Hello, Sailor (Left) of Mad Rollin’ Photo: Jim Dier / Chickadeemolish (Right) of The Lake Effect Furies Photo: Chris Kalisiak

Braced walls in roller derby aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, sorry Bay Area Derby #staygold, but the fundamentals of the brace are continuously being adapted and refined. The ability to absorb impact and cover and control large sections of the track make the brace a great option, but with various different styles and height differences it can take time to make it work. We reached out to two Team Philippines skaters with Division 1 experience for tips on how short blockers can adjust to work within the brace and flex the advantages that come along with their size. If you have any more tips — get at us derbyapex@gmail.com or The Apex. *One day there will also be a tips piece for tall skaters.

From Hello, Sailor of Mad Rollin — I’m a 5'1" blocker, and here are things I’ve stumbled upon when playing with Team Tall :). Again, these are things that worked for me, but there are many tips and tricks out there. Hope this helps!

- Brace off the quads. It’s OK. Often I can’t reach shoulders anyway.

- You actually have to modulate what it means to get low. When I’m low, I’m LOW. But that could lead to many things — low block hits, incompatibility in a seam, head more forward if bending at the back vs the knees. Trying to constantly “rezip” the seam is critical, so not standing still and assuming you’ve got it when playing with taller people. You are always trying to recalibrate to the situation.

- Radical idea: If you are the butt/back of a wall, learn to take impact from a jammer without a brace already set up and touching you. Dig in. When I’m with a taller brace, I’m usually reaching for them with an arm, which inadvertently makes me turn my hips a bit & keep them from being square. Be confident in getting low and half-plowing. If the jammer hits you, it’ll close the gap between you and the taller brace. But still try to dig in first. (Side note: Rather than disregard the flat wall at the start, think of it in terms of t-stops. It’s fundamental and the building block to all other things. I remember JD saying something once about “don’t knock the t-stop.”)

- Bend at the knees, not the back. Being low like that could lead to blocking with the head in today’s close proximity slow game. Chest/logo up, back presented, is more powerful than bending down at the back with your head forward.

- You won’t always be able to take people line to line and then out of bounds just gliding across. You have to learn footwork and agility to be fast to get across the track. Then when short blockers get a good drive or hit and we’re low, that’s when you’ll see shades of the Slay-ride :) (old school).

- For me, I think of myself as a square. I’m not a rectangle. So that being said, the more compact and solid I am — while being mobile — is a good thing! And bonus — this is easier for us on the shorter skaters.

- I haven’t found being short a detriment to derby. We’ve got our advantages and disadvantages as with all other body types. We are often fast and scrappy. Tall jammers often can’t find purchase when we’re part of the back wall and pinching shoulders to seam with our partners. We can be low bracers and solid and close to our butts/back wall.

From Chickadeemolish of The Lake Effect Furies — I agree with everything Hello, Sailor said above. At 4'11.5" jammers find it the most demoralizing when I’m on the back wall of the brace and I sit on their quads. The challenge for me is to not get direction of game play.

Bracing with different statured blockers takes patience and communication. In the beginning of the season, the skaters in my line had to figure out how much pressure and force to give me for stability. My teammates had to get used to pushing and pulling me in areas of my body that were the most stable. For example, if a jammer was coming up and I was standing straight up and not ready to catch and they were set in a more upright brace, I would get flipped and wind up on the floor.

I find myself reaching up and switching my arms in the brace a lot too. This means my teammates are often reaching lower to grab a hold of my arms. It has been really awesome to know how much my team likes my uniqueness and they enjoy blocking with me.

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