Fresh Meat Week 3
3rd December

WHIPPING
Like pushing, whipping is a great way to help a jammer or blocker gain speed and get through the pack.  It can also be used to get a team mate in front of another skater.

Hip whips:
Hip whips can be used to get yourself around a team mate, as well as increase speed.
+ Touch first to let your team mate know you're there, then pull yourself around.
+ Don't pull your team mate down - instead, pull them straight toward you.
+ Like with pushing, come in close first in order to increase your power.
+ Don't be afraid to use some fore
+ Make sure you communicate what you are intending to do!

Outside arm whips:
+ You must feel confident giving each other your full weight
+ It's not about how big or small you are, but about using your core and your whole body to transfer energy
+ As the whipper, make sure you follow right through the whip (ie. don't stop half way) to give your whipee the option of where to let go
+ Think about: counter balance, stable feet and strong core
+ Use your hockey stop to transfer all your possible energy to your whipee - it's okay if you stop entirely
+ Remember to use closed fists (ie. not locking fingers)
+ Communicate!  Use your eyes and your voice to let your partner know what to expect, and when
+ Don't just move from the shoulder.  As GoGo says 'the arm is like the handle, but it is the body that gives the power'.
+ A whip will be most useful when going into or coming out of an apex

Inside arm whips:
Inside arm whips will not be as powerful as outside arm whips, but are useful in small spaces, or when you need to sneak a blocker or jammer through on the inside line.  There are two variations on the inside arm whip: first, using a locked (bent) left arm as a lever or, alternatively, pulling your partner through with your right arm and then giving them a little push with your left.
+ Remember that all skaters must stay inside the track lines!
+ Derby stance will always help you to stay stable.  + + And, once again, remember to communicate your intentions!


Love and Bumps
3 Veg & Gravy xxx

Fresh Meat Week 4 - Dress Rehearsal!

6th December 2012

Here are the essentials for each of the Fresh Meat testing stations.  If you have any questions about any of the stations, please comment here or email us.

JUMPS & FALLS
For falls remember: quick recovery, standing without using your hands (use your core!) and keep your arms and legs tucked in (no flailing or chicken arms).

• Single knee fall (both legs) (engage your core to stay stable)
• Double knee fall (A soft 'tap, tap' fall. ie. don't jump into it, slide into it!)
• Four Point Fall (hands tucked into fists (no fingers!))
• Single knee fall with a turn (Turns a full 180.  Then stands, turns in same direction, and resumes skating)
• Hopping & coasting (land on both feet during hopping, stay strong and stable)
• Jumping (start and finish with feet together, land on toes first, then heels - to help with stability and shock absorption)

PACK WORK
For pack work remember: communicate verbally and with body language, be a safe skater (no tripping or grabbing other skaters), and look around you - be aware on the track.

• Stopping as a pack
• Leaning 
• Clipping wheels
• Avoiding obstacles

BLOCKING
For blocking remember: safety first always!  Only give what you can take.  Stance - nice and low.  Follow through with your blocks.

• Booty blocking (think about your close proximity and peripheral vision)
• Hip checks (both sides, giving and receiving) (remember to use your 'gate stance' and find the 'sweet spot')
• Body checks (both sides, giving and receiving) (think about following through your block)
• Repeated contacted (the 'mouldy sandwich') (practise that solid stance and good recovery)

WHIPS & PUSHES
For whips and pushes remember: whips and pushes are about transferring power from one skater to another.  You need to be able to commit to your team-mate, even if that means stopping entirely.

• Pushing (giving and receiving) (coming in close, and then pushing out without unbalancing your team-mate or yourself)
• Hip whip (giving and receiving) (coming in close, taking your team-mates force, and then taking their spot on the track)
• Outside whip (giving and receiving) (use your whole body)
• Inside whip (giving) (remember to make a hole for your team-mate on the inside line, and then close the gap after them)

ENDURANCE
25 in 5!

Fresh Meat Week 2

26th November 2012

Our trainers for Blocking 101 were Tricksey Belt'Em, Blow Up Betty, Killakaze & Blue Wrenegade.
Offskates
We started training with some off skates blocking with a partner.  This included hip checks, booty blocking and body checks.

