A question about gliding.

[FSWer]

Say,when I took my Learn to Skate class. Thay taught me how to glide, and showing me that what you do is move one skate at a time from either left to right,or vise-versa. However...there is one part I could never figure out,and that we never got to. That is.....when I see skaters skate on over to something or somebody, they always end up skating over with blades side by side,and feet straight. Wereas the only way I go forward is moving my skates side to side. But my skates stop ME along side each other. What am I doing wrong? BTW. I hope I explained what I'm seeing skates do right..

[doubletoe]

Say,when I took my Learn to Skate class. Thay taught me how to glide, and showing me that what you do is move one skate at a time from either left to right,or vise-versa. However...there is one part I could never figure out,and that we never got to. That is.....when I see skaters skate on over to something or somebody, they always end up skating over with blades side by side,and feet straight. Wereas the only way I go forward is moving my skates side to side. But my skates stop ME along side each other. What am I doing wrong? BTW. I hope I explained what I'm seeing skates do right..

If you are straight on top of the blades and going in a straight line, you will probably slow to a stop after a little while. However, if you lean on one side of your blades and glide on a curve, you will be able to glide better. And if you first glide on a curve in one direction and then shift your weight and curve the other direction, you'll get a little push off of that change of edge that will help you go even further. If you take that to an extreme, you can also slalom down the length of the rink with both blades on the ice. You just lean your ankles to the left and curve, then lean your ankles to the right and curve, just like the downhill slalom skiers. You can do it forever without losing momentum because of that little push when you change edges.

[Skate@Delaware]

If you think you have your skates side-to-side and they are slowing you down, have someone look to be sure you aren't doing the slightest bit of a snowplow. Doing something like that would slow you down. I used to do that before realizing what I was doing...

[FSWer]

If you are straight on top of the blades and going in a straight line, you will probably slow to a stop after a little while. However, if you lean on one side of your blades and glide on a curve, you will be able to glide better. And if you first glide on a curve in one direction and then shift your weight and curve the other direction, you'll get a little push off of that change of edge that will help you go even further. If you take that to an extreme, you can also slalom down the length of the rink with both blades on the ice. You just lean your ankles to the left and curve, then lean your ankles to the right and curve, just like the downhill slalom skiers. You can do it forever without losing momentum because of that little push when you change edges.


So basicly the faster I lean side by side,the longger of a smooth glide I'll get,right?

[doubletoe]

Well, I don't know if you lean "faster" but I think you'll always glide better if you are leaning on either the outside or inside of your blades rather than on a flat. That's because you have less resistance if only one edge is in the ice rather than both edges (which is what you have when you are standing straight on top of your blades with no lean). And it's also true that you could be turning your toes either in or out while gliding on a flat, and that would slow you down, too.

[Award]

Wereas the only way I go forward is moving my skates side to side. But my skates stop ME along side each other. What am I doing wrong? BTW. I hope I explained what I'm seeing skates do right..

Normally, you're meant to push 1 skate to the side when you go forward, and then glide using the other skate. And then the skates swap roles. That is, when the pushing skate comes back in (recovers) you then push (to the side) with the skate that you were using before for gliding.

When you have two feet next to each other (with no pushing at all), and if you want to maximise the distance you travel, then you have to make sure that the skates (skate blades) are parallel to each other.

[sceptique]

Another issue may be that you are leaning to far forward - hence the weight is on the front of the blade, slowing you down.

[FSWer]

Say, everyone here knows what I've noticed on skaters right? Just want to make sure I was explaining right. You know... when your at the boards of a Rink, and a skater glides on over to you, and sometimes they even turn when they get there. It seems efortless. But I can't do it as easy. What am I doing wrong?

[Award]

You know... when your at the boards of a Rink, and a skater glides on over to you, and sometimes they even turn when they get there. It seems efortless. But I can't do it as easy. What am I doing wrong?

