Skating Down Stairs (Forwards) 1.   Stairs are not as hard to negotiate as they seem. The trick is to have the confidence to go down them at a fast enough speed so that your skates dont catch on the edges - and the key to gaining confidence is by learning on small steps first and then building up to the monster sets... 2. Dont forget to pad to the max when learning something new - pain tends to put you off trying new tricks, so its best to avoid it where possible :) 3. To start with, find a single step or even a pavement kerb and practice skating over it without jumping or stepping down - just rolling and falling off the edge. You should scissor your skates a so that the rear skate is at least half-way behind your front foot (most people find it easier if its almost toe-to-heel). 4. Now find a few shallow steps. Run up with enough speed to get you down to the bottom. If the steps are steep you may need to approach them at an angle. Remember what you did on the kerb or single step - keep your skates fairly rigid and drop from step to step rather than stepping down. 5. Place most of your weight on the rear skate and remember to keep your skates scissored. If you have enough speed you should make it to the bottom in one piece. If you end up stopping, falling or jumping off the last few steps - you know you need more speed. 6. As you become more and more comfortable with stairs you can move onto steeper and longer sets. Remember that it looks a LOT better than it feels - so even if you feel like you're wobbling manically on your way down, it actually looks pretty damn cool!