Hip checks
Things to remember include: stance (low and locked, with arms loose and relaxed), feet (in gait position) and finding that sweet spot!  Breathe!  Tenderise both sides equally.  And don't forget that recovery stance: stay low and reform that nice, strong derby stance as quickly as possible.

Booty blocking
Booty blocking - or 'positional blocking' - can be used to shepherd your opponent and, ultimately, take away her speed.   Keep your stance low with your butt out, and get used to those lateral butt movements (they look and feel weird, but are so effective!  Use your peripheral vision to keep an eye on your opponent - get comfortable looking around and knowing where she's going and where you're taking her.  Get close!  It is your close proximity that will direct her and take away her power - if you're a metre away your booty will have nothing to block!  We hope you've been practising your 'dirty toilet' hovering to build up those powerful legs and get you used to that low butt-out stance!

Body checks
Recently, ADRD has decided to replace shoulder checks with body checks.  Why?  Because they are more powerful and do less damage to you and your opponent.  Everybody wins!  Once again, remember your low derby stance and block horizontally (rather than diagonally) - it will help you to retain your stability and force.  What are those elbows doing?  Make sure they're out of the way!  Use 'hula arms' if it is most comfortable or effective for you.  Feel comfortable rotating your body and hitting with your 'bra fat' area (ie. back of shoulder / side of body) rather than the pointy end of your shoulder.  Then follow through, or block through your opponent.  It's kind of like kicking a ball - your leg doesn't stop once it reaches the ball, it follows through to reinforce where the ball is going.  Similarly, don't stop as soon as your body touches your opponent - block beyond the contact, and follow through to move her where you want her to go.  And always remember your recovery!  Reset your stance so that you can re-engage after the initial hit.  If you're standing up straight when you finish your block, you are a sitting (or standing) target for another blocker.  Stay low and stable!

Final words:
Know your limits - only give what you know you can take.  Don't be a dangerous blocker!  It is much more effective to block within your limits and stay stable and engaged, than to wipe out your opponent and fall down in the process!  We are all about safety, so if you give a block in an unsafe way (whether it be intentional or not) you will most likely be sent to the box or, worse, expelled from the game.

Lastly, if you'd like a refresher on those legal blocking zones, check out the WFTDA (Womens Flat Track Derby Association) rules:

Fresh Meat Week 1

The first week of Fresh Meat week started of with Bride of Skatan (Skato) and Blue Wrenegade (Wren) taking us through a warm up, getting in derby stance & skating then coasting......

Then Skato & Wren went through falls and working in a pack, here's some points to remember.




Single knee falls:
+ Fall small, safe and controlled.
+ Keep that core nice and strong for stability.
+ Make sure you can do these falls on both legs!  Both will be tested and, besides, when you're on the track you'll have to be able to just go down whichever works for the situation - you can't ask that blocker to make sure she comes from a particular angle just so you can fall on your chosen leg!
+ No hands!  Push back up through your core.  Using hands to stand up again should be avoided at all costs.  If you absolutely must, push off your knee.

Double knee falls:
+ These are generally only used as an emergency fall.
+ Don't fall on both knees at once - it can potentially injure your knees and back.  Instead, lead with one leg first to create a 'tap, tap' rhythm.
+ Lean back into that air guitar pose!  It'll prevent you from falling flat on your face!

4 Point Fall :
+ Think about being long and thin - the aim is to take up the least amount of lateral space as possible.
+ A bit of speed helps to keep a flow of movement through this fall.

Single knee fall with a turn:
+ This fall is super important for setting yourself up to skate off in the right direction as quickly as posible.
+ Use your core to turn, or your back foot as a kind of rudder.
+ Don't let your slide get wide - keep your legs together.
+ Really try and work on that quick recovery - get back up as quickly as possible.

