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katz in boots
07-07-2010, 03:34 AM
There is a lady at our rink, part of our synchro team, she is just amazing. She does all sorts of edges, turns & manoevres, without any lessons at all.
When I show her new dance steps for synchro, she can just do them, straight away.

I watch her, she has great edges (without knowing about edges) and is always well-balanced and on the correct part of the blade.

I'm always astounded by how easily & naturally it all comes to her. Makes me believe in reincarnation, she must've done all this before.

Why is it that some people just can do it, while others have to work at it and yet others will always struggle?

Schmeck
07-07-2010, 05:58 AM
Are you sure she didn't skate as a kid?

blue111moon
07-07-2010, 07:08 AM
I'd guess she either skated as a kid or has extensive dance or gymnastics background. Or she's done a lot of rollerblading.

Some people do learn more quickly than others. It helps to have done a lot of similar physical activity in the past though.

noobskate
07-07-2010, 10:05 AM
I'd guess she either skated as a kid or has extensive dance or gymnastics background. Or she's done a lot of rollerblading.

Some people do learn more quickly than others. It helps to have done a lot of similar physical activity in the past though.

I'm thinking of taking up figure skating myself. It's good to know that rollerblading can be helpful. I thought I read that it's not useful except for picskates.

Skittl1321
07-07-2010, 10:25 AM
I'm thinking of taking up figure skating myself. It's good to know that rollerblading can be helpful. I thought I read that it's not useful except for picskates.

Most anything that has helped you develop balance will be helpful if you've never figure skated before. Rollerblading won't really help your footwork/jumps/spins if it's not picskates (type, there are other brands), but it can help you with standing up, getting back up, stroking, fearlessness...

dbny
07-07-2010, 10:44 AM
Why is it that some people just can do it, while others have to work at it and yet others will always struggle?
Either she skated as a kid, or she is one of a very few people born with everything it takes to master the sport. I have seen a few such kids. Of course, it takes much more than raw talent to get to the top, but there are people who have that kind of talent.

I'm thinking of taking up figure skating myself. It's good to know that rollerblading can be helpful. I thought I read that it's not useful except for picskates.
I've been teaching beginners for many years, and I can always tell who has rollerbladed. I think it's a huge advantage because rollerbladers never toe push, which I've found to be the absolute hardest habit to break. Additionally, pushing with the correct part of the blade is a difficult skill to learn. I have also found that rollerbladers often have better than average knee bend.

kayskate
07-07-2010, 02:31 PM
Inline and quad skaters don't toe push. They also have the feeling of gliding and some leg strength. Once they get the feel of the ice, they are able to skate which gives an instructor something to work w immediately. Most of the kids I have taught (beginners) whether they roller blade or not, tend to skate w their legs wide. I attribute this to skating w/o instruction. A wide stance is more stable, but it makes one-foot glides very difficult to learn and must be corrected asap.

The person the OP mentioned may have taken LTS as a kid if not skated at a higher level. This would have given her a foundation even if it was a long time ago. It definitely helped me.

Kay

AgnesNitt
07-07-2010, 03:44 PM
Dear Katzinboots

I believe that everyone is naturally good at something. Sometimes what you want to be good at and what you're naturally good at are the same thing. This is a blessing. Other times someone is naturally good at something that for some reason they don't think is important, or is irrelevant to their life. You probably know something in your life that you could do easier, faster, better than anyone else. Look at those skills with relief, being good at that other skill means you don't have to practice it, so that has given you more time to skate.

I am a natural shot. Handguns, rifles, bow and arrow, slingshot, etc. Pick it up, fire it twice, hit stuff accurately. As I am a 5'2" woman this has been a talent that has been wasted on me and my life. Once I was on the firing line to requal for the Guard when the firing line chief came by, looked at me shoot and said, "Ma'm, there's nothing that I can teach you." Praise from a Master Chief. Bliss.

But skating; every single thing I do in skating is hard earned. I treasure my tiny gains, an edge here, and improved shoulder on a 3 turn there, smooth flow in my back crossovers first one way then the other, even more for the fact that I earned those skills through hard work and love of the purity of the sport.

sk8lady
07-07-2010, 07:18 PM
I was commenting to another skater in my group ice dance class that I have absolutely no talent at all, and my coach turned around and said, "What do you mean?" When I said I had absolutely no skating talent, it was all just years of hard work, she said, "Look how far you've gotten--your talent is for sticking to it."

sk8tmum
07-07-2010, 08:23 PM
"Look how far you've gotten--your talent is for sticking to it."

:bow::bow::bow::bow::bow::bow:

With your permission, may I borrow your coach's comment for personal use? It's wonderful - :D - and, good for you for having that amazing talent!

katz in boots
07-08-2010, 03:40 AM
I'd guess she either skated as a kid or has extensive dance or gymnastics background. Or she's done a lot of rollerblading.

None of these, I checked. She started as a beginner along with her kids, by 2nd session she was going backwards.

"Look how far you've gotten--your talent is for sticking to it."

Love it !!!! I think it describes many of us perfectly.

blue111moon
07-08-2010, 07:12 AM
Well, there are natural athletes, although it's very rare that they reach adulthood before it kicks in.

The only comfort I can offer to the non-naturals among us is that over the past nearly-30 yeaars in skating, I've observed that most of the people who pick up skills very quickly in the beginning eventually run into a skill that stumps them. Then they get frustrated at the stall in their progress, struggle for a while and then quit. The time frame is between five and seven years.

Whereas those of us blessed with an abundance of persistance simply forge on and enjoy the process as much as the acheivement. :)

sk8tmum
07-08-2010, 07:41 AM
Well, there are natural athletes, although it's very rare that they reach adulthood before it kicks in.

The only comfort I can offer to the non-naturals among us is that over the past nearly-30 yeaars in skating, I've observed that most of the people who pick up skills very quickly in the beginning eventually run into a skill that stumps them. Then they get frustrated at the stall in their progress, struggle for a while and then quit. The time frame is between five and seven years.

Whereas those of us blessed with an abundance of persistance simply forge on and enjoy the process as much as the acheivement. :)

Not just adults ... kids too ... I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of "superstar" natural kid skaters who are still left on the ice from when my guys started; they quit when it got "hard" or when they "didn't win any more" or when it got "boring" to keep practising and refining and working. They moved onto other sports sometimes, other times to the sport of Nintendo and MSN ... :) - also, the natural skaters are often natural atheletes in other sports, so chose to follow another path, or, frankly, some wanted more of a challenge than something that came easily - !!!!!