butt pads

hey all,

This is my first post. I am fresh meat with the SINtral Valley Derby Girls. I am tall and lean. I have long legs and although I am very fit, I am totally new to skating. I am falling a lot! I have sustained serious injuries (sprained ankle at my first practice...yep...I'm a clutz!) but keep trucking on. I am...let's say...a little lean in the posterior regions:) I need some butt pads, and I am not embarrassed to admit it! I am loosing my confindence because of the serious butt pain that I now endure when I fall (I did some damage back there I guess). I ordered some derby butt pads, and they were totally flimsy and useless. The ones that look like they may help are really for dudes and are totally hideous (I know that sounds lame, but hey...I want to look feminine). I am thinking of getting the sleek, lycra McDavid's and adapting them with some hard shell plating of my own.....has anyone else dealt with this issue successfully? I would be very grateful to any advice:) I wish I had natural cushion back there.

-Red Skare

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Permalink Reply by Trina on June 2, 2009 at 12:02pm: I appreciate this info...I gotta say some skaters on my league thought the whole idea of butt pads were ridiculous...its good to hear validation. I am injured right now with other knee stuff right now, but I plan on protecting my butt (tailbone especially) no matter what I look like when I resume practices. And I agree tall and skinny (and long legs) is THE WORST for derby, but you don't get a lot of compassion from your team..:)lol...ya know "oh poor baby with the great body!" Ironically, I worked out hard for this figure after having a baby. If had known keeping meat on your bones would have been better for derby, I might have changed up my game plan. I would still have a high center of gravity though....anyway...I am not gaining fat now just to be more sturdy and wide for derby.

I have also insisted that I learn to fall better, and improve my basic stride and such before I resume regular practices...we are a new league and don't have a newbie boot camp yet...but we're getting there! We have a lot of heart and the rest of them are getting really good! They are amazing:)

I am also older, and no matter how much you want to deny it, being 34 means a longer recovery time from injuries..I have begged the team to TAKE CARE OF THE THEIR BODIES!!! I have also urged them all to read these wonderful replies on this discussion from this incredible community!

You all Rock!!!

Red Skare; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dora the Destroyer on May 7, 2009 at 9:53pm: I am one of the tall and lean girls Dastardly is talking about (he's mah coach!) and like he said, i wear the grey bumsaver shorts from Sin City Skates at EVERY practice (i still wear fishnets or other stockings underneath with shorts over top..i've even found bloomers with ruffles from Hot Topic that are a little longer that cover them completely if you're worried bout still looking cute!), in addition to padded shorts a lot of our girls also have a tailbone protector. luckily when i have fallen back i've landed on the ass and not the tailbone. and like he said, make sure you stay LOW! the lower you are the harder you are to knock over (and the better J block you can get =]). i remembered to do that in practice tonight scrimmaging and did not fall once! remember; safety over cuteness though!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Venus Velocity on May 17, 2009 at 3:14pm: Hey there, new to the forum, I've been skating for 2 years now and have thankfully managed to avoid any tailbone injuries, falling practice is essential, to the point where your body just reacts and knows how to fall and fall small, knee falls, knee taps, 4 point falls, we also do baseball slide falls as drills, though they're not really suitable for a bout, but it means when you fall on your ass, you'll learn to fall on your ass cheek and not your tailbone, I automatically always seem to land on my right ass cheek no matter how I've fallen, it means I have a bruised cheek but an intact tailbone, try and think in those few second before you hit the floor to tip your hips so you are not landing directly on your tailbone, but off to the side, so your ass, which has natural padding is the part of you that hits the floor, even if your skinnier, eventually it will just become second nature, pads are a great idea, but for those of you who don't wear the pads for bouts, hope this helps :)

Just wondering, what is a J block??? We probably call it something else :/

Venus :) x x; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dora the Destroyer on May 20, 2009 at 12:39am: it's probably what you're already doing =] a J block is when you rise into a block from a squat when using the shoulder. your body takes the shape of J when doing this move.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Violet Renegade on May 21, 2009 at 9:52am: We call that the 'can opener' for some reason. Great block as long as you keep your head out of the way and don't hit the person you're blocking with your helmet (has happened at our practices. Ow!); ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Venus Velocity on May 21, 2009 at 1:16pm: Sweet , we just call it a shoulder check lol but I get ya :) Cheers for clarifying :) x x; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Grand Poobah on May 29, 2009 at 1:46am: Leagues influenced by AZRD tend to call it "Sheriff," for Sheriff Shutyerpaio (now skating with Tucson as Hellen Wheels). She used that move to great effect there.

Other leagues tend to call it "Johnny Crash," which is kinda odd, as that's the name of a ref in Tucson. It could be he came up with it while coaching or something? I should've asked while I was down there.

Many leagues do call it a can-opener. I think it looks more like a bottle-opener, myself. Though I suppose if you're hitting her on the "cans" rather than the can...; ▶ Reply to This