PACK WORK
+ Pack work is all about control and communication.
+ Think about 'pack politics' - your physical and verbal communication must be respectful and understandable.
+ Remember that touch can often be the best communicator - use gentle touches on your team mates hips to indicate your movement through the pack.
+ Sticky feet!  Your feet must stay on the ground at all times!  If not, you could get penalised for tripping.
+ Fall small - keep your arms and legs in, and stay down until it's safe to return to the game.
+ Fall alone - it can be really instinctual to grab at something when you fall.  You need to break that habit right now!
+ Remember that derby stance - stay low and loose.  Don't stiffen your arms - let them hang naturally nice and close in front of your body.
+ Learn to feel comfortable looking around - you will end up spending most of your track time looking behind and around you.
+ Talk talk talk!  Communicate the obstacles you see on the track, or movements you make through the pack.

Well, hopefully that gives you a few things to think about during the week.  Welcome to Fresh Meat and congratulations for making it through your first night of "no more personal space"!

With Love and Bumps

3 Veg & Gravy xx

Raw Meat Week 5

Hey There Freshies and Freffies, if you had good news on Monday Might, well done!! I hope you are as excited as we are xx And if your Night sucked because you didn't get through, don't despair... there is always next year and the advantage you will have is you know what to practice and you know what to expect!! Also there are other leagues out there wanting new skaters all the time so as our all mighty founder of ADRD says "O" is for options, use them......

Well Fresh Meaters, now is the time we start to make contact  & were not just talking hugs here, so..... Firstly, be in your White top with your real name on it, you want us to get to know you right?? Secondly, you will need to be in your full protective gear, not some of it, all of it!! Helmet, wrist guards, elbow pads, knee pads and a mouth guard. You cannot participate if you dont have these. DaKlinic.com in the city has this stuff in stock and is open on all weekend if you need to get gear. Thirdly, turn up on time. We need you geared up and ready to roll by 7pm, there is alot to go through in the next couple of weeks and you will not want to miss a second of it. Lastly, drink up!!! water that is.....xx

Cant wait to see all your happy faces Monday night!

Love and Bumps from The Sweetest Potato, The Cheesiest of Cauliflowers, The Most Sporting of Sprouts and Mushiest Mushroom Gravy xx

What a fizzer eh?

Well I think the dancing last week must have made the rain gods very pleased! If you weren't able to join us on Monday, the thunderstorm caused a blackout at Parks at 6:20pm, and while we tried to wait for the power to come back on, after 7pm the Parks staff determined that it was unsafe for us to hold training (and the raw meat test) that night.

Bummer!




But it means that you all have an extra week to practise your skills and even more of a chance of progressing through to Fresh Meat!

There were a few faces that we didn’t see at training, so to remind you again, you MUST pass the basic skills test to participate in Fresh Meat. Hopefully we’ll see you all next week.

What the blackout means for the skaters who progress through to Fresh Meat, is that the format will be slightly different as we’ve effectively lost a week. The date for the Skills Test in week 5 cannot be changed (10 Dec), so that means pushing the first three weeks forward and changing the date of the FM Mock Test. New dates now look like this:

FM Week 1 – 19/11
Falls, Jumps & Pack Skating

FM Week 2 – 26/11
Blocking

FM Week 3 – 3/12
Whips & Pushes

FM Week 4 – Thursday 6/12 or Sunday 9/12 (TBC asap)
Mock Test (more on this later)

FM Week 5 – 10/12
Skills Test

First things first thought – getting through next week. Registration for Monday’s test will run exactly the same as this week, starting from 6.15pm. You will be allocated the same number and group, so feel free to again dress in your team colour.

Happy skating and we’ll see you soon.
Love the 3 Veg & Gravy x x x x

Raw Meat Week 4 - The Dress Rehearsal!

29th October 2012

Oh what a night it was....There was Tutu's, Face Paint, Hats and Wigs..... Lycra, Leggins, Feathers and Wings!! We all had heaps of fun to calm our nerves on an important night....

After a brief warm up from Bride of Skatan and Finger Prince doing the Nutbush and YMCA, skaters grouped into their colours to start the Mock Test.  Each group moved between the five testing stations and the one wait station, brushing up on skills and asking last-minute questions of the trusty trainers and helpers.  Kane 'em & Missile Belial led the stepping drills, while Psycho Fox, Bam Bam Belial and Miss Whirl took the skaters through derby stance and riding the track. Violent Krumble, Bone Shaker and Ankle Grinder took the skaters through the t-stops and snow plows.  Elle Catraz and Gogo Fiasco and Mental Defect showed us how to weave through those cones and on the other track Wofle Whistle lead the endurance & luckily there was a rest stop after that one!!

