Adult skaters - questions from a newbie - Page 3

peshu · #51 09-13-2005, 05:42 PM

If you can stand one more reply - I say go for it! You are never too old to learn. If you are out of shape, I would advise doing some sort of workout in addition to skating. Good muscle tone will help your ability to control your body on the ice. It isn't all leg muscles either; strong abs will help your posture on the ice which helps the feet get where they belong, and will help you when you start landing jumps.

When did I start? My first experience was as a very small child in double runners (shudder!) on a frozen puddle my dad made for me in the back yard. I progressed to being able to get around a rink in some fashion, and longed to learn how to skate properly but couldn't afford lessons. Finally at the age of 28, I took group lessons and got hooked. That was 20 years ago. I competed on an adult synchro team for 5 years, took a hiatus of 7 years due to limited ice availability and a lot of travel for my job, then started again with ice dance only. I've been on another hiatus of almost two years, and can't wait to get back on the ice again.

I started using rentals, but after a couple of lessons I realized I was going to be doing this for awhile and bought my own skates. Do not purchase the ones in the sporting goods stores, which have the blade riveted to the boot and the boots have no support. Your instructor or the person in the pro shop at the rink can advise you on a beginner boot and blade combination. Be aware that the position of the blade on the boot matters! This amazed me when I bought my first pair. I had always thought I had "weak ankles" because they fell outward in every cheap pair of skates I had when I was a kid. When I was fitted to my first good boot and was getting the blade mounted, I was stunned to discover that I could stand upright as easily as I do in bare feet. A good fitter will know how to mount the blade for you.

I think that group lessons are fine to start. They will teach you the basics, and people in these classes tend to encourage one another. If you want to just be able to enjoy yourself more at a public session and aren't too interested in jumping, dancing, or competing, group lessons may be enough for you. But if you do get serious about skating, you will need private lessons.

I am solely an ice dancer now. Not because I'm getting up there, but because that is what I truly enjoy. I did freestyle for some time, but I think too much to be good at jumping (you gotta just let go and do it, and I have trouble with that!). I think learning at least the basic dances is good for any skater, since it helps you with your flow and control. And if your rink has social dance sessions, those can be a lot of fun.

Injuries? I sprained a knee once when attempting a spin; I somehow got stuck on my toepick on the entrance to the spin, and my skating leg rotated from the knee up and didn't rotate from the knee down. That kept me off the ice just a couple of weeks. I also got some bone chips in my foot when that accursed toepick again stuck in the ice during synchro practice. I was off the ice for six weeks after that, but since then haven't had any problems.

When I start skating again, I will be working on my silver dances.

So start taking lessons, remember to breathe, bend your knees, and keep your head up and you will do fine!

Raye · #52 09-13-2005, 07:33 PM

1. When did you start skating (age)?17 the first time for 5 years, came back two years ago at 48 after a 25+ year absence.

2. How long have you been skating? Two years since starting over

3. How often do you skate: Nine hours a week

4. Do you take private lessons, group lessons or are you self-taught? Details/frequency of lessons? Group stroking three mornings a week for 15 minutes at the beginning of the freeskate session and two private lessons per week, one in dance and the other in either skills, figures (yes - figures) or freeskate.

5. Do you own your own skates and do you think it's possible to learn (at least at first) with rentals? I have always owned my own skates and I have always bought them new. My folks had a pathalogical fear of used footwear and while I am not as obsessed as mom was, I still prefer to scrimp somewhere else and buy my skates - or any other footwear - new.

6. What is your current/highest skill or achievement (jump, spin, move, etc)? Waltz jump, toe loop, salchow, forward outside spiral, one foot spin and sitspin. Dances up to and including 14-step. Working on forward three to centre and back outside figure eight. Also in the past two years I have lost over 25 pounds and two dress sizes and I still get to eat.

7. What is your next realistic skating goal? I am THAT close to my flip and loop. I should have them soon. They are already sufficiently high and rotated, I am just to chicken to land them on one foot.

