Roller skating is not as difficult as I expected

A month or two ago, my six-year-old daughter strongly suggested that I buy a scooter or roller skates to play with her.

Scooter or roller skates?

This is a multiple choice question.

I initially tended to buy scooters, because playing scooters is simple and does not require deliberate learning.

Roller skating is much more difficult. I am not confident that I can learn it in a short time. My wife directly questioned: roller skating, can you learn it?

I had already decided to buy a scooter. I didn't buy it right away. I was greedy for cheap and wanted to wait for a discount from the merchant.

During the few days I waited, my thoughts were shaken: Since I invested time, why not learn a real skill?

In my opinion, playing scooters is purely a child’s entertainment, while roller skating can be called a sport.

I started to hesitate, and I was busy at work, so I never bought a scooter or roller skates.

A week ago, my daughter was on summer vacation, and she began to urge me to buy it quickly.

This time, I did not hesitate and quickly placed an order for roller skates and protective gear.

There is no helmet in the protective gear I bought because I think I don’t need it. My daughter was very dissatisfied with this, insisted on asking me to buy it, and even "sue" to my mother about it.

Thinking of my daughter being so concerned about her own safety, and thinking of setting an example for her children in safety protection, I didn't insist on my opinion.

After the full set of protective gear was furnished, I went to a small square in the community to start practicing. My six-year-old daughter was my private coach.

There were not many people in the small square, but their eyes quickly focused on me, a middle-aged man who was "fully armed" and hobbled.

Some children gathered around curiously, chattering and talking, "Is he an adult who can't play this?", "I can skate much faster than him?", "Is it necessary to bring so many protective gear?"...

Adults with children seem to be "smiling" at me...

My little coach didn't seem to be very careful. She started to glide "arbitrarily" as soon as she put on roller skating, and she often ignored me.

While recalling the video about the basic movements of roller skating I watched before, I felt and tried to control this restless thing under my feet.

On the first day, I hobbled for an hour or two. In the middle, I fell and landed on my buttocks. The moment I fell, I felt a little pain in my neck.

The next day, I staggered for another hour or two, feeling a little more stable, and occasionally gliding slowly for a short period of time inexplicably.

On the third day, my daughter and I went to the small square again. I walked more steadily and faster, but still seemed unable to slide.

In order to slide, I did a lot of attempts.

I felt that hard stepping seemed to make me slip forward, so I stepped hard.

My daughter slid to me coolly and asked: What are you doing?

I said: I want to slide forward.

She smiled and said: That won’t work. You have to kick backwards with your feet, and kick back alternately with your two feet, like me...

With that, she slid away smartly again.

I understood what my daughter said, trying hard and clumsily to kick back with both feet...

I heard my daughter yelling from a distance: The foot that kicked backward stood on tiptoe!

I stand on my heels obediently...

Almost at this moment, I suddenly became clear, and I found the feeling of sliding forward!

After about ten minutes, I was able to glide at a speed no less than that of my daughter, although the action might not seem cool enough.

My daughter was also surprised at my progress: Wow, why did my dad suddenly skate faster than me? I thought you would study for 8 days?

This progress actually exceeded my expectations.

I remember that when I was in military training at university, I found that my ability to learn body movements deteriorated a lot (the reason why I said it was worse because I didn't have this problem in elementary and middle school).

When I was in college, my performance in radio gymnastics and dancing was very poor. Because of this, I often laugh at myself with "underdeveloped cerebellum", and I seem to accept this "cruel" reality.

This time learning roller skating, I am mentally prepared to learn basic skating in a month or even longer.

The result surprised me and I learned it on the third day.

I told my daughter: I am very happy, I have learned a new skill, thank you for teaching me.

The daughter said: I am also very happy, I taught you roller skating, I did not expect you to learn so fast.

When I got home, I half-jokingly said to my wife: I have learned to roller skating, and I have confidence in my "cerebellum" again!

In fact, I have indeed gained greater confidence in learning new skills in recent years.

It was this sentence that ended my entanglement in scooter or roller skates.

Finally, I would like to say to friends who are interested in learning roller skating: learn if you want, it's not that difficult; then, I recommend wearing protective gear when learning. My experience is that protective gear gives people the courage not to be afraid of wrestling, and people with this courage are not easy to wrestle.