    

We were really impressed on how far everyone has come from where we started only 4 weeks ago. Your skill level and confidence is really encouraging and we also love to hear you cheering on each other. Keep it up Fresheroonies!! We hope you had a chance to speak with the trainers to go over any last minute skills and techniques and if there is anything that you are still unsure of, please email us or reply here to start a discussion.
 

Remember that what we are looking for at the Raw Meat test is safety first.  In other words, for example, are you sturdy enough on skates to be prepared to hit and be hit by other skaters without risking injury to yourself or others during Fresh Meat?  Or will you be able to stop safely when you are skating in a pack? That means that you don't necessarily need to be the fastest, the strongest, or the most experienced skater to pass Raw Meat - you just need to be safe enough that we can feel confident knocking you around during Fresh Meat!

The Raw Meat test will run exactly as it did in the dress rehearsal.  So if you didn't cover a skill last week then we wont be testing you on it this week!  We wont be throwing in any random, crazy skills just to trick you - promise!

We will be giving out results on the night (probably outside, so bring a jacket!) and this could take some time, then heading to the Wheaty for a well-deserved celebration/commiseration beverage.

Stay Hydrated, keep practising and look forward to seeing you on Thursday.

With love from the 3 Veg & Gravy xx

Raw Meat Week 3

22nd October 2012

Raw Meat Week 3 was brought to you by the Nanas, super-star trainers Kane'm, Kaos and Elle, and a whole bunch of sweaty freshies!

Warm Up

Agnys and Hazel are two ladies very dear to the hearts of ADRD. Their special guest appearance at training in week three saw the Freshies getting up and out of the rocking chair and taking the scones out of the oven (derby stance), holding in the wee (crossovers), Nana dancing (loosening pu those hips), braiding on skates (yep - with actual wool) and having group nana hugs. What a way to warm up!

TrainingIn preparation for next weeks mock-test, Elle, Kaos and Kane'm took the freshies through a re-FRESHer course of all that had been learned in the previous weeks - cross-overs, t-stops, snow plows, riding the track, stepping and weaving. The trainers managed to find some of the most fun drills we've ever seen at Freshmeat, that had our newbies in stitches, as well as helping them progress their skating.    

Among others - the Air Hostess drill saw our trainers act as guides for the freshies, who moved towards the hostess/host in a big pack  mirroring their movement through T-stops, snow ploughs, stepping left/right and forward.  

The Bus Driver had the Freshies riding the ADRD bus (with a Mouldie at the helm), hailing buses at "bus stops", and being picked up and dropped off around the track.  Buses were stopping and starting at lights, going through tunnels, swerving around tree, missing children in the road and eventually, ending up on the freeway goung super fast.

The weaving pace line drill saw our freshies prasticing slow and controlled weaving around the track. And other round of speed skating (5 laps in 1 minute) and endurance (25 laps in 5 minutes) had skaters pushing themselves to the limit. 

Stretch & Chat
After a very silly training session, Ghan and Missile led the Stretch & Chat, talking about none other than, the silliness, fun and frivolity that ADRD can bring to a derby girl/guys life.
 Being part of ADRD means being part of awesome events - like bouts, Bingo (fundraising), Camp (where miracles happen) and Rollercon. It means having an opportunity to travel - either as a player or part of the cheer-squad - to faraway cities and towns to play against other leagues. It means getting to wear awesome bout-fits, participate in hilarious skate-outs and express yourself in an entirely new way. And it means being part of a huge community of like-minded people and gaining a ton of new friends.       

It's a great experience and we can't wait to have some new blood in the league.

So much improvement has been made in the past 3 weeks and you should all be super proud of yourselves. 

So see you all next week for the final dress rehearsal for Raw Meat and happy skating!

Love the 3 Veg & Gravy x x x x

Raw Meat Week 2

15th October 2012

We started the night off with a warm up from two of the three veg, Sweet Potato (The Philistine) and Cheesy Cauli (Count deBumps). After doing some dynamic stretching as we rolled around the stadium, we started working on learning each other's names by calling them out as we weaved through a pace line and also removing our personal space by skating together in groups.