8. Have you ever injured yourself beyond bumps and bruises (this is a scary thing for me, LOL

)? Broke my wrist once, when I was about 21 The fear of falling is much more of an issue than it was 30 years ago

9. Do finances or lack thereof play a large part in your learning to skate and enjoyment of the sport? Not really. I skate to the fullest extent of my discretionary income

10. What has been the easiest part, and what has been the most rewarding? The most rewarding was representing Canada at Oberstdorf in June

11. What has been the hardest, and what has been the most frustrating aspect? Frustrating - twofooting the flip and the loop all the time

12. What advice would you give to a newbie? Don't let anyone tell you you are too old. When I competed in Chilliwack, BC back in January there was a fellow in his seventies competing in freeskate and a couple in their seventies competing in dance.

Chico · #53 09-13-2005, 11:02 PM

1. age - 30's
2. how long - 5
3. lesson - 1 30 min a week - private - freestyle
4. how often - 7 hrs
5. skates - own my own rentals - I'd buy your own if possible.
6. highest achievment - Well....I've tried doubles. =-) Come close on a few occasions but mostly I can't say I do. I do have a high spiral and deep edges. I've been told this anyway. Oh, big jumps. Although they don't look that big to me on video!
8. realistic goal - good backspin, one foot axel, 2 loop, and a good program
9. finances - not really, just my better judgement
10. easiest - jumps
11. crossing my legs in jumps and backspin
12. advice - Don't compare yourself to others. Skate for the fun and enjoy the experience. Enjoy the little improvements you make. Most progress comes in little steps. Stay out of the political crap! Don't believe everything you hear. Dream. =-)

Chico

singerskates · #54 09-13-2005, 11:16 PM

1. When did you start skating (age)? 38

2. How long have you been skating? 5 years and then had to rest up because of herniated disks until 4 to 6 months after surgery (date unknown so far.)

3. How often do you skate (hrs per day, days per week)? I skated 4 days a week fall and winter and 3 during spring, hours varied with the day.

4. Do you take private lessons, group lessons or are you self-taught? Details/frequency of lessons? Two 15 minute lessons weekly.

5. Do you own your own skates and do you think it's possible to learn (at least at first) with rentals? We don't have rentals where I skate, so everyone owns their own skates.

6. What is your current/highest skill or achievement (jump, spin, move, etc)? 1 lutz, camel/sit/broken leg/catchfootspin 3 revs in each position, RFO to RFI combo change edge spiral to LBI spiral in bielman position into salchow.

7. What is your next realistic skating goal? Getting strong again after corrective surgery to my herniated disks in my neck to get back on the ice to then get an axel and double toe and salchow along with flying spins and backscratchspin to 10 revs.

8. Have you ever injured yourself beyond bumps and bruises (this is a scary thing for me, LOL )? Yes,on ice injures were left broken elbow, right broken wrist all before I took one skating lesson or joined a skating club. Join a skating club for safty reasons. Off-ice work place injury, rotator cuff, torn left upper back music and two herniated slipped disks in my neck. AFter joining skating clubs, the ice has never been safer including safer than working at work.

9. Do finances or lack thereof play a large part in your learning to skate and enjoyment of the sport? No, If I need money to skate, I get a job or create one for myself with the talents I have. If you love to skate, you find a way to pay for it.

10. What has been the easiest part, and what has been the most rewarding? The easiest part of skating for me is the love of the sport. If you love what you are trying to do and do it with joy in your heart, you'll eventually learn what you're working on. The most rewarding is when I'm performing a program for the audience and they get into it, tied with teaching learn to skaters (CanSkate and preschool CanSkate).

11. What has been the hardest, and what has been the most frustrating aspect? Trying to get a good backspin and nice one foot landings on my loops, flips and lutzes consistantly on totally warped to lean onto an inside edge boots which takes me off of my landing edge a milli second after landing. I need new boots when I get back on the ice. I'll be taking a level to the boots to make sure they are not warped before even trying them on at the proshop.

