My Very First Lesson

[venky]

Hello Guys

I had my first lesson this week. I was the only one in the class and had the instructor with me for 25 minutes like a personal caoch. I liked the fact that she was in her fifties and would do a better job in teaching adult beginners.
She made me do the follwing:
1) Stand on Ice and bend and touch my feet couple of times.
2) walk: like marching on ice, knees bent slightly and shoulder position over toes and hands forward like placing them on a table. She held my left hand for the first couple of rounds and then I did it on my own.
3) made me fall on ice by holding my arm and then made me get up by getting on all fours. I had a hard time getting up.
4) taught me how to stop: snow plow. I did not get it since I was pushing the skates too hard into the ground and hence the skates would not move sideways.

After the 25 minutes, she tole me to practice. I walked on ice and then tried to slide a few times but had a tendency to slip backwards.

Tomorrow, I am going on ice since the instructor told me to practice at least once between lessons.

Here are my questions;
1) Is there anything I should do to get the maximum benefit from the instructor.
2) What else should I do to get going. I get a feeling that my ice skating learning will take a long time.
3) What can I do to avoid an impact on my spine (esp near the base) when I fall backwards.

4) I went to the local skate pro shop and they told me that jackson softec elite was a good one and my size is 9. They were selling for $140 with sharpening. My instructor also told me to buy skates since the rental ones are not sharp. Any thoughts.

I apologize since I have too many questions here

Thanks again for your time and advice.

[cassarilda]

Here are my questions;
1) Is there anything I should do to get the maximum benefit from the instructor.
2) What else should I do to get going. I get a feeling that my ice skating learning will take a long time.
3) What can I do to avoid an impact on my spine (esp near the base) when I fall backwards.

4) I went to the local skate pro shop and they told me that jackson softec elite was a good one and my size is 9. They were selling for $140 with sharpening. My instructor also told me to buy skates since the rental ones are not sharp. Any thoughts.


Firstly, congrats on your first lesson!!! :D Good on you for getting out there and having a go!! :)

Ok.. my answers to your questions (keep in mind these are purely subjective)

Q1) Is there anything I should do to get the maximum benefit from the instructor.
A1) Listen, do everything they ask you to like you mean to get it perfect everytime and Practise!

Q2) What else should I do to get going. I get a feeling that my ice skating learning will take a long time.
A2) Practise!! Bend your knees... it will help your skating and make you feel more stable - and there is less height to fall from :lol: soft stretches might also help... if youve got time and the inclination, have you considered yoga classes? or gentle pilates?

Q3) What can I do to avoid an impact on my spine (esp near the base) when I fall backwards.
A3) Dont fall backwards ;) ... if you feel like youre about to fall, bend at your knees and lean slightly forward - or grab your shins (but not too tightly) - this will put your weight slightly more on your feet and slightly forward... if this doesnt stabilise you, try to fall more onto your hip - so to the side... it may still hurt slightly but it wont hurt as much as landing on your spine (been there, done that ;) )

Q4) I went to the local skate pro shop and they told me that jackson softec elite was a good one and my size is 9. They were selling for $140 with sharpening. My instructor also told me to buy skates since the rental ones are not sharp. Any thoughts.
A4) I cant answer this one, as Ive only ever owned 2 pairs of skates, and only one of those I bought myself... Im sure someone else can help you out..

Hope that helps...

Good luck!! :)

[dbny]

Congratulations on your first lesson!


I liked the fact that she was in her fifties and would do a better job in teaching adult beginners.

That made my day! It's not strictly true, but I like to think it is, since I'm 59 :lol:


1) Is there anything I should do to get the maximum benefit from the instructor.
2) What else should I do to get going. I get a feeling that my ice skating learning will take a long time.
3) What can I do to avoid an impact on my spine (esp near the base) when I fall backwards.

A lot of skaters keep a notebook and write down what they are supposed to do after each lesson. Skate as much as you can. Every minute on the ice helps, even if all you do is skate around and around. You can also work on improving your balance by standing on one foot whenever possible, off ice. To avoid those awful backwards falls, keep your hands firmly on your table and keep your knees soft (that is, don't let them get completely straight). Make sure your table is at bellybutton height, and that your arms are slightly in front (more is better than less). I have my students check by putting their thumbs on the bellybutton with palms down, then spreading the arms out from there. If you start to lose your balance, reach for your knees. Rather than trying to glide at your stage, try pointing your toes out a bit and marching like that (be carefull not to step ahead, and do keep your heels together). You will automatically start to generate a bit of push, which will lead you to a glide. When you are moving along OK, you could try putting your feet close together and doing a two foot glide until you stop. Keep your hands on your table and knees soft for this.

The Jackson Softec is an excellent recreational figure skate, but $140 is a bit steep for the Elite. In NYC it goes for $100. It's possible that you can't get it for less where you are, and it may make sense to buy from your local pro shop anyway.

