, street skating is more a form of optimized transportation than showing off.

Park skating is similar to street skating but is done in a skatepark rather than on a city street. Many skateparks include elements meant to recreate a street (stairs, rails, etc.) in addition to the normal ramps and pipes.

Aggressive skates

Aggressive skates are a variety of inline skates with some or all of the following characteristics:

• Hard outer shell or soft boot style
• Smaller wheel diameter, Higher wheel durometer rating
• Soul plate
• Frames designed specifically for grinding, and landing hard from gaps/drops

The hard outer shell, typically made of high-impact plastic, is for protection of the skater's feet. Typically these skates are exposed to greater impacts than fitness skates, due to the stunts attempted with them. Some companies have been experimenting with soft boot styles for years now though. K2 (A massive company, who has sold skating out when the money dried up) have been making soft boots for nearly a decade. They have been followed by Remz, Deshi, and now USD with the Legacy hybrid skate.

The smaller wheel diameter and higher durometer rating found on aggressive skates serve multiple purposes. A smaller wheel diameter (usually around 55mm) decreases the top speed of the skate, due to a decreased moment of inertia. However, this decreased moment of inertia allows the skate to accelerate/decelerate much quicker. A durometer measures the hardness of the wheels, and generally ranges from 72A to 101A. A higher durometer number indicates a harder wheel. Softer wheels are used for gripping and turning, but generally wear out faster and have a decreased top speed (due to rolling resistance). Harder wheels have less shock absorbance and grip, but do not wear out as fast and provide higher top speeds. Although recently there has been a return to slightly larger wheels among some skaters, for their speed and increased stability when landing gaps.

It is common to find skaters either using very small middle wheels, commonly about 48mm and 100+A to allow easier grinding. Other styles include freestyle (no middle wheels) and flat (4 smaller wheels per frame)

The soul plate is typically high-impact plastic placed on the sole of the skate (where the flat part of the foot would be if there were no wheel). It is used during certain kinds of grinds and slides. Additionaly there is a backslide plate placed halfway down the outside of the boot inline with the HBlock in the frame.

Frame design in skates has evolved greatly since the sports beginnings. Originally there were only stock frames fitted to skates, these were often barely distinguishable from their fitness counterparts, and usually had grindplates added to the inside. Made by companies like CDS Detroit, these plates were lumps of plastic that absorbed friction when grinding when fixed across the middle two wheel bolts. However over time the companies began to produce more robust frames with larger grooves (H-blocks) between the two middle wheels for grinding. Aftermarket companies such as fifty/fifty and Senate started to produce frames which were even more durable, and more importantly replaceable. These began to replace the process of using grind plates. Eventually in about 2000 a universal frame system (UFS) was developed by several companies and people involved in the industry. This has greatly increased the options for skaters, and now we have many more companies supplying frames whatever your style and taste in frames.

Most companies produce extra replacement parts for grind pieces on the skate. These pieces (including frames or chassis, soul plates, grind plates, cuffs, buckles, etc.) are manufactured in different colors and materials to suit the skater's preference in style and performance. There are countless aftermarket parts companies for aggressive skating.

Commonly referred parts of the Aggressive skate anatomy:

• Shell – is the housing that covers the foot.
• Cuff – the brace that hugs the ankle and upper ankle.
• Soul – a plate or region that is under the boot, above the frame.
• Frame – the chassis that houses the wheels.
• H Block – the area and material between the middle two wheels
• Liner – the inner boot that is made to house the foot.
• Backslide plate – the area on the outer part of the foot near to the arc of the foot.
• Buckle/Lacing – the type of enclosure on the boot.
• Bearing – hardware placed in the wheels to aid.
• Wheels – round urethane acting as the contact of the skate to the ground.
• Anti Rocker Wheels - performance replacements of the middle two wheels.

Aggressive Skate Manufacturers

• Razors
• Deshi
• Xsjado
• USD
• Roces
• Valo
• Remz/Remedyz

Hardware Manufacturers

• Forensic Wheels
• 4x4 Wheels
• Ground Control Frames
• Able Hardware
• Vicious Bearings
• Rat Tail Distribution, Inc.
• Mindgame Wheels
• Heat Wheels
• Night Hardware
• Jug Liners
• Murder One Urethane
• Genre
• Kizer
• [http://www.salomonstreet.com

Champion Aggressive Skaters (by country)

The following is a list of links to champion skaters. Due to a high rate of vanity vandalism, names on the list without a verifiable link will be removed.

