inline\aggressive skating question

Question
Hello Pat!
My name is Chaner and you answered one of my questions a little while back, about 7 months ago. At that time i was new to inline skating and ever since then I have been hooked. I recently Branched out to Aggressive skating.  I bought a pair of remz open shell, which I like alot. I'm still getting used to the weight of the heavy boots. Now, my question is related to turning and my knees.  I noticed that when I make a turn my knees are not aligned with my feet. For example, if I am going to make a left turn I move my left leg past my right leg and turn my shoulders along with my face, just like i believe that youre supposed to do. I make the turn not as sharp as I would like to, but it makes the turn. when i look down my knees are bent in an awkward position, like they are bent inwards and not aligned with my feet. It doens't feel uncomfortable, but it doesnt look pretty either.  What can I do to correct this problem? am I supposed to also point my feet in the direction of the turn and align my knees with them? because when I try this it throws me off form and makes the turn harder. Also I'm doing basic movements to start doing tricks like jumping either over obstacles or jumping to change from forward to backwards skating.  I fell many times trying to get a hang of these basic techniques. My question for this one is how can I enhance my skating so I can start moving on to more advance techniques? also from the start of my skating ive noticed my right foot is never really straight like I skate on the inside of the wheels rather than on the middle of the wheels. everytime i notice this I correct the position, but i keep falling into the same position even more when im tired, but my left foot is always straight no matter what. what would you recommend? ok im not going to flood you with questions, but these are the things i feel i need to correct before i move on. I thank you for taking the time to read this and would gladly appreciate it if you can shed some light on this subject. Thank you.

Answer
Hi Chaner......good to hear from you again.

Regarding your left turn:  It's hard to tell without actually seeing you but I have a feeling that your feet are too far apart when you do the turn.  Don't move your left leg past your right leg.  Keep both feet directly under your hips.  

Set up the turn this way and try it:
  
Have your knees slightly bent before you turn.  
Start straightening the left knee slightly before you start moving  
your left "hip" and shoulder forward.  Straightening the knees as you do the turn will keep your feet closer together.  (Moving the left foot forward and staying on a bent knee keeps them further apart.)  Initiate the turn with your left hip instead of your shoulder. Moving the left hip forward feels like someone had a hold of your belt look and pulls it forward to 12:00.
That should make the turn a little easier and your knees should be under you and not turned in when you finish.  

To start doing jumps over obstacles or jumping from forward to backward, you have to be comfortable learning to jump straight up and down first.  

Here's your set up for jumping: Do this standing still at first, then try it rolling.

Keep your feet directly under your hips
Put your hands together by cupping one hand over the other and pull
them back against your chest and keep them there.
Bend both knees, while keeping your back fairly straight
Take a small jump straight up first.  Start with a small hop, then
try a higher jump. Remember to keep your hands pull into your chest and don't let them open up or it can throw you over backward.

Work on that till your comfortable and solid. Then try rolling slowly and jumping straight up, remembering the body position that you need.  Then roll a little faster and try jumping over something very small then build your way up to something larger.  

For jumping from forward to backward:

Set yourself up the same as you did for a jump.  Keep your hands tucked in and your feet directly under your hips.
Bend your knees and as you start jumping up, rotate your left hip and shoulder forward.  The hip and shoulder have to rotate all the way to the other side to do a complete 180.  If your hip or shoulder stop to soon the jump will stop there also. To do a left turn you need to get your hip and shoulder over to the right side. To do a right turn you need to get your right hip and shoulder over to the left side.

You mentioned that your right foot is never straight up on the wheels?

Check to make sure your right skate is close to your left skate.  The further apart your feet are the more likely you will skate on the inside portion of your wheels.  Chances are that your left foot stays directly under your left hip but your right skate stays outside of your right hip.  If this doesn't work after time, you may need some kind of ankle support for your right skate.  Perhaps that ankle isn't as strong as your left ankle.  But in 9 out of 10 cases it's only because the leg and ankle aren't directly under you.  

When you skate your feet should be as close together as possible and never more than 5" apart.  You won't trip by keeping them close.  With inlines you won't lock wheels as you would with regular quad skates.

Good Luck......keep up the hard work.  One day it will all click for you.  Just keep practicing.

Pat