DPR ZOMBIE Skate Night!!!

Get ready for a Zombie extravaganza!!! Dig out your best Zombie dress & make-up as you skate the night away at The Zone, Kwinana.
There will be PRIZES for the best dressed, games, door prize and much more.

When: Saturday, 2 June 2012,

From: 18:30 until 21:30

Where: The Zone Youth Space Corner Gllmore Avenue & Darius Drive Kwinana WA, 6167

Limited tickets available so get in quick. Purchase tickets at any DPR training session or online via Paypal (kwinana@warollerderby.com.au – print out the receipt and bring it as proof of purchase)

$10 for adults
$7 for kids (12 & under)
Family of 4 $30
Skate Hire $2 (limited sizes so if you can BYO)

If purchasing via PayPal make sure that you note the ticket types you have purchased.

We look forward to seeing all our zombified friends on the 2nd of June! Muwahahahahhahahahahhaha!

Mosh’s Diary: DPR Training Sesh 7 & 8

MY FIRST DERBY DATE CONT’:  I am in love with my team, such a great, fun group of gals!  The date was great but the movie Brutal Beauty was amazing, I thought the people I has seen so far could skate but these girls really were amazing. Turns out these girls train like ten times a week on and off skates, the extensive training really shows in their successes, technique and effective team work. The question time after the movie was also brilliant, the girls gave advice and most of all made it seem possible for freshies to do what they have done too. I’d give anything to skate with them for a few weeks!

CHANGE OF COACH: in WARD there is a coaching roster so it’s not uncommon to be trained by a skater you have never met face to face but have probably lurked online or noticed on derby webpages (mosh is very guilty of derby stalking!). I appreciate this aspect of training because there is always something new to learn and different drills to get through and shake up what you know (or think you know). Our freshie coach was Dirge Dancer, it was refreshing to have a different coaching style but she flogged us. Knee drops for two minutes at a time can exhaust you so quickly, you begin by frolicking off down the rink and by the end of the two minutes you’re dragging your sorry arse up onto your skates. Dirge also taught us a new technique the t stop as taught to her by the ladies from the Brutal Beauty movie. It’s safer during a bout (a game of derby), people are less likely to trip on you but difficult to execute attractively at my level of fresh ness. Overall it was a very upbeat session with some good humour thrown in to up the fun.

ENDURANCE AND STRENGTH: My 8^th training sesh was with Templa Tantrum and Ang El Grinder. It was as the title suggests, all about endurance and strength. The night began with a 20 mins pace line at varying speeds. There was a portion of time where I was the pace line leader but after 14 minutes straight my muscles were so stiff I dropped to the back of the pace line where there was a less pressure to maintain the speed. It was extremely hard work and we did about 150 laps, probably the hardest drill I’ve done so far. That pace line was beyond taxing, my quads were so stiff cross overs were almost impossible but I managed to skate the whole time and hold derby stance for at least half of the drill. We played black widow again with a real emphasis on strength so, lots of push ups, sit ups, squats and planking. It was a killer after that damn pace line! I don’t personally like strength and endurance training (its less fun and I feel like I skate less) but both are essential to being a good skater so sadly it’s a ‘put up and shut up’ situation if I want to play derby. It was the most exhausting training session I have ever done, during black widow every move was an effort. Because my muscles were so tired everything was sluggish, I got up slower, did smaller cross overs and skated worse, balance is hard when you are fatigued!

MOSH MUSCLES: derby is all about the quad, my quads are getting stronger but need a lot more strength so as I can use my derby stance for longer to avoid being knocked over when I am allowed contact (to be hit by and dish out hits to other skaters) and to push when I am skating so as I can get my speed up (I am still the slowest skater most nights but also the only freshie most nights). Squats, squats and more squats are what I need, the girls reckon just hold a squat position with your knees really bent and you’re back straight while doing stuff around the work place/home. More than a few people suggested the shower, so the shower is no longer a place of relaxation for me; it’s a place to get fit!

Mosh’s Diary: DPR Training Sessions 5 and 6

Both of the girls going for assessment passed assessment, they are now cleared for contact so congrats to Aki b Reiki and Cupcakes! Seeing them both pass has afforded me a lot of optimism about assessments, I am just bursting to be able to play with the big girls.

Both training sessions were about strength and endurance. For some crazy reason these derby girls get excited about being flogged…with exercise. I’m not quite there yet but their enthusiasm boots my own.

BLACK WIDOW: As usual Face n Vada had some lovely endurance for us, it was called black widow- 20 mins in total with one minute of sprint skating then a minute of a variations of exercise, push ups, squats, leg lifts, planking and bicycle moves. This drill is completely exhausting and muscles fatigue really quickly which trashes your energy. It’s a very long 20 mins and by then end of the drill my muscles were burning and  I could not move my leg into a t-stop formation when it was time to stop and get a drink, I am acutely aware of what lactic acid is now, thanks Face!

