Another perspective on boots/blades

[phoenix]

My coach & I were talking about skates last week & he mentioned that everyone has boots that are too stiff (we're talking ice dancing here). Growing up in the Soviet sports system, he said he learned to skate in soft boots because he never had new boots until he was about 16--he always wore hand-me-downs from other skaters (Andre Bukin was one he mentioned). "Why would I get new boots? Where would I get them?" he said. "I didn't get new boots until I started getting results at competitions." This really surprised me because I would have thought that the Russians would have been given the best equipment money could buy in their quest for domination in the sport.

By chance, I just happened across this article about Marina Klimova, & she's talking about the same sort of things.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/bay_area_sports/2006/01/ice_dancing_the.html

Both she & my coach are saying the boots & blades just aren't as critical as people in the US tend to think....... an interesting perspective as we seem to be constantly in search of the perfect marriage of boot, blade and skater. I've seen it often in my coach's attitude whenever I come to him w/ what he terms 'excuses' and his reply is always the same: "I don't care. Go skate." :lol:

[jenlyon60]

There's something to be said for that (I think to some degree it's an American thing, because I see it in other activities as well...the equipment has to be "top of the line" even if the user of the equipment isn't)

I know my dance coach (former 2x UK dance champion) never wore anything but stock boots (still wears stock boots, albeit customized in terms of the height of the boot). He was commenting last week that when he gets his next pair of boots, he's going to finally get custom boots (my guess is either for a bit more comfort during the hours he's on his feet coaching each day, or because he wants to have the boots made to allow for his bunions and other skaters' foot ailments).

[TashaKat]

Jenlyon - is that Gary? I hope that he's ok, I used to enjoy watching him train in the mornings ... didn't enjoy the backdraft when I was on the ice at the same time as him though :) Boy could he motor ;)

I used to have lessons with some Russian coaches. They said the same thing and also pointed out that their skaters tend to have very strong ankles because they're not relying on the boot to hold them up! Food for thought ...

[dbny]

Dick Button landed the first triple in competition and the first double Axel in boots that none of us would want to skate in today. They had virtually no ankle support, just high leather tops. I once saw a Russian coach land a gorgeous Axel in the blue plastic rentals because his boots were in the shop and he still had to work. I think better boots and blades count more when one's natural ability is less. Since very few of us have the kind of immense talent it takes to get to the top, we are very interested in anything that might help us skate better and safer. Elite level skaters can skate in anything. I've seen kids get on the ice for the first time ever in rentals, and just zoom around doing pretty much whatever they feel like. Those are the ones who might become world class competitors if they had the $$$, the parental support, the right body type as they grow, and the focus and passion to do nothing else.

[phoenix]

I once saw a Russian coach land a gorgeous Axel in the blue plastic rentals because his boots were in the shop and he still had to work. I think better boots and blades count more when one's natural ability is less..

Yup, mine does double axels in VERY broken down boots & MK dance blades (the really thin ones w/ virtually no toe pick)! 8O :bow:

[crayonskater]

I suspect it's somewhat like running; advances in running shoes have made it possible for the less physically gifted to have enjoyable, safe, running careers, but the top runners have the bone structure that they'd be fine in Keds.

And I suspect that in some cases, too much boot is a crutch that replaces developing ankle strength.

[icedancer2]

And I suspect that in some cases, too much boot is a crutch that replaces developing ankle strength.

I think this is so true. Also hip flexor (? I think) strength -- when the boot is doing all of the work for you, then you don't have to.

I recently put some figure blades on my old, very soft boots -- the boots feel great, fit like a glove right to my foot and I can really bend my ankles. (the figure blades are another story, very sweet and smooth, but I can hardly skate in them because there is virtually NO toepick!). Then I put on my new (10-month old) dance boots -- they feel very stiff and kind of big because they haven't quite molded to my foot yet and I still can't bend my ankles enough to really get over the edges. It's going to take some time I think.

I wish I could have bought a pair of boots just like my old ones -- are they still out there, somewhere?????

[jenlyon60]

Jenlyon - is that Gary? I hope that he's ok, I used to enjoy watching him train in the mornings ... didn't enjoy the backdraft when I was on the ice at the same time as him though :) Boy could he motor ;)



Yep... It's Gary.