12. What advice would you give to a newbie? To laugh at yourself and don't take yourself seriously, just have fun and remember you can only go upward.

luna_skater · #55 09-14-2005, 12:19 AM

1. When did you start skating (age)? 6

2. How long have you been skating? 19 years.

3. How often do you skate (hrs per day, days per week)? Synchro twice a week, and lessons/singles practice 2-3 times a week.

4. Do you take private lessons, group lessons or are you self-taught? Details/frequency of lessons? Private lessons, probably just one a week now that I'm back in school. I've only taken private lessons the past 2 years. When I was younger I had group lessons in Canskate and Canfigureskate.

5. Do you own your own skates and do you think it's possible to learn (at least at first) with rentals? Have always had my own skates. None of the rinks where I grew up offered rental skates. In elementary school we always had a skating day, so most kids had a cheap pair of skates.

6. What is your current/highest skill or achievement (jump, spin, move, etc)? Have passed gold dances and gold skills. Just started learning freeskate in June -- most difficult jump I can do is a lutz, and I can also do all the singles in combination with a loop. Hardest spin is change-foot.

7. What is your next realistic skating goal? Axel!

8. Have you ever injured yourself beyond bumps and bruises (this is a scary thing for me, LOL)? Yes, but not so badly that I've ever had to take time off. I twisted my knee pretty bad at a synchro competition practice once, and probably should have not skated the competition...I just taped it up and skated.

That was about 6 years ago and the knee still bothers sometimes.

9. Do finances or lack thereof play a large part in your learning to skate and enjoyment of the sport? Not really in terms of big picture. I probably wouldn't have to live off a student loan if I didn't skate, but it's all I've known for my whole life...

10. What has been the easiest part, and what has been the most rewarding? The easiest part...enjoying it! The most rewarding has been seeing my hard work pay off...a few years ago, I never dreamed I could be a double-gold skater.

11. What has been the hardest, and what has been the most frustrating aspect? Overcoming my fears. Also, those days where nothing goes right and you wonder why you keep doing this...

12. What advice would you give to a newbie? Never give up, and always remember why you started skating. Never lose the love of the sport. If you lose it, don't quit...just go out and find it again.

blisspix · #56 09-14-2005, 02:25 AM

1. When did you start skating (age)?
14, 1993

2. How long have you been skating?
12 years, but I was off for 2 years, went back for 3 months, then off for another 4 years until last month.

3. How often do you skate (hrs per day, days per week)?
Currently, 1.5 hours due to work scheduling. Usually one session, two if I'm lucky. I also take a 2hr ballet class once a week.

4. Do you take private lessons, group lessons or are you self-taught?
I took group for the first year, then had a coach until 1998. Have not had a coach since but intend to.

5. Do you own your own skates and do you think it's possible to learn (at least at first) with rentals?
I had rentals for 3 months then bought beginner skates of my own. I am on my third pair of skates now.

6. What is your current/highest skill or achievement (jump, spin, move, etc)?
Skated in state championships twice as a teen, though at a low level. Am currently working on getting back my doubles.

7. What is your next realistic skating goal?
Test or competition in the next year (if I get a coach)

8. Have you ever injured yourself beyond bumps and bruises (this is a scary thing for me, LOL

)?
I had a chronic ankle injury caused by my old boots. It caused my ankles to calcify and swell enormously, all the time. I narrowly avoided surgery. I did get orthotics but they never suited the boots. Only went away when I quit the sport for a long time. Perhaps ironically, I had major knee surgery just a few months before I started skating.

9. Do finances or lack thereof play a large part in your learning to skate and enjoyment of the sport?
Yes. I didn't take many lessons growing up because I didn't want to burden my parents with the cost. Now, I have a good job so I spent big on my new skates, and I can afford a couple of sessions a week. The other big cost in my life is travel so I can't spend too much on skating though!

