want to learn footwork

[ouijaouija]

so i know the basics quite well and skate with strong strokes and all this but i don't know any footwork.

My mohwks suck, i canot do outside ones, cannot do backward 3turns, cannot do twizzles.

i know basic step sequences but thats about it, how do i do fancy stuff? any websites?

[herniated]

Just my humble suggestion... ice dance coach. I never thought I could do footwork until I took lessons from a dance coach.

[flo]

Practice the basic turns and you'll be ready to go to the more advanced. Is there an edge class you can take?

[ouijaouija]

Hi

I have been skating on and off, I sprained my ankle in October and haven't really skated until this week, and it feels kinda good, but I also remember the frustration I feel because it seems like I am not progressing any more.

I don't have money for classes, but there is a dance club I could maybe attend but I am very apprehensive about joining because I don't know anyone there and I don't know how to join

[froggy]

I agree about the ice dance. i have a coach with a strong background in ice dance and he has me do loads of footwork with 3 turns, brackets, mohawks, choctaws, toe hops, crossovers etc.

[RachelSk8er]

Ice dancing! And keep working on moves in the field.

After many years of synchro and ice dancing, footwork is the strongest element of my singles program. Even when I skate really lousy (i.e. bombing a spin or messing up a jump or two) my footwork and speed tend to hold me up placement wise (finished 4th out of 7 and 3rd out of 6 in two of my worst skates this year), and I've also finished ahead of people who attempt or even land clean axels without even attempting one. I think a lot of people focus so much on jumps and spins and forget about the importance of the connecting stuff.

Also, keep practicing the skills you do have. Don't let the fact that you find it hard discourage you. When I learn a new step sequence, it's ALWAYS challenging. But it gets easier with practice and muscle memory kicks in, and eventually you don't have to think about it and can go back and make it harder. The step sequence I have in my program is one I have had since last year, truthfully it's a modified step sequence from my synchro program last year, but I have made it harder over time (adding a LFO loop to the beginning, right now working to double the LFI single twizzle--really hard for me b/c that's my weaker side for twizzles). I have the LFO loop and the LFO twizzle in there as opposed to doing them on the right foot because it forces me to work on turns on my weaker side.

I also use the same step sequence in my interp (although I added to it in my interp to make it cover full ice, versus my free where it only needs to be 1/2 ice but is more like 2/3) and I use it in compulsory, too. Once you have a good step sequence, there is no need to re-invent the wheel. It's really easy to modify arm and body movements to fit different programs, or modify timing to fit music.

[Kristin]

Hi

I have been skating on and off, I sprained my ankle in October and haven't really skated until this week, and it feels kinda good, but I also remember the frustration I feel because it seems like I am not progressing any more.

I don't have money for classes, but there is a dance club I could maybe attend but I am very apprehensive about joining because I don't know anyone there and I don't know how to join

If you have been off the ice since October, then just take it easy! You'll get back to your old skills in no time now that you are back on the ice.

FYI - NONE of us knew anything about adult skating when we first joined. It took talking to people on boards like this or watching a local competition with adult skaters to find out that there actually was an adult skating world out there, complete with competitions all the way up to Nationals! It's a good time to be an adult skater since they didn't have all these fun opportunities 20 yrs ago. :)

Find out what you have to do to join in the dance club, contact that person by phone or email, and just show up. Adult skaters are a friendly bunch. Put on a smile, walk in, & you will have people introducing themselves in no time. All it takes is: Hi! My name is so-n-so. I just started skating a year ago. What's your name? How long have you been skating? What got you into skating? Are you on any boards? I'm so-n-so on skatingforums!

That's all it takes. Ask questions. Find out information about the club. How long has it been there? How many members do they have? What coaches do people take from? What levels of dance do the people do? Etc.

See? Easy! Got ya started! Now go do it! :)

[Mrs Redboots]

I hate to tell you, but I have a feeling that the dance club at your rink does require a minimum level of skating as evidenced by SkateUK tests. I wouldn't swear to that, mind, but I think it is so. But I believe they do offer learn-to-dance classes either before or after the club session (which, IIRC, is on a Sunday morning - I've been to it once or twice before their annual Open), so well worth enquiring anyway.