A young boy practices his rollerblading moves at Leon H. Washington Parkin Firestone. Yoshawn Smith operates the South Los Angeles Blade Club on Friday and Saturday afternoons for youngsters 5 to 16.
Courtesy photo
By Shirley Hawkins
Contributing Writer
SOUTH LOS ANGELES — Yoshawn Smith was 10 when he first saw an online video on roller blading.
Intrigued by the speed and agility of the sport, he instantly became hooked.
“I watched a video called ‘What Do You Believe In’ and I saw kids who looked like me,” he said. “I got a chance to see what their skates looked like, and I liked that they were playing rap, techno music and rock when they skated. Seeing blade skaters who looked like me made me even more excited about pursuing the sport.
Smith remembers asking his grandmother to buy him some inline skates at K Mart. From then on, he was hooked
“When I skate, I feel happy and free,” he said. “I enjoy the time I have when I’m skating.”
As he matured, Smith realized that clubs for blade skating in South L. A. did not exist.
“I founded the South Central Blade Club in 2020 at Colonel Leon H. Washington Parkin Firestone,” he said. “The classes are free. Kids don’t have to worry about equipment because knee pads, elbow pads, protective headgear, and even skates are provided. Then the community began hearing about the club and they started donating skates.
Roller blading skates are different from traditional roller skates. They have three to four wheels under a boot that makes it easy to skate on different surfaces that emulates the way ice skates glide over ice, only blades on dry land.
Smith’s club meets every Friday from 3 to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 2 to 4 p.m., attracting kids from ages 5 to 16.
“I teach the kids how to do tricks, but I teach them safety, too,” he said. “I teach them to fall on their rear, not on their head, to keep their knees bent and chest forward to keep their balance. A lot of people try to stand up and fall straight on their heads.”
Benny, who has been a member of the club for five years, said that roller blading is fun.
“I like trying something new,” he said.
“We have fun,” Smith said. “We do grinds, jumps, backwards skating and spins. It’s a good way to get outdoors and challenge yourself as well as a way to provide good exercise and good mental training.”
In some parts of the world, rollerblading is commonplace. Smith says that recreational parks in the United States should have more integrated sports leagues that showcase such pastimes as skateboarding, roller skating, roller blading, scooters and bicycle motocross.
“They have blade skating competitions all over the world,” he said. “They’re crazy about blade skating in Asia, especially in Japan. They offer participants a lot of sports equipment, spaces to practice and introduce traditional and extreme sports.
“I think roller blading should be an Olympic sport,” Smith said. “It’s a challenging sport and it needs to be more publicized.”
On Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Village Skate Park in Paramount, there will be a second annual Future of Rolling kid’s skate competition as well as a toy drive. Registration can be accessed at Vikings_on_skates on Instagram. The event is free.
Smith, 34, who works as a barista consultant by day, discovered that inline skating carries a long history dating back to the early 1800s. As the sport grew, he found that hockey players utilized inline skating to stay in shape in the off season.
As for the future of the South Los Angeles Blade Club, Smith wants to see the club expand. “I would like to have a team to compete in competitions and continue to improve their skills,” he said.
The club can be reached through instagram at south.central.blade.club. Or reach Yoshawn Smith at @yoshawnsmith.
Shirley Hawkins is a freelance reporter for Wave Newspapers. She can be reached at shirleyhawkins700@gmail.com.
