Preoccupied with... Roller Derby

Yes, I have been silent for a while. I've been preoccupied with life. Sometimes life is for living not writing. 

And one of my preoccupations has been....

Roller Derby  

Yes. I have been learning to skate. I started in April, and have developed from a wobbly zero on skates into a Rookie Monster. I have passed most of my minimum skills. I can fall on one knee, two knees, on all fours, I can baseball slide, derby stop, plough stop, t-stop, skate half the track on one leg, walk on my toe-stops, shoulder block, hip block, jump, lateral, take and give whips, and skate(almost) 25 laps in 5 minutes. I am just two metres away from 25 laps. And once I get 25 laps, I will be able to train and compete with the big girls (and boys). 

Although, I don't feel quite ready for that yet. 

I've surprised myself by being better than I thought, and annoyed myself by not being as good as I want to be. I've been inspired by some amazing skaters at Manchester Roller Derby, who are brilliant, hard-hitting skaters. I dream to skate like them. I want to be able to compete alongside some of them, and know what I'm doing and not let the team down. 

I have a lot to learn yet. Today, I was learning how to make the transition from skating forwards to skating backwards. I've cracked it. But then skating backwards is a whole other issue. I'm wobbly as hell when I skate backwards, and it's going to take practice. Plus, taking and giving hits can be a little scary, and I need to find my aggressive side. It is definitely in there, but it's as if I hold back. I don't counter block well (yet) and I need to learn how to throw everything into my hits so I can knock people off the track or send them flying. I need to be more confident and gutsy and find my inner roar, ha ha ha.

It has given me a lot of energy and fight. I love being on skates. It feels like flying! Training sessions can be a challenge and I can ache for days afterwards. But derby makes me stronger than I felt before and more confident, and makes me want to work really, really hard to be good enough for a team.   

Here I am. Little Miss Mayhem!