Tomorrow night is the big day.

[Mercedeslove]

I start my first adult group lessons tomorrow. While I maybe be able to do a waltz jump, and somewhat of a sit spin. (It would be a real one if I could get my fat butt lower) I am no where near good. So to challenge myself and have fun I went for lessons. I guess pre-bronze would be a goal and possibly AN's in Chicago next year. Chicag is my hometown and I figured that would be cool.

http://img128.imageshack.us/img128/1883/skating5zq.jpg

Too feel like a skater I must look like one. ;) I know my one arm as sloppy form. I keeps doing that. I think my arm is retarded.

I'm so nervous too. I hope I don't like freak out while stepping on the ice. fall down and crack my head open. That would suck. I can't wait though! *squee*

Edit. I realized the title is a bit of an oxy moron. Meep

[beachbabe]

you'll prolly be pretty ahead of your group, you might wanna get a coach to boost you up a little or you'll be doing forward swizzles for an hour. lol

have fun with it and good luck

[Mercedeslove]

How do I do that? Seriously. I'm not kidding?

Would I waddle over there and be like. "Hey I've been doing them fo schizzle my swizzles" for like ever. I know I can do them. I Can also do a Waltz jump...so uhm?"

[twokidsskatemom]

How is your basic stroking? how are your edges? How is your power, extension and speed?
Need to work on all of it, not to bust your bubble !! tricks are great but it all needs to go hand in hand.
have fun in your lesson but skating is alot of practice, some of it not so fun stuff too !!

[Mercedeslove]

My edges are good when I'm not thinking about them. If I'm thinking 'Okay i wanna do this and that' I get scared I'm going to fall and it goes to ****. However, if I'm skating around not thinking it's so much easier and nicer.

I have speed amazingly. I always did. For some reason I though I had to be fast. I think because when I was younger I wanted to be a speed skater.

I have no issues with my basic stroking. I hate the sound the toe picks make when people skate like that. So I do not use my toe pick unless I really have too. I also hate that clopping sound new skaters tend to make. When they sort of step, walk, and glide.

My back crossovers need work. When I was in high school I had no problem doing them. Now I don't like how they look and get pissed at myself. I'm also like three inches taller, but not much difference in the weight area. So I doubt that has anything to do with it.

A lot of the stuff I could do better if I didn't get the F word in my head. No not F***. Fear. If I didn't think about fear I'd be fine.

I don't get it. I'll run into a burning building with no fear. Yet sometimes when I am out there. I'm scared to death.

[beachbabe]

How do I do that? Seriously. I'm not kidding?

Would I waddle over there and be like. "Hey I've been doing them fo schizzle my swizzles" for like ever. I know I can do them. I Can also do a Waltz jump...so uhm?"

trust me, if you can do a waltz jump im sure you can do swizzles, its jsut where you wiggle your feet in and out. in the groups they make you do it over and over and over again. this is why I had a coach let me skip ahead to more serious stuff like crossovers. its worth it cos now some of the people that were in that class are still doing group lessons which I finished last year, b/c they only go to freestyle 6.

don't worry, everyone can do swizzles, but they are supposed to teach them anyways just in case

[twokidsskatemom]

Not to argue here, but knowing how to do a waltz jump really isnt a huge deal and has no corelation to how good of a skater she will be. Everyone really does better when they start at the beginning.Having a bag of tricks is nice, but if basic stoking isnt well done, it effects every aspect of skating.Besides a waltz jump can be a small waltz jump, or a huge one, done with speed and grace.My 5 yo son does one too, but doesnt look anything like his sister waltz.
EVERYTHING is related. A good dip in basic 3 or whichever is it, helps with a good shoot the duck, which helps with a good sit spin.
The idea isnt to rush though the classes, unless that is really what you want to do. The idea is to really have good basic skating, with power and extension.

[Mercedeslove]

I know I'm going to have a lot of stuff I need to work on and that needs tweaking. I just hope all the swizzles don't end up holding me back or anything and keep me from working on what I really need to work on.

I know I can do swizzles because I used that to show my neighbors daughter how to do them. Backwards too.

I can get down in the shoot the duck postion going forward with no issues, but when i spin I can't seem to get my butt low enough. I think I'm retarded. Least my butt might be.

I can glide on one foot from hockey line to hockey line on both feet. Which I usually do just for amusement and see how far across the rink I can get on one foot. Usuualy it's not far because I have to stop to avoid other skaters crossing in front of me.

I'm not great at all, but I know I'm past swizzles and all.

[Rusty Blades]

I am returning after a 36 year absence so I am pretty much starting all over again. Since I am way too old for serious competition, I have decided to be the best skater I possibly can be.