I would say that they can do it effortlessly because they're experienced skaters. If you're just learning to skate right now, then I'm sure that after some time, you'll be able to do it effortlessly as well. You're probably doing nothing wrong. Perhaps the reason why they can glide for a long time on two skates is because they were going at a fast speed to begin with. And maybe you're travelling at a slow speed to begin with. I'm sure that if you were at a fast speed, you'd be able to travel for further distance along the ice with both skates parallel.

[jazzpants]

FSWer... do you have a coach or are taking lessons from skating school. If not, it would be worth the money and effort to go take at least a beginning class to have a coach explain this type of thing.

There's really no set answer to the question... It really depends in the end how you hold your posture, what edge you're on and how much of a lean you have into the blade that determines the direction that you will be going.

[Sylvia]

jazzpants, I believe that FSWer has taken one set of Learn to Skate classes so far.

When you have two feet next to each other (with no pushing at all), and if you want to maximise the distance you travel, then you have to make sure that the skates (skate blades) are parallel to each other.
Yes, good advice -- make sure your skate blades are side by side and not pointing in, for example.

FSWer/Dana, I think the best thing for you would be to find an instructor who could give you a private lesson on the basics (such as stroking, gliding, stopping, etc.) on a public skating session every now and then -- maybe once a month if you can't do it every week or every 2 weeks? Could the instructor from your Learn to Skate class recommend someone to you? Or you could ask the rink staff the next time you go to a public session?

[jazzpants]

jazzpants, I believe that FSWer has taken one set of Learn to Skate classes so far. Right I know. I didn't know if he's still taking lessons.

FSWer/Dana, I think the best thing for you would be to find an instructor who could give you a private lesson on the basics (such as stroking, gliding, stopping, etc.) on a public skating session every now and then -- maybe once a month if you can't do it every week or every 2 weeks? Could the instructor from your Learn to Skate class recommend someone to you? Or you could ask the rink staff the next time you go to a public session?Yup! I agree. I also recommend watching a few lessons from a distance and see which instructor comes off as someone that you know you can learn something from.

To add to the point: the expensive instructor who trains elite skaters on triples may not always been the best instructor for you. It's a matter of teaching style and you have to find out that works well for you. For instance, In my case, it was actually a couple of adult skaters that looked like they were getting better on their sit spins that got my attention on my current primary coach. The expensive coach that I did try out was great, but I didn't feel like shelling out $$$ when I was a total beginner who is just starting to get out of skating school.

[Sessy]

The way figure skaters make it so effortless is because they ride edges and you're probably on a flat. Edges are the two sides of the blade, running along the long side of the blade - the blade is sharpened in a U shape instead of just being one solid piece of steel at the end, creating two blades as it were - the inside and the outside of the blade.
If you get on a deep forward outside edge for example, your blade just by itself WANTS to flip to a backward outside edge at some point, making a 3-turn (it's called that way because the marking on the ice are 3-shaped, the middle of the 3 is where the blade flips over). So you don't really have to make any efford to make a turn for example, if your balance and technique are otherwise good, your speed and your body weight and the ice will do all the work for you.
Edges make life easyer once you get the hang of em. You need decent skates to be able to do edges well though, rental skates are usually so badly sharpened they won't hold a long edge - or any, in some cases. Also the bluntness/sharpness of the skates and the type of blades plays a role. When I switched to my coronation ace blades, it felt like somebody built rockets into my shoes.
There's also a difference in muscle power. If you have strong muscles, next to good technique, you can cover the length of an ice rink in just a few pushes.

[stardust skies]

The way figure skaters make it so effortless is because they ride edges and you're probably on a flat.

...he's not asking about edges, he IS asking about flats. He's saying he can do it on edges but not on flats. Have you never skated over to the boards from the rink opening and just glided on a flat on either one or two feet til you got to the boards before putting your stuff down? I don't know many skaters who don't do that. And the answer as to how you do it is to just glide, at speed, with your feet straight. But you can't do it in rental skates because rental skates have no ankle support and you always end up on inside edges- what's left of the edges, anyway.

