I started roller skating about 1992/93 when I was 7 or 8. Then in 2000 I started proper ice lessons, at age 15. I'm not sure whether my earlier roller experience helped or not.

Now I'm so much more used to wearing ice skates, it's scary to do roller. I think being on ice comes easier, actually - it's especially easier for me to turn on the ice than on wheels.

__________________
Andrea

Yes, but more importantly, can adults learn to live with the crippling fallout from Adult Onset Skating Syndrome? The poverty, the blisters, the bruises, the destruction of fine furniture and knick-knacks resulting from waltz jump practice in the living room? The ominous rumbles coming from loved ones who have been served one too many "Gone Skating" notes in place of meals? The constantly red and runny nose? The obsession with what rinks are open when and where? The inability to hear a piece of music without mentally composing a footwork sequence?

I believe we can survive and even flourish!

Lessons help. Group lessons are cheap and if you have a knack for being the squeaky wheel, you can monopolize the instructor Private lessons are better, but free private lessons are best -- keep your eyes peeled for good skaters doing stuff you want to learn and then get near them: "Wow... your turns are so smooth and silent and graceful. I'm trying to learn those but mine scrape. I don't know why." Nobody can hear that and resist giving you a quick fabulous 3-turn tutorial

Attack the skills! Get out there. Well, I fall a lot but for me there is simply a limit to how much I can improve by wishing/reading/watching. I know this because I hoped to master back crossovers that way, but nothing much happened until I kept doing them, over and over and over...

The internet is a great resource that can help you learn... Skating forums such as this, and usenet (rec.sport.skating.ice.recreational) and FAQs have a lot of tips and help for beginning adults. Many sites have videos of skating moves to download which are good to study. If you're having a problem with a certain skill, someone else has had that problem too and sometimes just hearing it explained a certain way can make it "click." The sense of community helps when you're having a bad day and you can find advice on everything from that funny feeling in your knee to the etiquette of public skates. Have fun!

TOO FUNNY... and too true.

__________________
Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau

I know this may seem like I am beating a dead horse, but I have yet another question. Have any of you ever had your confidence stripped by attending a public skating session? At the group lessons, my confidence is greatly increased, I'm skating backwards, gliding on one foot, laughing and having an absolutely wonderful time.

Afterwards, we (my husband, stepson and myself) attend the public skating session and I find myself terrified to skate alone! I am clutching my husband's arm the entire time! The hockey kids are weaving in and out practicing their hockey stops directly in front of people, others think it is fun to toss a hockey glove back and forth across the rink, the little kids are going the wrong direction or cutting across traffic and the older kids like to create long trains of people to whip around the ice. I know I should just relax and realize that this is part of skating and these people are just trying to enjoy themselves, but when I attend these sessions, I feel completely hopeless as if I will never develop a true comfort zone.

Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated!

What I found intimidating about public sessoins was that I had to skate the lenght of the rink, not just the width like my group lesson did. I was OK knowing that going the short way across the rink was, well, shorter, but the long was was intimidating at first -- especially with kids and other skaters whizzing by me at what felt like break-neck-speed.

So I started confining myself to a quieter corner. I culd practice what I needed to without having to go the distance of the rink. If you do this, you do have to pay attention to others so that you don't set yourself up in a "jump" corner if they alow jumping on your public sessions.

I alsogave myself a list of things to do so that I didn't get out there and forget what I need to practice. I would do each of my skills ten times or so, take a break and skate a lap, come back and do another set, etc.

I'm still a terrible backwards skater and cringe when I practice back crossovers and back edges -- I'm so worried about running into someone that it's hard for me to practice what I should. I don't like to practice in the center of the rink, especially if there's better skaters at the session. The odd thing is I rarely worry about my own safety -- I just don't want to injure someone else. When hubby and I were in Pre-Alpha, we used to laugh that there were tot classes on either side of our adult beginning class. I was convinced that if I went down, I'd wipe out six little ones!

But for me, what worked best was knowing that I was going to practice each of my elements every time I got out there.

Public sessions become less terrifying as soon as you begin to feel more in control of your skating - if you are confident of your ability to stop quickly then you can usually deal with pretty much anything that happens on the rink. Of course it may take some time to get that confidence but it will come. It can be very hard to find anywhere to practice but often there is a corner that seems to be less well-used and you can stake a claim to that to practice turns and things. We generally found people would give us a wide berth when they could see us practising in the corner. Also if you take time out and watch the flow you will often find that suddenly everyone seems to be at one end and then you have clear ice at the other end which you can use for a few moments.

Eventually you will begin to find public sessions a real ego boosting experience as, to the general public, who have never taken lessons, even the most basic turns and spins are impressive.

Hang in there - it will get easier - and then enjoy it when you get your first "are you a coach?" question.

Have fun!

__________________
'skating is not just a sport - it is an obsession'

Well---it sounds like your public sessions are a zoo! They shouldn't be that way if anyone in charge was laying down the law...but some rinks just don't care that they're a lawsuit waiting to happen. In a well-run rink, tossing gloves or anything else is never allowed, and the skate guards are diligent about correcting little kids going the wrong direction, and kick off hockey brats being @sses. Sadly, that's a dream for most of us...it's rare to find really diligent skate guards. (Which is why you'll find us figure skaters setting people straight sometimes, because no one else does!)

Can you possibly find another public session to practice at, one that's less populated? Or if not, try asking if your sessions can be policed a little better, or if they can 'cone off' the center for figure skaters and lesson skaters (and at least police that reasonably well)--so you can practice in a semblance of peace. It takes being the squeaky wheel sometimes, but it usually ends up working.