Our trainers for the night were Elle Catraz, Tricksey Belt'em and Psycho Fox. They had skaters hitting the wall (literally!) with stationary snow ploughs, before practising t-stops across the stadium.

They then took slaloms and weaving to a new level, with skaters weaving between cones and carving with both feet. The trainers extended our ability to carve (weaving leading with one foot) by explaining how trucks work and helping skaters to adjust their own trucks (remember to read Foxy's post to fix your own!).

Elle introduced us to stepping in our skates without rolling forwards. We were stepping side to side and forwards & back. Foxy showed us how to keep your toes slightly pigeon-toed while stepping forward & back to help stop any wheels rolling.

We worked on our cross-overs, for which Tricksey taught us the importance of good cross-overs to maintain and quickly build speed, as well as get out of tight spots in the pack.  We started by doing the grapevine up and down the stadium, before moving on to exaggerated cross-overs and, finally, full cross-overs on the track.

We also worked on extending our understanding of riding the track. It's important to be aware and to get used to looking behind and around you.  Remember to turn your shoulders and point to where you want to go. Tricksey pointed out that short strides take much more energy, while long strides give more speed with less effort.

We finished the session with a chat from Roller Controller, and between himself and Frill Seeker they have covered injury management, cross training and preventative measures very well. Roller reminded us that ice is critical to stop swelling in injury affected areas, and that alcohol will make swelling worse as it thins the blood. We will have a blog post in the future with some of the key points from their chats.

Enjoy your week and we'll see you all on Monday!

Three Veg & Gravy
xox

Raw Meat Week 2 - what a photogenic bunch!

What a great training session last night! We'll get a summary of the training session up here in the next day or two, but we wanted to post a few happy snaps to tide you over until the next blog post is up.

 Working on our stepping!

Stepping like mofos

Riding the track

Cool down, stretch and chat

We're falling in love with you freshies! We're super impressed by the hard work and fantastic attitudes you're all been showing us. We hope you're psyched for next week, we'll be revising all of our raw meat skills again with a few fun bits thrown in for good measure.

Love from the Three Veg & Gravy x x

Skate Maintenance 101

So you've just started Raw Meat (exciting!) and there's already a bunch of stuff to worry about. Basic skate maintenance is one more thing, but it really can give you a shortcut to improving as a skater. Your skate set-up can really make a difference to your technique. There's some basic stuff about skates that makes a huge difference early on, but you'll also need to know it for the rest of your skating life.

The Anatomy of a Derby Skate

It all begins with the anatomy of the derby skate, so check this diagram, thanks to Ivanna Spankin:

http://www.sincityskates.com/images/random/sincity_derby_diagram.pdf

When you buy a pair of skates, unless they've been made specifically for you, or some clever derby girl has owned them before you, they will come pre-assembled from a skate manufacturer. More often than not, there's some stuff that needs tweaking. Skates usually come with a basic tool, or you can get one for around $15 from any skate shop.

Adjust Your Trucks

A common problem is having trucks that are too loose or too tight.

When you lean to one side, your trucks lean with you, and that makes the two wheels on that side curve into a small arc, and you turn. If your trucks are too tight, the wheels won't move and it will be really, really hard to turn corners.

But the trade-off is that loose trucks are harder to balance on, so you also don't want them too loose until you're comfortable with your balance on skates.

(If you're really interested, these skate geeks wrote an article that explains it in more detail:

http://quadskating.com/skates/roller-skate-trucks.htm )

If you flip your skate over, one truck is the short metal bit you can see running across the skate between the two front wheels and the other truck runs between the two back wheels. You adjust your trucks by tightening or loosening the large nut in the centre, which is called the action nut. Use a skate tool or wrench to adjust your trucks.

Which way do you turn the nut?

Anti-clockwise loosens, clockwise tightens. I remember it using Rosie the Riveter's old mnemonic: Lefty Loosey - Righty Tighty

Only adjust the nut one quarter turn at a time, and then forcibly wiggle the wheels back and forth to check how much the trucks are moving, and maybe adjust another quarter turn, and so on. You want them to move with a little bit of pushing effort. Try skating on them once you've adjusted them a little bit, and adjust further if you need, but don't loosen them too much all at once!