The only way you can do it is by being an accomplished skater who is comfortable on their skates. That takes learning how to skate thoroughly. End of story.

[liya_skatergirl]

like all others said, the reason skaters make it look so effortless is because they're more experienced. You are just beginning, do not pressure yourself with what you can and can't do. You will be able to do it in due time. And yes, I do know what you are talking about. That "gliding" is also result of being able to use your edges properly.

[Sessy]

...he's not asking about edges, he IS asking about flats. He's saying he can do it on edges but not on flats. Have you never skated over to the boards from the rink opening and just glided on a flat on either one or two feet til you got to the boards before putting your stuff down? I don't know many skaters who don't do that. And the answer as to how you do it is to just glide, at speed, with your feet straight. But you can't do it in rental skates because rental skates have no ankle support and you always end up on inside edges- what's left of the edges, anyway.

Hmmm I've done it on my old skates with no anckle support too. But then I've ran in 4 inch stiletto heels without falling behind and my latin dancing shoes were 3 inch. For me the most important part is that I have to tie my shoes really tight at the toes (somehow, it doesn't seem I've ever had a pair that didn't have excessive room at the toes - but that's probably because I have rather narrow ball of the foot) otherwise my toes wiggle and I don't go in a straight line, but rather my feet sort of move both ways of the direction 90 degrees of the travelling direction, which is rather annoying. Then I just get on the back of the blade (cheap skates often don't even have a back of the blade, the blade is just straight there rather than rockered), usually of just 1 foot so I can hold the other one ready for the T-stop, and then sort of push my heel into the ice (rather than the toes). Well not purposely, it just does that by itself, at least, it feels that way when I'm on the back of my blade.

But generally I prefer a left forward outside edge glide (just slightly) to a flat one. Gives me more possibilities to avoid a collision in case somebody gets in my path.

[FSWer]

...he's not asking about edges, he IS asking about flats. He's saying he can do it on edges but not on flats. Have you never skated over to the boards from the rink opening and just glided on a flat on either one or two feet til you got to the boards before putting your stuff down? I don't know many skaters who don't do that. And the answer as to how you do it is to just glide, at speed, with your feet straight. But you can't do it in rental skates because rental skates have no ankle support and you always end up on inside edges- what's left of the edges, anyway.

The only way you can do it is by being an accomplished skater who is comfortable on their skates. That takes learning how to skate thoroughly. End of story.

PRECISELY!!!!!!! How do I get my skates to start doing that? Also is doing that interchangable with Hockey skates? Can you do it with them? Or am I waisting my time?

[phoenix]

I really think it's a matter of getting up enough speed & then you just keep your feet parallel & let yourself coast.

Beginners usually cannot do this because they aren't comfortable enough to get up much, if any, speed, and also often they can't control their feet well enough to keep them still & perfectly straight long enough to let the glide happen. And yes, it's the same in hockey skates.

[Sessy]

FSW'er, basically, it's a matter of skating four times a week for a year or so.

[CanAmSk8ter]

PRECISELY!!!!!!! How do I get my skates to start doing that? Also is doing that interchangable with Hockey skates? Can you do it with them? Or am I waisting my time?

My guess is that, if you're in rental skates, they desperately need to be sharpened. If there's no edge to bite into the ice, the blades are going to move slightly sideways under you as you glide, and that has the same effect as doing a snowplow stop- you skid a bit and then you stop, especially if you're not gliding very fast.

You can certainly glide in hockey skates, if they're sharpened. They'll need to be sharpened before you can skate in them. If you're used to figure skates, you'll find that the hockey skates feel very different at first- especially since it sounds like this will be your first time in properly sharpened skates. Make sure you bend your knees and keep your weight right over the ball of your foot. Figure skate blades are longer and flatter, so your weight can shift backward and forward a bit with no consequences. But hockey skates have shorter, much more rounded blades and if your weight shifts more than a bit you're going down ;)