blessthismessinsidemysoul asked: Hi I'm getting into derby and i can't skate, lame i know but can i skate in my house and learn that way? I have tile flooring

You can, but be very, very careful — I nearly brained myself slipping in the kitchen (I slipped backwards and could have hit the back of my head on my kitchen counter, and because I was inside, obviously I wasn’t wearing my helmet).

We often say “wear your skates around the house to break them in and get used to them”, but that’s more about getting used to the weight of skates on your feet and breaking the leather in. You’ll really need more open space.

I would say it’s better to learn to skate in a parking lot — do you know of any office buildings that close down on the weekends? Or a school parking lot? Any parking lot where there’s not a lot of cars. (Wear all your safety gear!)