Australia

• Cesar Mora

• List of Australia male skaters on rollerblading.com.au
• List of Australia female skaters on rollerblading.com.au
• Sam Bradley
• Kaspar Hartley

Brazil

• Marco de Santi
• Fabiola da Silva

Bulgaria

• Nikolai Naidenov- Ranked 6th World Amateur by ASA
• Kiril Trayanov- Ranked 7th World Amateur by ASA

Canada

Richie Eisler T4
Corey Lowe T4

• Lisa Suggitt
  

Ryan Roux
niki adams
david ellis
stu cambell
brian prodan
ian grindal
charles a. natal
ian frenette
dave jarvis
michelle scott
elmer pillon
Shannon Murray

France

Ben Jimenez
Jeremy Jimenez
Fabrice Guyount
Matthieu Heinemann
Nicolaus Bellini
Quentin Mandron
Momo Sylla
Remy Meister
fabeola de silva

Germany

Dominic Wegener
Benni Harmanus
Bruno Lowe

Japan

Takeshi Yasutoko
Eito Yasutoko

Netherlands

• Sven Boekhorst
• Daan Hegt
• Martin van Drunen
• Tyron Ballantine

Switzerland

Cedric Eisenring
Jona Messerli
Cosimo Tassone - Best International Skater of the Year 2006 *RFCC All Star Awards
Sandro Brun
Patrick Studer

United Kingdom

Micheal France
Oli Short
Chaz Sands
brian adams
keir linzy

United States of America

Alex Broskow[1]
Anthony Soto [2]
Arsenio Patterson [3]
Brian Shima[4] - The name behind the highest selling range of pro skate models by Razors.
Brian Aragon - Winner of Style of the Year at the 2006 RFCC All Star Awards[5]
Brenton Wheeler - Laying Hammers for Kansas City, Kansas
Brent Hicks - Esco Zoo Up and Comer - Escondido, California
Charles Dunkle
Chris Cheshire
Chris Farmer - Arguably the most creative and influential skater over the past 3 years, Chris Farmer never ceases to reimagine just about everything within skating. When people said rails were dead, Chris started grinding the under-bars. When they said gaps were out, Chris start jumping through holed walls and Monkey-Planting down into the basements of parking garages. When they said there were no more grinds to be done, Farm showed everyone what an Alley-oop Topside Tea Kettle looked like. So, for those wondering what's next from Farmer, you can just be sure that it's something absolutely no one is expecting. Chris Farmer currently rides for Xsjado,Mindgame Urethane, and Vibralux Denim Project.
Chris Haffey - Winner of Skater of the Year and Best Video Section of the Year for sections in Killer Boots and 4x4's Leading the Blind at the. As of 3/25/06 he is the winner of the barnburner cometition for the 3rd year in a row.2006 RFCC All Star Awards
Connor O'Brien - Pro for Remedyz and Am for Ground Control and 4x4 Urethane
Dan Barnes
Damien Wilson
Dre Powell
Dustin Latimer- Every time people think they have Dustin Latimer figured out, he does something that proves them wrong. As the leader of Mindgame's creative movement in 2000, Dustin challenged the dogmas of traditional skating and opened up the floodgates for new tricks- as well as new ways to do old ones. Dustin Latimer currently rides for Xsjado and Mindgame Urethane.
Eric Baily - Valo pro rider and winner of the latest BCSD.
Eric Perkett
Eric Shrijn - Esco Zoo Legend - Escondido, California [6]
Franky Morales
Iain McLeod
Jeph Howard[7]
Jeff Stockwell
Jon Julio - Owner of Valo Brand Skates
Jon Elliott
Josh Petty[8]
Laurel Ehret
Lyle Shivak
Mike Currier [9]
Mike Johnson[10] - aka. Murda, known for his big tech tricks an hurricane grinds. Mike is the owner of the shoe and liner brand Jug.
Mike Lilly
Micah Yeager
Nick Wood
Pancho Barrera
Rachard Johnson
Randy Juarez
Rob Guerrero [11]
Robert Lieavanos
Sean Santamaria
Selwin Briggs[12][13]
Trevor Tylosky [14]
Tory Tresseder
Vinny Minton

External links

• Daily Bread Magazine The premeire magazine for aggressive inline skaters around since day 1 of the sport.
• RFCC All Star Tour Yearly tour of all the best skaters from all the various boot companies.
• Scum Magazine Premiere Archives of some of the best that skating has to offer.
• RateASkater.com Over 3000 photos and 1000 video clips of aggressive skaters from around the world.
• Toxboe.net Has in-depth explanations of many inline skating tricks, and the best online aggressive inline skating community.
• Be-mag.com Offers an insiders look into the sport. The website included news, media, and discussions related to aggressive skating.
• Rolling Edits Messageboard where you can upload and discus rollerblade edits contributed by members of the site.
• ASA Inline Skating Aggressive Skate Association.
• Rollernews.com Daily news throughout the world, within Aggressive Skating.
• AISA DISASTER Aggressive Inline Skating Association DISASTER- Information about the local scene and also what is happening in the Balkans (Bulgaria)
• 731 Huge gallery and information aboyut local scene (Czech and Slovak Republic)
• Roll DC Showcasing the best from the Washington DC Area.es:Patinaje_agresivo
• Neglected Truth Rollerbladeshop.
• blog.rollerwarehouse.com Skate blog with How-To's on skate tricks, listing of skate events, product reviews and other rolling news.
• UKSkate.comThe UK's premiere Rollerblader owned and run skate shop.
• rollamag.com Australia's only rollerbalding magazine. Produced locally by local skaters.