10. What has been the easiest part, and what has been the most rewarding?
Easiest - jumps were always easier for me, not easy, but I took to them.
Most rewarding - a competition where I did my absolute best, and one of the judges gave me 3.9, I was very pleased.

11. What has been the hardest, and what has been the most frustrating aspect?
Moves in the field. I failed a test 3 times (aust. equivalent) and it made me want to quit for good.
Never medalled at a competition, except for silver at a beginners meet.

12. What advice would you give to a newbie?
Have fun, don't listen to anyone else that tells you you shouldn't go for it, and make friends at the rink!

vesperholly · #57 09-14-2005, 03:11 AM

1. When did you start skating (age)?
I started in learn to skate lessons when I was 7. I started in private lessons at 13, and quit for four years during college.

2. How long have you been skating?
I am 25 now, so 18 years (!)

3. How often do you skate (hrs per day, days per week)?
I skate approximately 4-5 hours per week

4. Do you take private lessons, group lessons or are you self-taught? Details/frequency of lessons?
I take private lessons. This fall I am getting 1/2 hour per week. When I start getting closer to my moves test, I will probably ask for more.

5. Do you own your own skates and do you think it's possible to learn (at least at first) with rentals?
Yes, I own my own skates, and I wouldn't recommend rentals to learn in. You need skates that are properly sized and decently built. They don't have to be anywhere near what freestyle skaters use - the basic pair from JC Penney's will be fine for learning.

6. What is your current/highest skill or achievement (jump, spin, move, etc)?
My highest skill is camel-back camel spin, axel jump and I passed Novice moves in June.

7. What is your next realistic skating goal?
Pass my Junior moves, pass my Silver dances, compete at the 2006 ANs.

8. Have you ever injured yourself beyond bumps and bruises (this is a scary thing for me, LOL

)?
I've sprained my left ankle twice, almost exactly 10 years apart.

9. Do finances or lack thereof play a large part in your learning to skate and enjoyment of the sport?
Absolutely, finances play a big part - I do not work in a lucrative field. I only buy two hours of club ice, and the rest of my skating is done on general skates (I am lucky enough to have them be freestyle-only). I haven't competed in a year and a half. I wouldn't say it impinges on my enjoyment per se - when I am out on the ice, I love it even when I suck. But I would rather go to fewer competitions than not skate at all.

10. What has been the easiest part, and what has been the most rewarding?
The easiest part is tying up my skates every day. I look forward to practice, and especially lesson days. The most rewarding has been the exercise and the motivation to exercise to better my skating. I really hate working out, so when I have a tangible goal other than "be thin" - like landing jumps or better endurance in programs - it helps enormously.

11. What has been the hardest, and what has been the most frustrating aspect?
The hardest is being hard on myself. I am twice as big, twice as old and skate a quarter of the time as all the little kids I work with, but I hold myself to very high standards. The most frustrating has been the lack of consistency - even after all this time I still don't have a solid camel spin - and dealing with people in my club who don't "get" adult skaters.

12. What advice would you give to a newbie?
Take skating with a grain of salt - "It's only skating!"

NickiT · #58 09-14-2005, 05:02 AM

OK, here goes:-

1. When did you start skating (age)?
24

2. How long have you been skating?
It's been 13 years since I started skating, but the first few years I didn't skate seriously, plus I had time out due to pregnancies, injuries etc. I've been skating seriously for 5-6 years.

3. How often do you skate (hrs per day, days per week)?
Before the summer I was skating 3 times per week. My total hours on the ice was 6.5 hours.

4. Do you take private lessons, group lessons or are you self-taught? Details/frequency of lessons?
I take two half-hour private lessons per week and do one half-hour jumps class.

5. Do you own your own skates and do you think it's possible to learn (at least at first) with rentals?
I have my own skates - Gam 065 boots and MK Professional blades. I think you can learn in rentals right in the very beginning as long as you get a good pair with sharp blades. However I'd recommend investing in your own from as early on as possible.

