Exploring the Detroit Skate Style: Origins and Techniques
Detroit is also arguably the home of Rhythm Skating. Skeptical? Did you know Bill Butler, the Godfather of Roller disco, practiced his skating in Detroit before leaving for New York and making history?
Did you know trains and trios were started in Detroit and refined in New York?
Well if you don’t know, now you know. Buckle up, because today we talking about Detroit, home to the most dedicated skaters west of the Mississippi.
I remember my first time seeing someone skate the Detroit style. I was in high school skating at the Golden Glide. A man who had never came to the family session was there, probably warming up for adult night.
He skated with Brain aka ‘Killa B’ all session, so I knew he was about business. The wildest part were the skates. He skated in rhythm skating boots, but he wore rubber toe stops that he used to help with stops and pivots.
At the Golden Glide, everyone wore jam plugs. I didn’t know that people style skated in toe stops.
Additionally, he was sliding all over the place. I wouldn’t find out until later, Detroit skaters use harder slicker wheels to aid with slides.
How Did The Detroit Style Start?
Rhythm Skating history is tied closely to African American history. In fact, a large and thriving population of African Americans is one of the predictors of a strong skate culture. The spread of roller skating is tied directly to the expansion of the African diaspora in the United states.
The rise of many of the great skate styles in the Mid-West follow this pattern. In the 1910s to the 1970s, during the Great Migration, many Black families fled the South seeking better lives in the Midwest and northern regions of the USA.
The auto industry in Detroit also brought many families to the area.
The Basics
To learn about the foundations of the Detroit roller skating style, specifically the moves people do in the rink, I spoke with Nolan Edwards the founder of Motown Roller Club.
He helped me find the some specific steps in the styles. The Detroit style also has one well defined vocabulary of moves, turns, and sequences. Some of these moves include the Kenny Mike, and the Pepsi. Another foundation Detroit style move is the “Half Turn”. Ed Reese, a Detroit skating master, describes the “Half Turn” as a 180-degree pivot.
The “Half Turn” is a common transition that goes by many names. It’s a similar concept as what modern skaters describe as ‘The Book’ but with momentum. Another popular move is the “Pontiac”. I put examples of the moves below if you want to see them.
What is Open House?
After speaking to Nolan, I want to learn even more about Detroit. Skate history can be difficult to confirm, so I wanted to go to the source. That’s why I decided to read all of the volumes The Evolution of Skating, a roller skating anthology dedicated to sharing skater stories. I learned more about the long history of sliding in Detroit in the second volume of the antholgy.
There is even a special time in the session called “Open House” where skaters slide from the middle of the floor to the wall. “Open House” has developed a lot over time.
Back in the day, as Kevin Williams describes, “Open House” used to be a ‘no holds barred’ skating session where skaters were liable to get injured.
The first time Williams skated during “Open House”, he remembers seeing a skater “turn sideways, put his elbows up and smash into a skater twenty feet from” him. Kevin recounts in he “knocked two people out and [has] broken someone’s jaw vertically” skating during Open House (64).
Kevin Williams speaks about the rules of “Open House” in the 80’s in the second volume of The Evolution of Skating. The Evolution of Skating is a collection of skater biographies that I used to learn more about skate history.
Back in the day, as Kevin describes, the time used to be a ‘no holds barred’ skating session where skaters were liable to get injured. The first time Williams skated during “Open House”, he remembers seeing a skater “turn sideways, put his elbows up and smash into a skater twenty feet from” him. Kevin recounts in he “knocked two people out and [has] broken someone’s jaw vertically” skating during Open House (64).
Conclusion
Now “Open House” runs like every other special skate. To learn more about the Detroit Style and see these unique skaters yourself, you can read The Evolution of Skating. Until next time, see you BOSS Twizzy.