[tidesong]

Congrats on your first lesson! What your instructor did sounds pretty typical for an introductory lesson.
If you are a type of skater that likes to understand more technically what is going on you might want to read about edges and stuff at http://sk8stuff.com/

I would say that to get the most out of the instructor try and remember what she says and if you dont understand something you should clarify it with her.

For practises (which are very very important) keep in mind what your instructor said, when I started out if I was unsure of something I would hold the boards while stepping through what I was learning. But of course try to do it without support once you are more confident.

For falls, same thing I would rather fall on my side than my back, its less painful that way.

I agree that if you buy skates it will be better than rental skates. Not sure about anything else but make sure the skates fit snugly, last time the shop guy sold me a pair of boots a size too big because he thought my feet were still growing! I got blisters from my feet moving about in the boots.

[Rusty Blades]

Welcome Venky! It is GREAT to see more and more "mature" skaters on the ice!

What dbny said! Having returned to the ice at 56 (after 30+ years away), balance and knee strength were the most lacking for me. Standing on one foot, moving your weight to the inside, then the outside of the foot, then to the heel, then to the front, repeat on the other foot - GREAT exercise that helped me a lot. If you have the strength, doing "deep knee bends" while balancing on one foot really helps build up the strength to while getting used to balancing while your position changes. (The people in my office no longer do a "double take" when they see me doing this while waiting for the photocopier - LOL!!)

After 2 months of skating I am just starting to work seriously on my backward skating and have been thinking of getting a "butt pad" and helmet. If I am not worried about falling backward and landing on my tail bone or whacking my head, I'd probably be more bold!

[xofivebyfive]

Ouch at number 3.. I did that 2 days ago.. I didn't even know that I was falling until I hit the ground and by that time the fall onto your side thing really doesn't help. :frus:

[garyc254]

A3) Dont fall backwards ;) ... if you feel like youre about to fall, bend at your knees and lean slightly forward - or grab your shins (but not too tightly) - this will put your weight slightly more on your feet and slightly forward...

That's what we tell the kids.

If you feel like you're going to fall, quickly bend over and grab your knees.

It helps that we teach them to keep their "hands on the table" as that puts them in the right position to grab if necessary.

8-)

[froggy]

congrats venky! to get the most from your instructing time ask questions and have your instructor demonstrate elements you are not clear about. Everyone has a difft learning style, let your coach know what is best for you (ie: visual learning by copying her vs mind-explaining technically what is happening). Spend time on the ice to get a better feel for it, it took me a long time to feel really comfortable around the rink oh and about the boards, don't use it as a crutch, personally I find it good to use it minimally to practice some elements especially new ones but it can become (trust me from experience) quite a hinderance if you begin to use it too much it also creates a false sense of balance since your weight is unevenly balanced towards the boards, so even if you think u are doing something while holding on chances are u are doing it incorrectly since you have some partial weight bearing on something external. Can you believe it took me like 2-3 months to get away from the board when I began learning my first waltz jump, I regret not first beginning to learn it in the middle of the rink.

if you feel like your going to fall get into the safe position that is, bent knees and chest towards knees and try to fall sideways like on the side of your thigh. As you progress your balance will get better and your body will learn to fall more correctly. I don't recall ever falling backward thank G-d but I have taken some nasty falls on my knees-ouch and those could have been cushined with knee pads.

Enjoy skating and take one day at a time! Welcome to the most challenging and awesome sport. Happy skating!

[venky]

Thanks Guys.
I have summarized my responses to your questions.

I have never done Yoga or pilates but will inquire at my Bally's fitness Gym if they do conduct any group exercises.
My balance is not very good and I am 6 feet tall and that may be a slight disadvantage in the beginning. I am practicing standing on 1 leg.


I have realized that ice skating is not like other sports, it is definitely tough and can be frustating in the beginning. I am going through that phase now. Of all the sports I have learnt, I find ice skating the most difficult.


Thanks again.

[doubletoe]

In general, you won't fall backwards as long as you keep your body aligned so that your chest is lined up over your knees, which are lined up over your toes. You also want your chin up and shoulders back, so you will need to bend at the hips, not the waist, and you'll have to arch your back so your chest is out over your knees. Also notice you cannot achieve the chest-over-knees-over-toes position without bending your knees and lowering your butt, so it is a great way to make sure you are in the optimal skating position all-around. :)

[beachbabe]

to get the most out of your lesson i'd make sure to ask to move on if you notice that you have stopped improving in something. Like when you work on multiple elements, learning tends to go in a curve and once you improve a certain amound you jsut need more practice for the skill to improve more. My coach always asks me to tell her whenever I feel my lesson is becoming an assisted practice, so we can move on to learning other technique unless the lesson is specifically devoted to jumps in which case we practice that the whole time. This is really the best use of your time.

As for falling, my coach always say to lean the way you skate, lean forwards for skating forward and backwards for skating backwards. When you find your balance you wont really have to think about it.