After a few hours (so I could comfortably stay upright on blades again!) the first order of business was to hire a coach. As others have said, if you want to be GOOD it means starting out with GOOD basics and that means a coach who knows what she's doing and hour upon hour of practicing things that are really DULL and seemingly simple :roll: It will all pay off in the long run.

[twokidsskatemom]

USFS Adult 1
Falling & recovery
Forward strides & gliding
Forward swizzles, 4-6 in a row
Backward skating
Backward swizzles, 4-6 in a row
Forward one foot glides, one times skater's height, R & L
Two foot turns, in place
Snowplow stop (one foot or both)
Forward curves on two feet
Forward 1/2 swizzle pumps on a circle, 4-6 in a row


trust me, as stated in another post if they see you are above somethings, they will give you higher tasks.Im sure adults, like kids classes ,work them same way.
have fun !!!!

[Mercedeslove]

USFS Adult 1
Falling & recovery
Forward strides & gliding
Forward swizzles, 4-6 in a row
Backward skating
Backward swizzles, 4-6 in a row
Forward one foot glides, one times skater's height, R & L
Two foot turns, in place
Snowplow stop (one foot or both)
Forward curves on two feet
Forward 1/2 swizzle pumps on a circle, 4-6 in a row


trust me, as stated in another post if they see you are above somethings, they will give you higher tasks.Im sure adults, like kids classes ,work them same way.
have fun !!!!


I don't think I will say anything to the instructor and just go with whatever they give me. Unless it endless swizzles because I think I will get bored with that after a while.

The only stop I can't do because I've never seen it is a rango stop. I'd love to find a video so i know what it looks like.

[Mercedeslove]

I am returning after a 36 year absence so I am pretty much starting all over again. Since I am way too old for serious competition, I have decided to be the best skater I possibly can be.

After a few hours (so I could comfortably stay upright on blades again!) the first order of business was to hire a coach. As others have said, if you want to be GOOD it means starting out with GOOD basics and that means a coach who knows what she's doing and hour upon hour of practicing things that are really DULL and seemingly simple :roll: It will all pay off in the long run.


As I get some more money I'm going to look into a coach most definitely I already planned that. I was going to see how the first few lessons go and then go from there.

Thanks for all the advice, I just hope I manage to pull it all off.

[VegasGirl]

I don't think I will say anything to the instructor and just go with whatever they give me. Unless it endless swizzles because I think I will get bored with that after a while.

I think it's a good choice not to say anything but rather let the coach figure out where to place you. He's the expert and that's what you're paying him for. Besides, just because you say you can do a waltz jump doesn't mean you're doing it right.
I find it very hard to judge for yourself what level you should be in... I myself would probably have placed myself consistantly in a lower level because I didn't trust myself to do as much as I have... by the same token I'm sure there's others out there that would place themselves consistantly higher.
Also, I'm pretty sure you'll get bored at some point or other as learning to figure skate correctly is quite a tedious process and consists of a lot of repetition.

The only stop I can't do because I've never seen it is a rango stop. I'd love to find a video so i know what it looks like.

What the hey is a "rango stop"? Never even heard of it and couldn't find any info on the net either...
So you can do a snowplow stop (I would hope so), a T-stop and a hockey stop... and all of them correctly?

[VegasGirl]

My edges are good when I'm not thinking about them. If I'm thinking 'Okay i wanna do this and that' I get scared I'm going to fall and it goes to ****. However, if I'm skating around not thinking it's so much easier and nicer.

How do you know they are good then if you're not thinking of them? ;)

I have speed amazingly. I always did. For some reason I though I had to be fast. I think because when I was younger I wanted to be a speed skater.

Faster is not always better, quite on the contrary in a lot of ways it's worse... trust me I know since I can skate pretty fast as well but that tends to make me rush through things... not a good thing at all!!! Atleast not in figure skating, speed skating I guess would be a different story. 8-)

I have no issues with my basic stroking. I hate the sound the toe picks make when people skate like that. So I do not use my toe pick unless I really have too.

And you shouldn't... there are no toe picks involved in stroking... neither forwards nor back... just as there are no toe picks involved in cross-overs forward or back.

My back crossovers need work. When I was in high school I had no problem doing them. Now I don't like how they look and get pissed at myself.

What does "I don't like how they look" mean... are you doing them correctly but just don't like how they look or are you doing them plain wrong?

A lot of the stuff I could do better if I didn't get the F word in my head. No not F***. Fear. If I didn't think about fear I'd be fine.

Well, isn't that the truth... unfortunately you will have to get over it or I don't see any progress in your future as the moves and tricks won't get any easier or less scary rather the opposite. If you're already afraid at this level how will you be able to even face the jumps, foot work, spirals etc that lay ahead?