6. What is your current/highest skill or achievement (jump, spin, move, etc)?
My highest jump is the lutz, and I am doing it as a lutz-loop combination. My hardest spin is a camel/sit/backsit. I have passed my NISA Level 2 Elements and Free Tests, and my NISA Inter-Bronze Field Moves Tests. I won my first cup this year at the Bracknell Adult Opens.

7. What is your next realistic skating goal?
I'd like to say the axel, but I think that's pretty unrealistic. My next goal is a camel/back camel.

8. Have you ever injured yourself beyond bumps and bruises (this is a scary thing for me, LOL )?
Yes, too many times. I currently have my arm in a plaster cast so am off the ice at the moment. I have also broken my ankle quite badly requiring surgery and now have metal work in my ankle. Last year I cracked a rib and cracked my elbow. I've had several hard falls on my wrists, coccyx, hips etc. Unfortunately I do go for things and suffer as a result.

9. Do finances or lack thereof play a large part in your learning to skate and enjoyment of the sport?
I do feel that I have to cut back on other things to pay for the skating, especially since my two children skate as well. I really wanted to try dance but just can't afford it.

10. What has been the easiest part, and what has been the most rewarding?
I don't think there's ever been an easy part in my skating career. My most rewarding was passing my Level 2 and getting back to skating after my ankle injury as everyone thought I'd not make it back.

11. What has been the hardest, and what has been the most frustrating aspect?
For me it's competing. I need to compete to make myself improve but I suffer with nerves big time and I get frustrated when nerves prevent me from skating as well as I know I can.

12. What advice would you give to a newbie?
Enrol in a group class to start with. When you become well and truly hooked get yourself fitted with the correct sized skates and start taking private lessons. Enjoy your skating and accept that it is a challenging sport - things often look a lot easier than they are, but lots of practice and you will get there.

Nicki

sceptique · #59 09-14-2005, 08:47 AM

1. When did you start skating (age)?

31.
But I won’t be technically correct if I say that I never set my foot on ice before that. I remember taking skating group lessons when I was 5 or 6. We learned forward stroking and “fishes”. I don’t remember skating backwards, though. I must have quit before that, I suppose. Shoot-the-duck killed me. I couldn’t do it to save my life (unlike now!).

After that I’ve been to public skating about 2-3 times – one of them to a famous mountain rink Medeo in Kazakhstan. I didn’t enjoy any of it – by the time I was a teen I’ve grown pretty tall and they never seemed to have my size boots, so they either were too small and hurt like hell or they’d give me male hockey boots which were too wide and wobbly.

So that’s how I ended up being a Siberian who almost never skated until she got to England where it almost never snows!

2. How long have you been skating?

According to my skating journal – 22 weeks.

3. How often do you skate (hrs per day, days per week)?

2 days per week: Saturday and Sunday, but I really go for it. When I started, I used to stay for the whole public session: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (that crazy! With coffee break and lunch, of course); now I moved to school patch ice so I skate 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., then have a break while the ice is taken by Skate UK groups and then skate again for an hour or so until it gets too crowded or I feel like I had enough.

4. Do you take private lessons, group lessons or are you self-taught? Details/frequency of lessons?

I took Skate UK group lessons to start with, but when I got to grade 8 I felt I could benefit from some 1-2-1 practice so I started taking an additional 30-min lesson per week. Now I take 2 lessons / week with different coaches – it works out well: Coach A is focusing on getting me ready for the tests, while Coach B is more of “let’s see if you can do this” experimental type.

5. Do you own your own skates and do you think it's possible to learn (at least at first) with rentals?

I bought my own skates after my one and only experience with Coventry Planet Ice rentals. As I said before, boots were the main thing that stood between me and my skating for my whole life, so I’d get my own even if it meant living on Tesco Value baked beans for a year. And since I didn’t have to sacrifice that much, it wasn’t even the question.

I guess it’s possible to learn with rentals, I’ve seen people doing it, but I just won’t do it myself.