Also, your trucks will gradually get looser over time by themselves, as you skate on them.

Check Your Wheels

Next thing with factory-fresh skates is to check your wheels. Too loose and they'll fall off; too tight and you are gonna be working a whole lot harder to get anywhere. Check them all, because they are likely to all be set differently. (Gah!) You want your wheels to spin freely without rattling on their axles. Use a skate tool to adjust them. A good way to adjust them is to gradually tighten them to the point where they only just won't turn, and then loosen them off a quarter or a half turn of the axle nut until they spin without stopping for a long time.

Make sure all eight wheels are set to pretty much the same looseness.

This video shows you how to check your wheels:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Z3zo_AYze68

Laces

A super common complaint for skaters with new skates is numb feet. Some of it's getting used to skates and building up strange little unused muscles and learning balance, but some of it can be helped.

Some people (me included) like their skates loose around their toes to beat numb-foot (I just made that term up) but tight around the top for a more stable, secure feel.

You can simply skip a couple of holes near the toes and start lacing from the third or fourth hole up.

Or you can lace the first few holes up, then skip a few, then lace the top ones.

Or you can double-lace. To double-lace, get two shorter pairs of laces. Lace halfway up each boot using the first pair. Then lace the top half using the second pair. That way, you can have one tension in the bottom half, for your toes to wriggle freely, and a different, tighter, tension up the top.

Which lets you worry about skating instead of the pain in your toes.

That's it for now... see you on the track. x

Psycho Fox

Raw Meat Week 1

8th October 2012

Crikey..... What a start to Week 1!!! I hope it was a heap of fun and you made some new friends along the way. You are going to be spending a whole lot of time together so don't be afraid to get the conversation going next week! We thought it may be a good idea to recap on what happened Monday night in case it was a blur....

Firstly an introduction from Violent Krumble, Psycho Fox and the Leotard Ladies aka Bone Shaker and Ankle Grinder. Then the 3 Veg .... Sweet Potato(The Philistine) Brussel Sprouts (Zigby Stardust) and Cheesy Cauli ( Count deBumps) had a chat.

Then the Leotard Ladies took the warm up, there was skating in conga lines, warming up our ankles and rolling around on the floor in a circle!!

Violent Krumble, Psycho Fox and Ankle Grinder were our trainers for the night. They covered: 

T-stops and snow-ploughs – practicing stopping on the track. Remember: for T-stops lean on the back foot and keep feet close together. For snow ploughs use pigeon toes, bend your knees, and dig your heels in.

Stride – skating on one foot, skating low, staying in derby stance, touching lines on the ground while skating, falling safely (“like a rag doll”) and not grabbing other skaters when falling (“fall alone”). Remember: bend your knees and keep your head up.

Cross-overs – pushing with one foot at a time, then exaggerating the pushing motion and, finally, doing complete crossovers. Remember: push with both feet and make your cross-overs nice and deep.

Riding the track –moving in a rectangular shape around the track, coming out wide on the straightaway and cutting in tight across the apex. Remember: turn with the shoulders, look around the track, and communicate when you’re overtaking on the inside or outside.

Endurance - we paired up and counted each others laps in 5 mins than swapped over. You were probably a bit buggered after that!

Then there was a stretch and cool down lead by Blue Wrenegade and a chat by Frill Seeker.

Frills taught us the importance of hydration and massage & what this sometimes leads too!! Also eating correctly so you are switched on for derby.

ADRD promotes a safe, friendly and inclusive environment, we want you to skate confidently in a comfortable environment, please remember we don't tolerate any mouthing off, or unsafe behaviour.
Just a reminder from a safety point of view to please remove any jewellery (such as large dangly earrings, facial piercings, necklaces, watches and rings) at all your training sessions. Also that if you are wearing safety equipment to wear it correctly, do up your helmet and leave it done up all night.

Hope you have been practising and we look forward to seeing you in week 2.

Love and Bumps

Sweet Potato, Cheesy Cauli, Brussel Sprouts and Mushroom Gravy xx