TECHNICAL UPDATE: Pace lines have been used every session and have increased my confidence when skating at such close proximity to other skaters. I love weaving through the pace line but when the girls really get moving they put out a lot of speed and it’s all I can do to keep up! All of my stops are effective now which I am thrilled about, my hours of practice have paid off! I can hold my derby stance for longer which means I can pick up better speed and overbalance less. I have also learnt how to jump, there is some video of this on the face book fan page. I began quite nervous and jumping hardly a centre meter but after some time I was getting close to a foot. Just another thing I never thought I would be mad about but jumping is really fun and having all of the padding means you’re safer.

MY FIRST DERBY DATE: I have a date with my derby team…I know, I know,  I didn’t want to get into anything serious yet and especially with so many people at my young derby age but I am a sucker for good looks! (I crack myself up!) Jokes aside, there is actually a derby movie on in Fremantle called Brutal Beauty and most of the team is going to see it. I was so pleased to be invited, if I had a tail it would have been going ‘THUMP, THUMP, THUMP’ on the ground like an over excited Labrador before a walk. I was flattered by the offer of a group date and very excited to meet some American derby girls who skated for a living who were in the movie. I will tell you all about the date and movie next bog but for now all I can think is “what should I wear?!?!?!?!” Really, what the hell do you wear to a derby date? My tattoos are an asset but seriously, what does one wear to a derby date damn it?

Mosh’s Diary: DPR Training Session 4 (21 laps in 5)

Amazing news peeps! I skated 21 laps in 5 mins. My legs were jelly at the end of the drill but there was nothing shaky about my grin! Using cross overs and the track correctly with a low derby stance affords me a lot more speed. My excited grin looked extra derby as I have upgraded to the Protech mouth guard. Much comfier than the yucky huge chemist ones, I could drink with it in and talk without sounding drunk or dribbling. Only $40 for two mouth guards and takes less than five minutes to mould them.

MR MOSH: My husband picked up my daughter today and it was all I could do not to implode in a fit og giggles as he was greeted with “hello Mr Mosh!” as he was introduced to the team, more of that derby love!

ASSESMENTS: Some level one girls were going for assessment into level two tonight and us super freshies were invited to participate to get a feel for assessment in 8 weeks’ time.  It began with the 25 in 5 but only 20 laps are needed. We executed all three types of the knee slides but getting up within 2 seconds and superman slides (knees, elbows and the sides of your wrists take the impact of the fall and allow you to tuck your head in and protect your face). We then did some stepping (not allowing your skates to roll) to the front, back and sides, it’s much harder than it sounds! We also demonstrated ‘one footed glides’ where you sticky skate for one lap then balance one foot for the straight part of the track, this needs to be done on the left and right foot without letting your arms flail and at a good pace. After this we completed the assessment with baseball slides- did someone say rink rash?!

PUSH AND PULL: We finished the night with the push and pull drill, one skater pushes the entire pace line for one lap on their own then skates to the front of the line and enjoys the ride. To pull the pace line the person in the front is held onto by a chain of skaters and uses all of their leg power to pull the pace line for an entire lap. This was exhausting to do but almost just as hard to maintain derby stance for the duration of the drill. Derby stance makes your quads ache and your lower back scream, I am really looking forward to my muscles getting stronger so it’s less painful!

Mosh.

We welcome freshies all year round!

Just a quick note to say that DPR welcomes new freshies all year round…so please come along and check out our training sessions on a Monday or Wednesday night at The Zone in Kwinana.

Mosh’s Diary: DPR Training Session 3 (18 in 5)

I am now up to 18 laps in 5 mins! Just two more and I will pass the requirement of 20 laps in 5 mins for my level two assessment. I have increased my laps by being more confident and using the track to get the most out of my pushes. I skate wide out of the apex, so that I am almost out of bounds on the right hand side of the track. When approaching the apex I glide, and skate very close to the line that marks the tip of the apex. When I reach the middle of the apex I start using my cross overs again. I am aiming to only use cross overs or gliding when doing the 25 in 5. All of your skating power and speed in the 25 in 5 comes from the push that you make when you do a cross over so naturally I need to learn how to use the track and only do cross overs.  If you can already do a cross over, pay attention to how much more speed it gives you when coming out of a corner as opposed to plain skating, you will see why it’s my goal.

