20 Roller Skating Skills to Learn – From Beginner to Advanced

Looking for some new roller skating skills to add to your list?

Whether you’re starting to move beyond the basics, want to add more flow to your skating, or you’re ready to challenge yourself with some more advanced tricks, there are SO many fun skills you can work towards on roller skates.

I’ve put together 20 roller skating skills ranging from beginner-friendly moves through to intermediate, dance skating and advanced artistic skating skills.

And the best part? You definitely don’t need to learn all 20 at once!

Pick one or two that suit where your skating is at right now, and keep the others on your skating bucket list for later.

Want to see all 20 skills in action?

I teach and demonstrate all 20 roller skating skills in my full YouTube tutorial, including the technique to focus on and some of the most common mistakes I see skaters make.

▶️ WATCH: 20 Roller Skating Skills in 20 Minutes

Now, let’s look at what you could start working towards…

1. Backward Rolling Split

A gorgeous flowing skill that combines backward skating, heel-toe balance and pivots. This is a great one to work towards once you’re becoming more confident with manuals and backward skating.

2. Disco Spin

One of the first spins I teach many of my beginner skaters. You’ll use a heel manual as an anchor while your other skate travels around on an inside edge.

3. Flip Jump

Now we’re getting advanced! The flip jump comes from artistic roller skating and involves using your toe stop to help you take off and rotate through the jump.

4. Crab Walk

A fun dance skating skill that is all about weight transfer and smoothly sliding your skates from your toes to your heels.

5. Shoot the Duck

Get LOW! You’ll balance on one skate while extending your other leg out in front of you. This one requires balance, leg strength and plenty of commitment.

6. Moonwalk

Yes, you can moonwalk on roller skates! If you’ve already learned your dribbles, you’ll recognise some of the movement used to create that smooth backwards-travelling effect.

7. Heel-Toe Spin

Ready to take your spinning up a level? This spin requires you to balance with one skate on your heel wheels and the other on your toe wheels while you rotate.

8. Crescent Step

Also known as a C-step, this skill gets its name from the little C shape your skate creates as you move. Once you get your hips involved, it can have a really lovely flow.

9. Tarantino

Think of this as a super-low open book transition. If you’ve already started working on your shoot the duck, you’ve got part of the starting position sorted!

10. Heel-Toe Manual

This might not be the flashiest skill on the list, but it’s an important one.

Learning to confidently balance on your heel and toe wheels opens the door to SO many other roller skating skills, including several on this list.

That’s 10 down… 10 to go!

11. One-Foot Spin

We’re taking things up a level by spinning on ONE skate. You’ll need good one-foot balance, edge control and coordination between your free leg and upper body.

12. Crazy Legs

They’re called Crazy Legs for a reason!

This dance skating move can look completely confusing when you first see it, but breaking the movement into individual foot positions makes it much easier to understand.

13. Compass Spin

The compass spin uses your toe stop as the pivot point while your other skate travels around you. You can start higher and gradually work towards a lower compass as your confidence improves.

14. Waltz Jump

Another skill from artistic roller skating. The waltz jump is a 180-degree jump where you take off from one skate and land on the other.

15. Downtown Pump

A really fun rhythm and dance skating move that combines weight shifts, crossover-style movements and a little one-two pump.

16. Spiral / Arabesque

One of those skills that just LOOKS like roller skating!

You’ll glide on one skate while extending your free leg behind you and tipping forward from the hips to create that beautiful long line.

17. The Zero

This skill combines backward skating, a staggered stance and a toe-wheel pivot to create a smooth change in direction.

18. Dribble Pivot

If you’ve already been working on your dribbles, this is a fun progression to try. You’ll combine that movement with toe-wheel work and a pivot to create more flow.

19. Spread Eagle

This one requires you to open your hips into a loose 180-degree position while holding your skates on an edge. Your heel manual and pivot skills will come in VERY handy here.

20. Loop Jump

And we’re finishing with an advanced artistic roller skating skill!

The loop jump is a full 360-degree jump where you take off backwards from one skate and land backwards on that same skate.

Definitely one to work towards rather than rush into!

Which Roller Skating Skill Should You Learn First?

Before you choose a random trick from this list and start practising, remember that roller skating skills build on each other.

Your balance, edges, weight transfer, manuals, pivots and backward skating can all become building blocks for the more advanced skills you want to learn later.

You don’t need to learn all 20.

Choose something appropriate for where you’re at now, practise it, and let the harder skills be something exciting to work towards.

Want me to teach you these skills and see them in action?

Watch the full video on YouTube, where I demonstrate each skill, break down how it works and show you the common mistakes to avoid.

▶️ CLICK HERE TO WATCH NOW

And if you’re still learning the foundations of roller skating and you’re not sure what you should be learning first, I also have a FREE beginner roller skating workshop where I’ll show you how I teach adult beginners to build their skills and confidence step by step.

▶️ JOIN WORKSHOP HERE