For me it was not so much an issue of lack of confidence, but more an issue of simply not having fun due to the chaotic and busy nature of public sessions. That is actually why I haven't pursued more lessons--because I don't really get an opportunity to practice in conditions that allow me the space I need to practice.

Even if I would try a corner of the rink, there would always be several skaters coming right at me, and I just could not get anything done.

I think you have gotten some good advice here though. Good luck and I hope you find something that works well for you! And know you are not alone in your feelings...public sessions can be a nightmare at times.

Tips for finding quieter ice!

Try making friends with the rink receptionists. Ask them when the quietest public sessions tend to be - at our rink we often found Tuesday teatimes to be quietest (not always but quite often). They are also the ones who can tell you whether there are any coach parties booked ( a guarantee of a busy/rowdy session). If I wanted to go to a session I would often ring beforehand and enquire if any coach parties were booked in and avoid them if I could.

Arrive at the session early and you can often have 10-15 minutes of relatively quiet ice whilst everyone else is still queueing for skate hire or lacing up their boots. If your rink does all day sessions then around 1 pm everyone seems to get off for lunch.

If you ever have the opportunity to skate a weekday morning or afternoon public session they are wonderful - very rarely crowded. At the last Thursday morning session at our rink there were just 4 skaters - bliss!

Find out if your rink has a skating club that is open to beginners and if it has, join it! They often have dedicated club ice which is usually split by ability levels. You may also find more people to practice with this way and on a public session can take it in turns to practice whilst the other acts as shield/lookout!

Hope you find some practice space! Good luck.

__________________
'skating is not just a sport - it is an obsession'

started at 46 yrs. old. never skated before. now 51. progress is slow, but when it happens - well, what can I say. No feeling quite like it. jeanette

Due to time constraints, I have not been able to attend a public skating session in over two weeks. As a result, my confidence has grown ten fold! My new strategy will be to take advantage of as many Learn to Skate classes as possible and save the public sessions for a time when I am truly confident in my ability.

I don't know how other programs are structured, but this particular program allows one half hour of practice time prior to the 15-minute lesson and following the lesson, you are permitted another 45 minutes of practice time. My husband, stepson and I participate in the Family Learn to Skate Class and are currently at Badge Level 3. Because of the wonderful, supportive and encouraging staff, I have absolutely no problem with any of the skills with the exception of the Snow Plow Stop (believe it or not!!). Initially, I was told that my blades may be too sharp and are possibly "sticking" which would make it difficult for me to push them to the side. Well, now I think it might be a mental thing. As I push to the side, I can't help thinking that I won't be able to control my skates, and the end result will be me, flat on the ice in a straddle position with numerous torn muscles and enormously bruised pride!! I've asked many people for help, but ultimately the advice has been to relax and one day when I least expect it, it will come.

Has anyone else ever had difficulty with this supposedly "very easy" move?

Yes, me! Luckily, when we tested it (in my day, it was part of one's very first badge), we were moving so slowly that stopping wasn't an issue! You may find that if you move slowly, you can stop - and it'll gradually come, as you gain in confidence and experience. In the meantime, use the barrier - what else is it for!!!!

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

ABSOLUTELY!!! You can do anything you put your mind to. And if you already have prior roller skating experience, that will help. It just takes a little time to get those nerves firing the right muscles and you will pick it up faster than someone who has never skated at all.

I find that the adults that have the hardest time learning how to ice skate are the ones who never did any physical activity their whole life. Even prior Ballet, gymnastics, sports, music experience helps because if they learned those things as a child then they are not nearly as afraid of having their body move in a way that is different from just plain walking or running.

You just have to keep up the steady practice. Take a friend with you if you have to. But keep at it. Steady practice is the key. So if you do it a couple of times a week, that is better than just once a week. And you don't have to do it for 2 hours at a time. 1 hour each time you go out is plenty when you first start.

Have fun!
Kristin

I just taught two adult women the snowplow stop today. They could both stroke and felt fairly at ease on the ice. Stopping was the first thing they wanted to learn. I have my students do a snowplow stop from forward swizzles first. I ask them to do three swizzles and stop on the third by pressing their knees in and holding. I wonder if you've tried it that way. Go as slowly as you need to to feel safe. It's the inside edges that stop you, so you can also think about dropping your ankles. I've never asked anyone to push to the side, as the stopping motion comes naturally with the second half of a swizzle.

Keep trying, but don't let this be a roadblock to other skills. We all have some skills that are harder to learn than others.

__________________

Ah, that's what swizzles are! Snowmen. I've always wondered.

yeah, when I'm teaching skaters and CanSkaters to stop, I tell them to glide with their feet close together and then when they are ready to stop, bend their needs, point their toes together while their heels go outward. This puts you onto your inside edges. You can also do the snowplow stop from snowmen a.k.a. swizzles in the US.

I'm Canadian.

Gees, I should read what I write before hitting send/post.

__________________
"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

http://eastcastlemusic.tripod.com

Singerskates Sports Music Editing

I have to say that sounds scary to me! I've seen more than one kid come to such a sudden stop doing that, that they fall over forwards. I think it's much safer to start from swizzles, or snowmen, or lemons.
Did I leave out any other names for them?

__________________

In Canada we call them Scully's or 2 foot scully's. When you progress you can do one foot scully's.

I hope I understand what swizzles are. I thought before they were like skiing patterns, weaving back and forth.!!!!