[Casey]

Too feel like a skater I must look like one.
And you do!! Nevermind the retarded arm - that's a good picture and you look fit for competition! Makes me want to put on my much more boring practice clothes and skates and take some pictures...hmm we could start a whole thread about it just like the skate pictures one...*rubs hands together eagerly*

Good luck with your lessons!

[flying~camel]

What the hey is a "rango stop"? Never even heard of it and couldn't find any info on the net either...
I think she means "tango stop" which is like a t-stop, but your stopping foot comes to the front and side of your skating foot, rather than behind.

[Mercedeslove]

I think she means "tango stop" which is like a t-stop, but your stopping foot comes to the front and side of your skating foot, rather than behind.


Yes a tango stop, thanks. I didn't know I had spelled it wrong.


So you can do a snowplow stop (I would hope so), a T-stop and a hockey stop... and all of them correctly?

Yes amazingly I can. Why because my high school had a rink. Part of our gym class was skating. They taught us that. They're simple as hell. Only about four people had problems with them. The kids who didn't want to learn and two kids from special ed.

And you shouldn't... there are no toe picks involved in stroking... neither forwards nor back... just as there are no toe picks involved in cross-overs forward or back.

Well aso soon as people hear beginner the assume everyone uses toe picks. I don't. I'm not that bad in skating.

[Casey]

I think she means "tango stop" which is like a t-stop, but your stopping foot comes to the front and side of your skating foot, rather than behind.
Ack, I hate that stop (okay not really) - it's the only one I can't do! My preference is the T-stop, and secondly a one-foot inside edge stop. I don't really do a true hockey stop with both skates on the ice, but I don't really care to - I just end up doing a one-foot stop instead. :P I don't really like snowplow stops. I would like to learn the tango stop and a one-foot outside edge stop.

[VegasGirl]

Honestly, I'm not really sure though what to think of your skating by the way you explain... but any way... hope you're having fun during the lesson, the rst will fall into place as you go along.

[Mercedeslove]

Ack, I hate that stop (okay not really) - it's the only one I can't do! My preference is the T-stop, and secondly a one-foot inside edge stop. I don't really do a true hockey stop with both skates on the ice, but I don't really care to - I just end up doing a one-foot stop instead. :P I don't really like snowplow stops. I would like to learn the tango stop and a one-foot outside edge stop.


I hate snowplow stops. I use to like them because they were easy and got the job done. Then I started watching other people do them and was like. Dude is that what I look like. I usually go with t-stop or hockey. I like hockey better because it's quicker, but people don't like all that ice sprayed on them sometimes.

First stop I ever learned was a t-stop....then the snowplow. I don't think I would have learned the snowplow if it wasn't for my high school gym class.

[Mercedeslove]

Honestly, I'm not really sure though what to think of your skating by the way you explain... but any way... hope you're having fun during the lesson, the rst will fall into place as you go along.


Thanks. I just hope I'm not the oldest one there and there will be people around my age or so. My rinks adult group lessons are from ages 13 and up.

[twokidsskatemom]

Honestly, I'm not really sure though what to think of your skating by the way you explain... but any way... hope you're having fun during the lesson, the rst will fall into place as you go along.

I think that sometimes when you are just starting out, you think you can do certain things well.Then when you start lessons or find a coach, you discover there are lots of inprovements to be made.
Even the kids do the same,they say they have a element when it will take 6 months for them to REALLY have the element. Huge difference with doing it once and doing it well enough to put into a program or test.
Post after you have your class and let us know !!

[AW1]

They're simple as hell. Only about four people had problems with them. The kids who didn't want to learn and two kids from special ed.

Great so now in addition to your "retarded" arm you're ragging people people from special ed. You know that being retarded or having a disability doesn't prevent you from doing lots of things - and I'd suggest you rethink your description since there are people with forms of "retardation" who genuinely have issues but that CAN do snowplough stops. :x

[Mercedeslove]

So I'm home from my first lesson and it went really well. The divied the ice into two sections. Thew new comers to the class and those who had lessons before. Right away we did swizzles. Forward and back. The coach Kim pulled me to the side. I was like oh god I suck

She asked if I had taken lessons else before I told I hadn't, but I do a lot of skating. So she moved me to the other side of the rink and I skated with other skaters. We did back crossovers, waltz jumps, and some of them did a few one foot skating excercises. The hour went by fast but I loved it.

Coach Kim did say we would work on a lot more next week. Today she wanted to get a feel for the newbies.

There was this married couple there. Older too. The husband was so funny. At first he was scared to death of skating on one foot, but by the end thats all he wanted to do and was real happy with himself.

I was also told to talk to Cocah kim next week about the spring ice show in May. So I am kind of excited about that!

I think it went great! I'm really excited too.

Though they don't shave the ice between session and run session all day on it and then groom the ice at night. My session was the last session of the night so the ice was pretty choppy.