Going from ice hockey to figure skating

[CampyRecord]

I played Ice Hockey in high school and off and on in college, it was nothing serious, just something to do throughout the winter. Recently after going to watch the JGP in Lake Placid I tossed around the idea of getting on the ice again, so I went out and picked up a pair of mid-level Riedell skates and went, or I should say, tried to go skating.

I can't believe how different the ice feels after 10+ years of being off it. I find myself having to relearn the basics, but before I go any further and pick up bad habits, is there anything I should watch out for when making to move over to figure skating?

The local rink offers lessons, but due to my work schedule I can't attend. But my Wife will be going, and thats another story all together. There are really no other rinks where I live that offer lessons when I am free, so my only option is a private coach or just get on and skate.

Any opinions?

Thanks

[sexyskates]

A private coach can really make you progress rapidly. You probably have good edges from your hockey days, so the transition to figure skating shouldn't be too bad. Of course when my husband jumped out the ice in figure skates after playing hockey, the first thing he did was trip over the toepick!
I think you will have a great time with figure skating because there is so much you can do as an individual skater. A two hour practice session just flies by with all the stuff there is to practice.
Good luck!

[RachelSk8er]

The posture of figure skating is probably going to be the hardest thing for you to grasp and get used to, since we skate more upright (and think about it much more). Since hockey players tend to have good agility, you should be good with footwork and that sort of thing once you get used to the blades. You'll also have to get used to the difference between hockey stroking (shorter, choppy strokes to gain power), whereas figure skaters try to get more power out of less pushes.

Depending on what you're interested in doing (freestyle, ice dancing), you'd be a good candidate for dance blades (provided freestyle isn't part of your skating plans). They're as close as you get in the figure skate blade world to a hockey blade.

[Isk8NYC]

Welcome!

The blades themselves are different: hockey blades are shorter and rounded at both ends whereas figure blades are longer and more flat towards the tail. The rocker on the hockey skates is more forward, which is why so many converts trip. Just think of keeping your gliding weight on the ball-to-middle of your blade, front-to-back.

Watch for toe pushing - a lot of hockey players tend to use the front of their blade to push, which is a no-no in figure skating. That's why each of strokes generates more power - we use the inside edge of the blade.

Your stride is different - figure skating uses longer, angled edge pushes, whereas hockey uses the choppier movement that looks like you're drawing christmas trees on the ice.

Figure skating is more upright - if you use a hockey stance with the forward lean, you WILL trip over your toepicks more often. On turns, we match our upper body to the arc. Many hockey skaters keep their upper body square: shoulders over hips.

Backwards crossovers are really different - hockey is a jumpy cross, whereas figure skaters keep the crossing foot on the ice. Think of drawing a question mark with your crossing foot, drawing the foot out, in front of, and then to the inside of the skating foot. Again, the upper body is different on crossovers: we twist at the waist to match shoulders to the arc, not to hips.

You could do several short (15-20 minute) private lessons if the group schedule doesn't fit your calendar. That will give you flexibility without breaking the bank.

I'd like to hear about the wife's lessons...just because I like stories, lol.

[RachelSk8er]

Backwards crossovers are really different - hockey is a jumpy cross, whereas figure skaters keep the crossing foot on the ice. Think of drawing a question mark with your crossing foot, drawing the foot out, in front of, and then to the inside of the skating foot. Again, the upper body is different on crossovers: we twist at the waist to match shoulders to the arc, not to hips.


You'll get over some of this by just the change in blades and getting used to the weight adjustment (sitting back over your feet and the upper body more upright versus the weight toward the front of the blades), plus figure skate boots help keep your ankles back more in the boot and will help you get used to this (whereas hockey skates are designed to keep your ankles forward. I actually cut that high back flap over the achilles off on my hockey skates so I could do "normal" backward crossovers in them more easily when I was playing intramural hockey in college...not that it mattered because I played in the sorority leage and I was one of 3 people who actually knew how to skate before they started). And not having all that equipment on makes crossovers much easier, too.

[CampyRecord]

Thanks for the replies, the tips are useful! The first time I put on a pair of figure skates I realized that the toe picks to make you stop.... quickly, I was lucky enough not to fall, just stop. I have the skating down, for the most part, but I'm going back out friday to just skate and get used to the feeling of new skates.

[Skittl1321]

You actually shouldn't use the toe picks to stop - just your edges (though they sure will slow you down if you drag them going backwards, but that's a BAD thing) But good to hear you didn't trip!

[doubletoe]

The toepicks are dangerous if you get your weight too far forward while skating forward, but they are your friend when you're going backward! Unlike hockey skates, you can lean forward a little while skating backwards in figure skates and grab the ice with the bottom pick to slow yourself down and get a little more control (so you may want to try a backward spiral instead of a forward spiral on your first try, LOL!). Of course you want to stay off of the picks if you want smooth, silent backward stroking.

And, as someone else mentioned, figure skating stroking is all about skating each stroke on a curve and pressing against that inside or outside edge of the blade to get the maximum ice coverage per stroke.

[Mrs Redboots]

The toepicks are dangerous if you get your weight too far forward while skating forward, but they are your friend when you're going backward! Unlike hockey skates, you can lean forward a little while skating backwards in figure skates and grab the ice with the bottom pick to slow yourself down and get a little more control (so you may want to try a backward spiral instead of a forward spiral on your first try, LOL!). Of course you want to stay off of the picks if you want smooth, silent backward stroking.
The best skaters try to stay off their picks! I have a huge rocker on my (relatively) new blades, and can't find the picks, it's awful.... no scrape, but I am constantly afraid of pitching forward on to my nose!

[kayskate]

If you can't do group lessons, I strongly recommend private. Your skating skills from hockey will help you progress quickly. The lessons will help you to avoid bad habits and make a smoother transition.

Enjoy!

Kay

[icedancer2]

There was a guy at our rink that started learning his dances and actually took his first 6 or so dances in hockey skates. He eventually switched to figure skates (his first figure skates had NO toe picks (someone else had cut them off!) and for a while he skated in them - eventually ended up in a synchro Blade (cheaper version of a dance blade with a shorter heel and rounded bottom pick) - passed his Moves up through Novice I believe and dances to compete at Novice level at Sectionals - the judges were always amazed at how good his edges were!

[dreamshark]

I've never been on hockey skates, and I find it very interesting watching the hockey kids race around the ice at open skating sessions. I've been trying to figure out what the differences in the skates must be, but it's also a difference in attitude. For instance, I've learned a lot about crossovers watching hockey skaters. I used to think of crossovers as something that you do to keep busy while skating round and round in a circle. Now I realize that a crossover is an opportunity to dig that inside edge into the ice and go jetting off in a different direction at top speed! That's actually way more fun.

We had a hockey skater in our ice dance class, and it was really interesting to see how he approached things. Swing rolls kind of confused him, but his progressives (crossovers) were to die for. He really shone at the corners of the patterns where you have to change direction.

[Query]

Maybe your wife can teach you, from her lessons! (-: You might not learn as fast as from a real skate teacher, but she might enjoy giving you direction... And if you are willing to ice dance with her, most of the other gals will be jealous, because they can't find partners.

There have been good movies about switching, both ways.

I think everyone should try a few types of skates. I bet you find it harder to get good deep edges on figure skates, because it's easier on hockey skates. And if you only did inside edges on hockey skates as some low and mid level hockey skaters do, you may have to work on being comfortable on outside edges.