DERBY LOVE: I am really enjoying the support and encouragement the team are giving me, it increases my confidence, commitment and my bond to the team tenfold. It means a lot to have such fantastic skaters take the time to offer advice or praise you when you’re a freshie! The call it derby love. Derby love is an underground institution that only those connected to derby know or understand. For example, there are various levels of Derby ‘relationships’. When some freshies join a team they may find themselves with a ‘derby mother’ who takes care of them from the get go. When you have been around derby for a while one might ‘derby propose’ to another skater, then later upgrade to a derby married status where your partner becomes your ‘derby wife’. It’s similar to a partner in a relationship off the rink, but in derby it’s on the rink and is a very special friendship that hopefully lasts your whole skating life, you typically only have one ‘derby wife’. However if your marriage fails you can be ‘derby divorced’ I’ve heard about it but am yet to see it. There are hilarious shirts with slogans that flaunt these relationships, my favs are ‘my derby mother hits harder than yours’ or ‘my derby wife beats me’. So far I do not have a derby relationship, I am a derby virgin and plan to be until I marry the right person J

Mosh.

Sellty’s Diary: Training with Templar and Grinder (OHGODMAKKITSTOP!)

Last night we trained our arses off and I am actually sore today. For those who don’t know me well, I hardly get sore after training, and that’s not me bragging or anything, I really don’t get sore after derby. Looks like doing karate/tae kwondo/kung fu since I was 13 has finally paid off! Oh yeah, remind me to skip training when Templar Tantrum (Team Zebra) is coaching. What’s that? He’s going to be training us every other Monday? Oh. Great! T^T

So our warm-up was a 20 min paceline, with intervals of slow and sprint periods. The paceline is my enemy, in fact I was so sucky at it I was inspired to practice sticky skating in low derby stance outdoor skating around my block during the Christmas break. It paid off and I am better at doing the pace line but I was in no way prepared for Templar’s “warm-up”. Holy hell. I was drenched in sweat, the tops of my thighs were burning, and I was making little moaning noises with the effort of trying to push my body to keep going. It got to a point where I felt like I could do 2 more laps and then I was going to have to knee-slide out of the paceline or I was going to injure my thigh muscle. Thankfully, at that point the drill ended and I staggered back to the benches, breathing hard. Oh. My. Gawd. Let’s not do that again for another month, k?

After that “warm-up” we stretched and then moved onto some more drill involving sprinting 1 min, doing a skill for 1 min/20 reps (push-ups/planks/etc) which would then waterfall down into sprinting 10 sec, doing a skill for 10 sec/10 reps (I think, it’s all a bit of a sweaty blur really). I decided to man up and do non-girly push-ups for the drill, which was good for the first few rounds but I was forced to do girly push-ups for the remainder of the drill. Templar corrected my manly push-up form which I was grateful for. Apparently I was sticking my arse in the air instead of keeping my body straight :S

The next drill was with a medicine ball. I noticed the balls when we were gearing up and I eyeballed Templar and asked if they were medicine balls. ‘No’ he said, with a dead straight serious poker face, ‘the numbers are so I can keep track of how many balls I have.’ Uh huh. Or they could have numbers cos they are MEDICINE BALLS. We got split into 2 groups, and had to line up then sit on the floor, spread our legs (sounds great hey!) and shuffle in closer to make a kinky multi-wheeled derby snake. We then had to hold our arms up (‘DONOTPUTYOURARMSDOWNORYOUAREDOINGDRILLSWITHME!’ commanded Templar) and pass a medicine ball back and forth. I was challenging and fun, cos our group didn’t put our arms down once but the other group did so they had to do drills (suffer!).

At some point, I don’t remember when, I left the rink to sit down for a bit, cos I was feeling like there was a lump in my throat, and not in any way did it feel good. ‘Wow!’, I thought, ‘this just might be the first derby session that I bow out of…’, but after sitting for a bit I felt better so I returned to training in time for SOCK DERBY! If you have never played it, you remove your skates and play a game of derby in your socks. The last time we played this Booty Blockin’ Badges sent my derby wife Soozy Slugworth airborne into the girl’s toilets, so I was a tad apprehensive. Sock derby is also where everyone forgets that it’s meant to be a NON-CONTACT drill, so there is heaps of pushin’ and shovin’. I got to be a Jammer (yay!) and I managed to slip thru the inside line and take lead Jammer status (double yay!). I then ran like hell, caught up with the back and got put in the sin bin for a back block. My karate instinct to block anything with my hands or elbows constantly undoes me in derby. So while I was in the sin bin catching my breath, the other jammer (the lovely Ang El Von Grinder) had a power jam. It was so much fun! I just wish I could be as swift moving thru the pack on-skates and I was off.

So yeah, I survived another training session, I learned how to do manly Dothraki push-ups properly and that when I get lower in speed skating I’m leaning forward (BIG no-no) instead of squatting down more. Not only did I survive but I also have homework which Templar gave us (after telling us how many push-ups and plyometric jumps his 10 year old can do), which I instantly forgot. I think he said to do 3 sets of different pylometric jumps every night. Well I just started the Roller Derby Workout Challenge and I’ll be working out every night so that means that I kinda don’t NEED to do pylo’s right? Right? Well, that’s going to be my excuse anyways, let’s hope it sticks.