6. What is your current/highest skill or achievement (jump, spin, move, etc)?

Jumps – I consistently land waltz, toe loop and salchow, by itself and in combinations, but the technique can surely be improved. Especially for salchow, which is a bit wicked at the moment.

Spins – nothing fancy. Basic forward upright, and not too good yet. Learning sit spin and upright back spin.

I have nice spirals for a pretty inflexible adult and I really like my backward crossovers.

7. What is your next realistic skating goal?

NISA Level 1 test, getting all my single jumps and learning to spin properly.

8. Have you ever injured yourself beyond bumps and bruises?

Not yet (touch wood), but my legs always look as if I’ve been severely beaten by a street gang.

9. Do finances or lack thereof play a large part in your learning to skate and enjoyment of the sport?

Not really. I used to have times in my life when a taxi ride would be an ultimate luxury and still find means to do things I wanted to do at that time. But I do tend to measure the price of everything in terms of skating time: well, this nice shirt is about 6 lessons – nope, I don’t think it’s that nice… etc. I actually found it’s now much easier to avoid “social spending”, like going to high street sales with you friend “just to keep her company” and ending up with pile of stuff you didn’t really want. You just say: “I need to save money for a skating dress” and that closes the subject.

10. What has been the easiest part, and what has been the most rewarding?

Easiest - getting my husband to accept that, after not seeing his wife for 5 days a week (out-of-town job!), she is going to start disappearing for half-day on weekends as well. He says: “now at least when you are at home – you’re with me, not like when you had that creative writing hobby!”

The most rewarding – feeling fulfilled. Skating closed many gaps and put lots of things into perspective. I’m much less stressed out now – it’s as if I got some pivot point around which I can start building things, a sense of direction. Almost a spiritual experience.

11. What has been the hardest, and what has been the most frustrating aspect?

Hardest thing – not being able to skate as much as I would like to. I’m keeping fingers crossed that my next posting will be in a town with a rink. (Actually, looks like Moscow is in the pipeline, which makes me a bit nervous. As good as they are there in Big Sport skating, it’s not the most adult-friendly skating environment. Although “sports are for kids, sofas and TVs are for adults” mentality has been somewhat changing in the past years, I won’t be surprised I’ll have to “tip” some rink managers to get to practice ice along with the kids. On the upside, they have some rinks that are open 24 hours!).

Most frustrating – relative lack of good skating resources – books, videos; instructional DVDs are almost non-existent. The ISU CD pack on jumps and spins has been a huge help: seeing a jump in slow-motion, with explanations can save you from about a dozen bruises what you’d get trying to figure it out on your own. Actually, I’m starting to think if my school might want to produce a training video course…. Hmmmm… Putting my MBA hat back on…..

12. What advice would you give to a newbie?

My 11 tips:

1. Don’t set yourself a limit. If backward crossovers is “all you want to learn” – most likely it will be all that you will learn.
2. Take yourself seriously.
3. Celebrate every achievement no matter how small.
4. Don’t be intimidated by better skaters. Learn from them.
5. Don’t keep working on a stubborn element because you “have to get it right”. Move on to something else and then come back to it. Just keep coming back and you’ll see it magically improving.
6. Keep a journal. It will help you to see your progress and plan ahead.
7.When you feel down and frustrated – go skating to a public session. There’s nothing better to lift you mood than compliments from little kids in the crowd. And you’ll get them, mark my words!
8. Take a good care of your body – it’s your tool. Make sure that you feed it the right stuff, it gets enough sleep, and is generally kept in shape. Then you can abuse it by landing 20 times on you butt at 7:30 in the morning.
9. Work out off-ice. It will help your skating.
10. If your buddies/colleagues/family start making fun of your skating – challenge them to do 1 lap backwards. That would silence them. (A female option – ask them to help you with clothes shopping because all your old clothes are now too loose.)
11. Don’t be afraid to look silly. People who skate will never judge you because they know how hard it is to learn. People who don’t – see tip number 10.

batikat · #60 09-14-2005, 09:04 AM

Ok Sceptique here's the updated answers:

Quote: